Maybe this distain is because NE Philly never sees a snow plow in the winter or maybe it's because the city comes out once a year to cut the grass in our parks and traffic islands. I really hate to blame anyone, but our Philly parents may even be at fault because after they make the move from Center City, they justify the exodus by badmouthing Center City from the time their kids learn to say the words: soft pretzel. 

Following suit are the Northeast Philly bars. With the rare exception of a bar called The Grey Lodge Pub on Frankford Ave, most NE Philly bars serve up the mass produced brews which is in stark contrast to the variety served up downtown. Until I became 21 years old, I was raised to believe that local beer doesn't get any better than Schmidt's and The Silver Bullet was the national brew of the US.  

Sweeney's is no different. They kowtow to the major beer labels. It's a damn shame. There is a tremendous opportunity here to upgrade the taps. Sweeney's is officially located in Philly, but they are about 2 blocks away from the border of Bucks and Montgomery Counties. The affluent communities of Huntington Valley and Abington are a stones throw away and would love a local brew house or pub. 

Sweeney's is going for quantity rather than quality. A sideways expansion in recent years has the place occupying almost 50% of the strip mall they're moored up to. The original Sweeney's housed the main bar, a small stage for live acts and a myriad of TV's tuned to local sports - like that's gonna put you in a relaxing mood! 

The recent addition doubled the size of the place and moved the stage against the back wall of the newest room. A second bar (brown laminate over particle board top) occupies half of the new addition and high top tables the rest. The wall that is opposite the street is covered in a mirror, while the remaining spaces on the walls are a wash in neon beer signs. I would recommend wearing sunscreen when you enter this room because the radiation emanating from these signs could be harmful to your health. I counted no fewer than FIVE neon Coors Lights signs. How much is enough??? Jeez, do they own half the place? 

To add to the strip club ambiance, aqua and pink colored neon lights circle the perimeter of the bar. The guys working the bars look like extra's from the Porky's Trilogy. On the night we went, I asked what brews they had in a bottle and he said "All of them." I rattled off 5 local brews and they had none - I settled on Bass. They assume the crowd is a bunch of idiots and they dumb down the beer selections - it's a shame. 

I've been to Sweeney's a couple times in the past few years and nothing seems to have changed with the clientele. It's mostly people in their 20's who haven't changed their image since high school. I couldn't believe how many puffy-hair chicks and guys with tails/mullets. Weren't those hairstyles popular back in the 1980's. Then again there was that nasty Billy Ray Cyrus mullet resurgence in the mid-90's. But who in NE Philly is a fan of the Achy Breaky Dance?  Let's face it, it all comes down to money. The mullet crowd is only willing to shell out money for $2 bottles of the Silver Bullet, better brew would smarten them up, get a Russell Crowe haircut, and get better jobs so they can drink more $4 pints of Victory or Flying Fish beer. 

If you walk into Sweeney's during the day, you're most likely to find guys in their 40's and 50's just getting off the 7-3 shift (or getting a primer before the 3-11 shift) throwing back the best brew that Milwaukee & Colorado has to offer. 

For further entertainment, Sweeney's features a dance floor (probably fits about 20), live music on the weekend nights, 2 pay pool tables, and a big screen TV to show AAA baseball (aka  Phillies games) and Donovan McNabe throw to receivers who are 2 steps behind the ball. 

There is an incredible opportunity to improve the place, attract a better crowd and to create something different in NE Philly. If they'd lose the neon lights & beer swag, put in better butter on the taps (aside from Miller & Coors - Guinness in a can, Bass in a bottle? You're not even trying!) and get rid of the mirrored wall, this would be a different place to hang out at other than the standard shlock that you get up here in NE Philly.