Carbon Copy, West Philly’s brewery-winery, has set up shop in East Passyunk for the summer

What do you do if you own a brewery off one of the city’s busiest drags and it’s closed indefinitely due to licensing issues? In a making-lemonade-out-of-lemons move, Separatist Beer Project is hosting West Philly’s Carbon Copy for a summer-long pop-up.

Separatist, which is based in Easton and has had a satellite East Passyunk tasting room since 2019, shuttered both of its locations in early April. Owner Joe Fay told The Inquirer a clerical error had snowballed into a licensing snafu, forcing them to shut their doors until it was resolved — thereby taking a prime Avenue watering hole offline during one of the busiest times of the year.

Separatist announced a creative solution last week: Carbon Copy, the brewery/winery that opened late last year in the former Dock Street space, will take over its tasting room from June through August at least. Separatist’s draft system is now stocked with 10 beers and three wines from Carbon Copy, plus one Ploughman cider. Bring your own food, or nosh on Carbon Copy’s tomato pie ($5 a slice) or “fish and chips” (tinned fish, homemade potato chips). Draft cocktails are in the works.

Fay said that the idea came about when Carbon Copy founder Kyle Wolak called him to check in sometime after Separatist had announced the temporary closure. The pair has been friendly since 2017, when they collaborated on a beer during Wolak’s tenure at WarPigs brewpub in Copenhagen.

“It was sort of an organic ‘Eureka!’ moment for both of us,” said Fay, who had hoped to find employment for his staff, cover operating expenses, and serve the Passyunk community. Fay, Wolak, and Carbon Copy co-founder Brendon Boudwin developed a plan to meet all three goals.

For Carbon Copy, the second space helps build awareness. “We’re still new, so we want to get our name out there and let people know that we’re here in Philadelphia making beer and wine for the people,” Wolak said. “What better way than having a summer pop-up bar in South Philadelphia?”

The pop-up debuted on June 9, after about a month of planning. Carbon Copy is essentially subletting the space and using exposition permits to operate there. (This is yet another feature of a Pennsylvania brewery license, different than the one that allowed Human Robot to open a surprise Center City taproom last month, or that allowed a Wyndmoor BYOB to become a full bar for just $20,000.) Fay said a longer-term collaboration is possible if all goes well, hinting that Carbon Copy may have a South Philly presence past this summer.

Wolak characterized it as a win-win-win. “The neighborhood was happy that the space was alive again and that the bartenders that they had gotten to know were all still there, so it seems to be a mutually beneficial situation for everyone involved.”

Carbon Copy’s hours at 1646 S. 12th St. are 4 to 10 p.m. Monday, 4 to 11 p.m. Thursday, 4 to midnight Friday, noon to midnight Saturday, and noon to 8 p.m. Sunday. instagram.com/carboncopyphilly