It is located in the original 1885 building of the Weisbrod & Hess Oriental Brewing Company, which operated on the site until 1939.

[2] In early 2007, the Bartons struck an agreement with Kehoe to surrender their interest in Yards in exchange for control of its facility.

The Bartons were able to retain their entire staff of Yards employees along with the brewing equipment.

(Kehoe had Yards products contract brewed at the Lion Brewery in Wilkes-Barre, PA and would later move to a new facility near the Delaware River.)

The Bartons and McBride formally launched Philadelphia Brewing Company beers on March 5, 2008.