#HOGTour. The Hammer of Glory is hitting the road

They were riding in a fighter jet float shooting fireworks when the police pulled them over.

“He wanted to know, ‘What the hell were we doing?’” recalled Jim Kirk, co-owner of Kite and Key at 19th and Callowhill streets.

Kirk and friends were transporting the Hammer of Glory or HOG, the official symbol of Philly Beer Week, as part of the 2013 Beer Week HOG relay

The tradition continues Thursday night, when Kite and Key will be one of four bars in Fairmount that get their own mini-HOG relay. It’s all part of a series of pub crawls planned around the city the last Thursday of each month leading up to Beer Week, a local craft beer festival that kicks off May 29.

Kirk expects a high turnout at the tour due to the presence of the HOG.

“The power it has with random people — it just mesmerizes them,” he said. “This symbol is one-size-fits-all. It’s going to be out and about.”

The HOG will start out Thursday at 6 p.m. at the London Grill, before moving on the nearby Urban Saloon and Belgian Cafe.

“Philly Beer Week was always designed to be about local beer culture and highlight what a great place Philly is for local brewers and drinkers,” said Kristine Kennedy, executive director of Philly Beer Week. “It’s about being creative and finding really unique ways to participate.”