The OGs of Craft Beer | Rogue Dead Guy Ale

Rogue Ales & Spirits Dead Guy Ale first emerged in 1990 during a special November 1 Dia de los Metros (Day of the Dead) celebration at Casa U-Betcha, a Tex-Mex restaurant in Portland, Oregon. For the rest of us, the beer came into our lives in 1994 during the Clinton Administration, the first season of Friends, and 14 years before Facebook arrived. Nevertheless, even after its nearly 25 years of roaming the craft world there’s nothing dead about Dead Guy Ale.

The beer received an extra boost in early 2017 when Rogue decided to can the beer for the first time and update its label artwork. Indeed, the beer has grown so iconic that one will not find the name “Dead Guy” anywhere on the cans because most every drinker knows the beer simply by the Dead Guy imagery. Read More

Goose Island Announces 2018 Bourbon County Stout Lineup

Eight different Bourbon County Stout variants will be available come Black Friday this November, however, the official announcement from Goose Island had several surprises.

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Soulcraft Aims For A Greater Audience By Transitioning to Cans

CAN YOU?  What single element can turn previously laid-back fun-loving brewers into nose-to-the-grindstone workers? Oh, that could only be…success. CEO and Head Brewer Mike LaCroix of Soulcraft Brewery in Salida, CO and his team are transitioning from very limited bottling to full-out canning.

On his first day off in three weeks, he takes some time to breathe and reflect on this next transition: The “big spark” he believes will revolutionize this small brewery into a nationally recognized brand.

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Event Preview | Fresh Fest Beer Fest

If you’re going to be in Pittsburgh this weekend, it would be a big mistake to skip Fresh Fest Beer Fest. A co-production of the Drinking Partners Podcast and Black Brew Culture, Fresh Fest is being billed as “Pittsburgh’s first Black beer festival”.
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The OGs of Craft Beer | Russian River – Pliny the Elder

Neither Vinnie nor Natalie Cilurzo are likely to read this piece about Russian River Pliny the Elder.

Not that it is anything personal; it is just that when you are in the nonstop process of brewing world-class beer while expanding from a 17,000 BBL system to a 70,000 BBL system, you tend to lack the time to Google yourself. Read More

PorchDrinking’s Weekly Denver Beer Beat | August 8, 2018

The Denver Beer Beat sheds light on news of brewery openings, special tappings, firkins and one-off batches, bottle releases, dinners, pairings, etc.
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Event Preview | Save the Ales Beer Festival

In a landlocked state like Colorado, the late summer arrives with mounting temperatures and sporadic afternoon thunderstorms. Even in this land of indecisive weather, we’ve been noticing drier, hotter conditions more than ever before—which places more stress on our natural resources, like water. Climate change, it seems, is getting ready to claim another victim: our beer!

Conservation Colorado’s Save the Ales Beer Festival on August 9 aims to quash this nightmare before it morphs into reality. Both reliant on water, the environmental sector and beer industry embrace the overlap between conservation and craft beer at the nonprofit’s annual beer festival. With 40+ craft breweries and Colorado-grown companies expected, Save the Ales combines the power of Colorado’s booming craft beer industry with our citizen’s passion for our water, public lands, and natural resources. Read More

Ultimate 6er | College Football Season 2018

Welcome to the tailgate, college football fan! Pull up a lawn chair; the chili should be ready shortly. Put that red Solo cup away; you won’t be needing that. The season is far too short for you to drink swill, and we have some proper glassware here for you besides.

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PorchDrinking’s Weekly Atlanta Beer Beat | August 8-14, 2018

The Atlanta Beer Beat sheds light on news of brewery openings, special tappings, firkins and one-off batches, bottle releases, dinners, pairings and more!

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The OGs of Craft Beer | Dogfish Head Craft Brewery – 60 Minute IPA

A longtime beer can remain beloved in a fast-paced market because it has a cult following, because it fits a really niche need or, for better or worse, because it’s so widely distributed it becomes a default choice.

Sometimes, a beer remains hot because it’s still so damn good. Read More

Hop Culture’s ‘Beers With(out) Beards’ Aims to Promote Inclusivity for Women in Beer

The craft beer industry was founded on the pillars of community, collaboration and inclusiveness. However, in an industry so historically dominated by men, those ideals haven’t always (and sometimes still) don’t apply so openly to women. Even today, we see examples of misogyny, sexual harassment and unequal treatment in the workplace lingering from the “old boy’s club” mentality that so rampantly pervaded those who previously ran America’s beer establishment.

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Why the Craft Brewers of Green Bay are Some of the Packers’ Biggest Fans

Wisconsin is known for its cheese, beer and football. Green Bay, Wisconsin’s third biggest city, is simply known for the Packers. Dubbed Titletown USA, Green Bay has been home to the Packers for ages (the team will celebrate its centennial next year). The team is also a massive business boon for the city thanks to the tourism and additional business opportunities it brings to the small port city.

Packers football Sundays have also become big business for Green Bay’s small, but growing, craft beer scene. Two breweries, Badger State Brewing and Hinterland Brewery, are strategically positioned within a quick walk from the hallowed grounds of Lambeau Field. Stillmank Brewing Company is a bit farther away, but still sees a good deal of added foot traffic during any Packers’ home game weekend. We spoke to the owners of each brewery for an assessment on how the Packers have impacted their business.

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The OGs of Craft Beer | New Glarus Brewing Co. – Spotted Cow

In 2001, I was a bartender at a joint in Wausau, Wisconsin called Loppnow’s Sports Bar. Our main fare was tap and bottled Bud Light and Miller Lite, but occasionally we sold some Mike’s Hard Lemonade, Smirnoff Ice and Blue Moon. I don’t remember how many taps we had, but I recall that only one rotated: usually with Point Lager or a stout that wasn’t Guinness (we had no nitro). These barrels often took a couple of weeks to cash, with one exception – New Glarus Brewing Co.‘s Spotted Cow Farmhouse Ale.

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Chicago Quick Sips August 6 – 19

Quick Sips is our way of highlighting beer events, tap takeovers and other notable beer news around the city of Chicago, IL. If you’d like to submit something to be included in the next Quick Sips, please email us at [email protected].

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Event Preview | Chicago Breweries Preparing for Great Taste of the Midwest

Every second Saturday in August, a large contingent of Midwestern breweries gather on the shores of Lake Monona in Madison, WI for the Great Taste of the Midwest. Believed to be the second longest running craft beer festival in North America, the event features over 190 breweries and around 1,400 different beers for people to try.

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The OGs of Craft Beer | Great Lakes Brewing Edmund Fitzgerald Porter

“It just feels right that this is a beer that comes from Cleveland,” says Great Lakes Brewing Company co-founder Pat Conway of his brewery’s Edmund Fitzgerald Porter. The iconic dark brew is named for the ill-fated iron ore freighter that sank on Lake Superior with all hands during a vicious storm on November 10, 1975.

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