Taft’s Ale House | Gustav Vienna Lager

Ryan Blandford, head brewer at Cincinnati’s Taft’s Ale House, won his first gold medal at the World Beer Cup while working for crosstown brewery Fifty West in 2016. When he heard Fifty West’s 10 & 2 Barleywine announced, he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“I was jumping up and down and swearing,” laughed Blandford when we spoke on the phone last week. “As a young brewer you look up to these guys who are winning all these medals and when you’re fortunate enough to win one, well, you’re kind of freaking out.”

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First Impressions on Revolution Brewing’s 2018 Deth’s Tar and its Two Variants

Two releases in and this year’s version of Revolution Brewing Deep Wood Series is shaping up to be its best so far. After the daring idea to can its barrel-aged creations last year, the Chicago-based brewery decided to push the limits even further in 2018 by expanding the lineup to 10 ambitious beers, including new offerings such as Code Switch and Deth by Currants. The second release happens this Friday, November 16 at its Kedzie Taproom location (3340 N Kedzie Ave, Chicago, IL) and will feature the popular Deth’s Tar, the highly-acclaimed Cafe Deth and the new Deth by Currants, which won the fan vote for best fruited variant.

We were lucky enough to get early access to these three Deth-inspired stouts and came away wholly impressed. Here are our initial thoughts.

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What We’re Drinking | November 9, 2018

Election day has come and gone, leaving either a wave of disappointment or excitement in its wake. People hit the polls in record numbers to exercise their right to vote, and crowds gathered across the country in various venues to await the results. No matter what side of the fence you are on, I think we can all agree it was an invigorating and exhausting week. Time to sit back, take stock of your voting efforts and grab a beer. If you need some good ideas on a which brew to choose, the PorchDrinking staff has you covered, here’s What We’re Drinking.

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The Weekly Buzz | November 2 – 8

I just want to thank America for doing (mostly) the right thing this week. Great work everybody! Now that we’ve taken steps to reinstate a check on our country’s executive branch, I feel safe imbibing a fine craft-brewed beverage. Crack open a beer and discover all this stuff I found on Twitter and Instagram. This is The Weekly Buzz.
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Event Preview | Wynkoop Brewing’s Day of Darks Festival

As we transition into November it’s natural to begin shifting from bright berliners and pilsners to their more roasty, boozier brethren. No better event helps to kick off that changing of the guard, than Wynkoop Brewing’s Annual Day of Darks Festival.

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Amalgam Brewing’s The Cultural Center Taproom Opens Next Saturday

One of Colorado’s most promising rising breweries is finally set to open a taproom. Amalgam Brewing, which spent the first year and a half of their existence embracing the unorthodox practice of brewing through an alternating proprietorship and dropping gypsy beer releases at various liquor stores, is about to become a little more accessible to the public, while still maintaining a bit of unconventional flair.

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Bottle Logic Brewing | Darkstar November

Temperatures are dropping, costumes have been Instagrammed, worn, mangled and stashed away in the closet — out of sight, out of mind — once again. Having moved out of the U.S. seven months ago, it came as quite a shock to me this past week to learn that MOST COUNTRIES DON’T CELEBRATE HALLOWEEN. So forgive me if I want to hold on to it for just a little longer.

But the changing colors and declining thermometers also indicate another seasonal change is upon us: Stout Season. We have a glorious few months where high ABVs and barrel-aging take the spotlight as they encourage long talks by the fireplace and cap off fall festivities. In this humble writer’s opinion, Bottle Logic Brewing provides some of the finest dark brews around, and what beer is more appropriate to fully transition us into the season than the very appropriately named Darkstar November.

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Revolution’s Wil Turner to Join Open Outcry as Head of Brewery Operations

Chicago’s largest craft brewery will be searching for a new head brewpub brewer as Revolution Brewing’s Wil Turner is making the move to the Southside where he will become Open Outcry’s new head of brewery operations.

“We’ve been incredibly lucky to have Wil as our Head Pub Brewer the past seven years,” Revolution’s Director of Retail Operations Meg Rutledge said. “Someone with his talent and decades of experience is hard to find, and it will be tough to see him go. At the same time, Open Outcry is getting a great brewer, and we wish Wil all the success in the world.”

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Malört | Forging Friendships With a Shot and a Beer

The first shot of Jeppson’s Malört induces a reaction akin to sucking in one’s entire face, and that’s followed by a look of despair as one hopes and prays the aftertaste resembling something close to insect repellent will give way to something better. It doesn’t. Malört is awful. It’s vile. It’s nasty. And it’s beloved by an abundance of Chicago drinkers. The cult-like drink is part “bad decision,” part “right of passage.” These days, craft breweries and craft-friendly bars in Chicago regularly pair Malört with craft beer—or offering it to you after a night of craft beer. A communal sharing of Malört forges friendships and kinship. Simply, Malört is bonding in a bottle.

Born of the Great Depression, Jeppson’s Malört (now owned by Chicago’s C.H. Distillery ) was developed by a Swedish immigrant in Chicago (although it dates back to medieval times). The Swedish-style Bäsk liquor (Swedish for bitter liquor) flavored with “malört” (Swedish for wormwood), has been known to offer medicinal benefits such as settling one’s stomach. Indeed, our Midwest Editor, Mike Zoller, can confirm this — he swears it recently worked for him.

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Fat Head’s Brewery | Sunshine Daydream

This is it, my friends. We are in November. At least for many of you throughout the country, the weather has shifted. The jet stream has begun to re-calibrate. Winds are picking up, the clouds are more uniform, and the precipitation has already started to solidify into the four-letter word most people loath to use. It’s inevitable, though. Unless you are in Yuma or Miami, or you have your sights set on Hawaii for a month, that thermometer isn’t going to budge much over 60 degrees for awhile. Your bright and sunny days are going to be at a minimum. Thankfully, a well-known brewery has just the antidote to shoo away the clouds and bring back the warmth for a little while. Fat Head’s Brewery’s Sunshine Daydream is at your beck and call; this session IPA is available all year long, rain or shine.

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PorchDrinking’s Weekly Denver Beer Beat | November 7, 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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Ultimate 6er | Fall TV Beer Pairings

Each fall, networks from NBC to Netflix release what seems like an unwatchable amount of television. The line-up this season is no different, leaving viewers with lots of choices – both for shows to watch and beers to drink while watching them. For those struggling to choose from the flood of good TV, the below is a manageable list of fall’s top TV to binge-watch and beers to have in hand while doing so.

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Local Breweries Reach into Backyards & Communities for Ingredients

At PorchDrinking, we’re all about “drinking small” and supporting our local beer communities, so when we heard of some smaller breweries using locally sourced ingredients from their own yards, gardens, and communities, we were immediately intrigued. Ingredients can be one of the most challenging parts of running a brewery; locating, coordinating, and purchasing these items for smaller breweries is a moving target. The following local breweries are getting creative by using community connections to create beers that both tie directly to their area while creating completely unique brews for their neighborhood.

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Georgetown Brewing Company | Manny’s Pale Ale

Readers of PorchDrinking.com, I’d like to introduce you to Seattle’s pale ale. That’s right – in the city with the most craft breweries in the entire country, known for pioneering brewers and enthusiastic hopheads, I’m daring to single out one brew as Seattle’s illustrative pale. Please raise a glass and introduce yourself to Manny’s Pale Ale from Georgetown Brewing Company.  Read More

These Colorado Breweries Are Offering Free Beer & Election Day Deals

Election Day has finally arrived, and already the US is seeing record-breaking voter turnout for this year’s Midterm Elections. Already 35 million votes have been cast the day prior to the election, which dwarfs the 20 million cast this time four years ago.

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Five Great Chicago Stouts You Don’t Have to Line Up For

We have officially entered that time of year where breweries begin releasing their big, barrel-aged beers. Many come with massive release events that can draw large crowds and (of course) long lines. The beers might be hard to get and if you don’t get them on release day…you’re out of luck.

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