About- Tristan Chan
Tristan Chan
Tristan is a craft beer fanatic who originally hails from Kentucky, which used to be a veritable wasteland for craft beer. Since moving to Colorado, he discovered a passion for hops, malts, brett strains, tinctures, nitros, and all things craft brew. He created this blog as a means for his friends across the country to a virtual porch drink and he hopes that you’ll join the revolution.BREAKING | 2025 WeldWerks Invitational Festival Returns in February
October 8, 2024 | Tristan Chan
After taking a two-year hiatus, the WeldWerks Invitational, one of the country’s premiere showcases of rare and specialty beers is primed to return in February 2025. Next year’s festival will … Read More
2024 GABF Guided Routes | Best Lagers to Try at GABF
October 8, 2024 | Tristan Chan
The Great American Beer Festival is finally back! With the insane multitude of beers being served on the festival floor, it can sometimes feel a bit overwhelming. So PorchDrinking is once again here to help you navigate that lineup and help with planning your route at the fest. As part of that research, we’ve sifted through every beer pouring at this year’s fest to curate a series of themed routes to help you plan for your GABF based on various styles and flavors.
2024 Denver Rare Beer Tasting Pour List Still Brings the Heat
October 8, 2024 | Tristan Chan
GABF week is finally upon us, and with it returns one of the industry’s best festivals focused on showcasing rare and specialty beers. While the Great American Beer Festival itself does a great job of bringing together the largest collection of beers from around the country into one three-day event, Rare Beer has historically showcased quality and this year is no different.
And while this year’s event does include some slight updates including a move to Thursday, October 10 from 12 p.m. – 4 p.m. instead of its usual Friday slot, and a new location in Bierstadt Lagerhaus, both changes bode for the better.
The Complete PorchDrinking 2024 GABF Week Events Guide
October 4, 2024 | Tristan Chan 2
Start prepping your livers accordingly because the Great American Beer Festival (GABF), the largest beer festival in the country, is set to return October 10-12, 2024. And while the festival itself serves as the ultimate showcase of craft beer across three jam-packed sessions, what happens outside of the Convention Center has evolved into a spectacle in and of itself. Throughout the years a multitude of external beer events have popped up at breweries, beer bars, restaurants and more offering beer fans a unique opportunity to explore rare and exciting new beers from breweries not typically available in the state of Colorado but also serve to showcase some of the best that the state of Colorado can offer.
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2024 GABF Out-of-State Beer Drops Available in Denver
September 30, 2024 | Tristan Chan 1
When the Great American Beer Festival returns to Denver each year, beer fans benefit not just from the festival itself, but also from the myriad of tap takeovers, mini-festivals, beer dinners, and also specialty beer drops from out-of-state breweries.
2024 Presidential Debate Drinking Game
September 9, 2024 | Tristan Chan 1
The 2024 election cycle has already been one for the record books. From President Biden’s decision to exit the race, to Donald Trump’s assassination attempt, Kamala Harris entering the race, JD Vance’s announcement as Trump’s running mate, followed by unsubstantiated claims of Vance having sex with couches, and finally Tim Walz’s announcement as Harris’ running mate, it’s been absolute DRAMA and it’s only September.
With election season heating up we felt it was only appropriate for us to bring back our quarterly 2024 Presidential Debate Drinking Game to help add a little levity in the midst of all of the divisiveness and political strife.
The PorchCast Ep. 112 | Eric Wallace – Left Hand Brewing
August 27, 2024 | Tristan Chan
In episode 112 of The PorchCast, Tristan was joined by Eric Wallace, founder and president of Colorado’s Left Hand Brewing to talk about their recently launched WeFunder campaign, which aims to give beer fans an opportunity to own a share of the pioneer brewery.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
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2024 Bourbon & Beyond Festival Pairs Elite Musical Lineup with World-Class Distilleries
August 16, 2024 | Tristan Chan
Over the past decade, we’ve had the opportunity to attend some of the country’s best music, culinary, and craft beverage festivals. However, while most festivals specialize in one discipline over another, it’s rare to find an event that checks multiple boxes, and even rarer for one to check all three. But as massive festivals continue to evolve to remain relevant toward festival-goers who have seen and tasted it all, offering an elevated experience for everyone is a surefire way to make some noise.
Former Uhl’s Brewing Owner Revives Denver’s Renegade Brewing
July 19, 2024 | Tristan Chan
Aaron Uhl is no stranger to taking the road less traveled. The former founder of Boulder’s now-shuttered Uhl’s Brewing took an unconventional path toward realizing his dream of owning his own brewery. And while Uhl’s ultimately shuttered its doors almost exactly a year ago, Uhl himself has announced his return to the Colorado brewing scene by teaming up with new business partner, Dan Colbourne, to revive the Renegade Brewing brand, which announced its own closure just three months prior. And while it’ll be a few months before the revamped Renegade re-opens, they’ll be making a splash by pouring some special beers at this weekend’s Wibby’s Hooplagers Festival on Saturday, July 19.
Most Outstanding Beers from the 2024 Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Festival
June 13, 2024 | Tristan Chan
As throngs of attendees patiently huddled shoulder to shoulder in a scene more reminiscent of the starting line to a marathon than the kick-off to beer festival, an palpable buzz … Read More
Pour List Preview | Can’t-Miss Beers at the 2024 Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Festival
May 30, 2024 | Tristan Chan
Among all of the innumerable reasons why the Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Festival sits firmly atop the pantheon of the nation’s best beer festivals, it would be irresponsible to ignore the most obvious element… the beer. Throughout the years, brewmaster, Matt Brynildson and the Firestone Walker team have spared no expense in ensuring the best festival-going experience, not just for attendees, but more importantly for the world’s best brewers.
2024 Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Festival Adds Local Flare to Up Its Fest Experience
May 21, 2024 | Tristan Chan
The Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Festival has perennially proven why it endures as one of the country’s premier craft beer festivals. Elements that have distinguished it above the thousands of other festivals that take place each year range from the festival’s carefully curated list of participating breweries along with brewers/founders who make the trip to interact with attendees, its stellar lineup of food purveyors, dishing out all-you-can-taste high-level culinary bites ranging from charcuterie to lobster rolls, mac and cheese to artisan ice creams, its inherent advantages of showcasing one of the country’s preeminent brewing campuses located in the picturesque setting surrounded by the natural splendor of wine country, special festival-only Firestone Walker beers; with too many more to list.
The Payroll Dept Offers Hands-On HR & Payroll Solutions to Breweries
April 18, 2024 | Tristan Chan
In a world where artificial intelligence is now being used to create beer recipes and entire brew systems are fueled by automation, the craft beer industry is beginning to look less like the scrappy bootstrapped, mom-and-pop entrepreneurial operation that inspired approximately 10,000 neighborhood breweries across the country and more like the big box corporate breweries that have monopolized the market for so many decades.
While automation has helped to create efficiencies that become critical for fueling explosive growth, some aspects of operating a brewery just work better with a human touch.
The PorchCast Ep. 110 | Lady Justice Brewing
April 10, 2024 | Tristan Chan
In episode 110 of The PorchCast, the whole gang got back together to chat with Betsy Lay and Alison Wisneski, co-owners of Lady Justice Brewing.
The Lady Justice crew recently … Read More
Inside Jade Mountain’s Decision to Rebrand As Incantation Brewing
February 12, 2024 | Tristan Chan 5
It’s been a brutal past four years for the craft beer scene, so when a brewery’s social channels abruptly undergo a massive rebrand with all past content getting wiped, it’s certainly cause for concern.
However, instead of a brewery acquisition or merger, Friday, Aurora-based Jade Mountain Brewery and Teahouse revealed an unexpected wholesale re-brand, transitioning from its Asian-inspired roots to punk/heavy metal-inspired, Incantation Brewing. The unexpected move also signals a dramatic shift in the brewery’s taproom aesthetic and beer program moving forward.
2024 Firestone Walker Invitational Announces Brewery List & On-Sale Date
February 9, 2024 | Tristan Chan
How does the country’s best annual beer festival possibly get any better? Part of the answer lies in the brewery’s plans to expand its footprint by incorporating a month of programming and by adding a fresh wave of exciting breweries.
The Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Festival is officially BACK! Taking place on June 1, 2024, with ticket sales going on sale this upcoming Tuesday, February 13 at 10 a.m. PST, the iconic festival, which artfully pairs over 60 of the world’s most prolific breweries with over 20 of Southern California’s most impressive culinary purveyors, is primed for an even bigger year.
Where to Find 2024 Pliny the Younger Tappings in Colorado
February 8, 2024 | Tristan Chan
The iconic Triple IPA that has inspired so much fandom and fervor as well as its share of imitators has returned yet again. Each February, Russian River Brewing‘s limited release of Pliny the Younger becomes a major event at both of the brewery’s Santa Rosa and Windsor locations and in the limited out-of-state markets that are lucky enough to receive shipments.
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Downloadable 2024 Bingo Boards for Super Bowl LVIII
February 8, 2024 | Tristan Chan 1
It doesn’t matter if you’re only tuning in to catch glimpses of a potential Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce proposal after the Chiefs win yet another Super Bowl, or perhaps you’re looking to re-live your high school prom by making some Love in this Club with Usher. Or maybe you’re just in it for the commercials. Either way, we’re here to help spice up your Super Bowl viewing experience once again with this year’s 2024 Super Bowl Bingo Boards for Super Bowl LVIII.
Where to Celebrate 2024 Stout Month in Colorado
February 1, 2024 | Tristan Chan
You did it! You made it through Dry January! And while a reset was likely needed for all of us, the arrival of February will also welcome the return of Stout Month throughout the state of Colorado.
Butchertown Brewing Announces All-Star 2024 Collaboration Lineup
January 26, 2024 | Tristan Chan
If it’s true that you can judge a person by the company they keep, then it’s likely you can also judge a brewery by the company with whom they collaborate.
Like many emerging innovative craft breweries, Louisville, KY’s Butchertown Brewing, has adopted the philosophy of utilizing collaborations as a means to not only further hone their craft, but to also build greater relationships with other like-minded breweries that share similar philosophies and stylistic focus.
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