The OGs of Craft Beer | Allagash Brewing Company – White

When you use the hardworking sensibility of a Mainer to brew an American interpretation of a classic Belgian-style Wit, the results should be delicious. If you brew that same beer once a week for over 20 years while constantly striving for perfection, then the resulting beer will be singularly iconic. Today’s featured brew may have served as a gateway craft beer to many, but we should avoid pigeonholing it as such. Whether it’s your first craft beer or your 1000th, Allagash White is a Craft Beer OG that continues to hold up.
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The OGs of Craft Beer | Brooklyn Brewery Brooklyn Lager

Much like myself, Brooklyn Brewery’s Brooklyn Lager is an 80s baby, so naturally, we have a lot in common. And ironically—or maybe not so—this beautiful, golden brew entered my life two decades later, upon my first year as an adult living in NYC. With its green and black Milton Glaser logo and strong presence throughout the five boroughs, it seemed obvious this was a craft I needed on draft. Today, Brooklyn Lager reminds me of those long-hour work weeks that ended with a sweet, malty reward. Its ubiquitousness is one constant in this ever-changing city that never disappoints.

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The OGs of Craft Beer | Bell’s Brewery Oberon Ale

Once upon a time, I was a young person who only drank Bud Light. You couldn’t get me in the same room with a craft beer. My (now) husband could not stand it, but he mostly just gave me a little hell while he drank his microbrews. However, his frustration got the better of him one day and he proclaimed, “That’s it! We need to find you something that isn’t Bud Light. Anything.”

I hesitantly agreed and he went to his fridge, coming back with a beer he had already picked specifically for me. I drank it. I didn’t just like it, I loved it. Little did I know that this beer would lead me to a career and to a passion that I would hold for the rest of my life. That beer was Oberon Ale from Bell’s Brewery.

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The OGs of Craft Beer | Alaskan Brewing Company – Amber

Alaska has a beautiful way of humbling and grounding you.

There is a specific feeling when one steps foot in the last frontier. It is a culmination of the many stunning hallmarks found in Alaska that aren’t attainable in many other places. Read More

The OGs of Craft Beer | Bear Republic Racer 5

If you met me about a decade ago, you’d never think “this girl is into craft beer.” I could be found with anything from Coors Light to Hypnotic in my hand; yes, I was obviously very cool. It wasn’t until I was introduced to Sierra Nevada’s Pale Ale that I started to right my drinking ship and start learning about what craft beer really is.

My boyfriend’s parent’s always had a stocked beer fridge, hashtag goals, and would always have Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and Bear Republic Racer 5, among other tasty beers. Trying new beers in a judgment-free atmosphere was great – no beer snobs to scoff at me for my current faves and describing beer in terms I understood.

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The OGs of Craft Beer | Victory Brewing Company – Prima Pils

Germans don’t throw the word “prima” around lightly. It’s used to describe only the things that they believe to be truly outstanding. Often, this word is exclaimed in joy as someone enjoys a truly world class meal, beverage or experience. Believe me when I tell you that Victory Brewing Company‘s Prima Pils is worthy of the name and, at 22 years old, it is the definition of a craft beer OG.
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The OGs of Craft Beer | Magic Hat Brewing Company – #9

In writing this, I fired up the PorchDrinking DeLorean and visited our original showcase of #9 from 2012. Even though it’s way before my time with Tristan and the gang, reading the article was a nostalgia trip that perfectly reflects the reason #9 deserves its place in this series. Coit Stevenson is so excited just to get #9 in Colorado he barely remembers to review it. #9 was for many drinkers their first dabble into fruit beers and pale ales. With the market today practically drowning in Blood Orange as multi-fruit sours are available in any mid-level liquor store, it’s nice to remember a time when a little bit of magic, and some apricot, brought so much wonder onto your palate.
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Dancing Gnome | Lustra Day 2018

Dancing Gnome has been making serious brews and waves in the craft beer scene. They have truly expanded their horizons from hazy IPAs and pale ales to stouts, sours and lagers. In less than two years, Dancing Gnome has: expanded their canning line, added more tanks, hired more staff to help assist in the brewery, collaborated with other breweries and individuals to brew some delicious beer and has become one of the most popular craft beer breweries on the western side of Pennsylvania.

When Dancing Gnome (DG) released their weekly newsletter on July 31 and mentioned Lustra Day, those two words spread quickly through the Pittsburgh craft beer scene. Knowing that Lustra Day would be a huge event for the brewery, I made plans to be in attendance. From that point on, my beer buddies and I planned our arrival times and the beers we would bring for the line share on the big day.

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The OGs of Craft Beer | Sierra Nevada Pale Ale

Friends, I was lucky: I never went through a crappy beer phase.

When I reached the legal drinking age in the early 2000s, I drank a lot of really bad wine instead, believing myself to be refined. When I finally loosened up and decided to give beer a fair chance, a friend who worked at a liquor store pushed me straight past the macro shelves toward the craft beer section. I found the variety confusing (if I thought that during the first George W. Bush term, I can only imagine what it’s like for a newcomer today) so I asked him what he drank.

“Most nights? Sierra Nevada Pale Ale,” he said. “That’s my go-to.”

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The OGs of Craft Beer | Surly Brewing – Surly Furious IPA

Similar to the rest of the country, my home state of Minnesota has seen an explosion within the craft beer scene. According to one article, thirty breweries opened up in Minnesota in 2017 alone – which was nearly double the openings that the state saw in 2016. Needless to say, the scene is not showing any signs of slowing down. So what initiated this domino effect? One might argue that Surly Brewing – Minneapolis’ 12-year-old craft beer darling – is partially to thank for the recent surge. And if we’re going to give thanks Surly, we have to look back to the beer that first helped put Surly on the map: Surly Furious, the IPA that makes you question what an IPA should be.

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The OGs of Craft Beer | Widmer Brothers Brewing – Hefeweizen

It was the summer of 2009. Black Eyed Peas’ Boom Boom Pow was blasting on pop radio, the Lakers had just beaten Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic in the NBA Finals and for the first time in my college life, I wasn’t going home to Montana for the summer. It was also the summer that I had Widmer Brothers Brewing’s Hefeweizen for the first time and that summer I fell in love with craft beer.

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The OGs of Craft Beer | Saint Arnold Brewing Company – Amber Ale

In a world of hoppy beers, where even a beloved kolsch-style must now be dry hopped, it is nice to go back to one of the standard styles that helped set the stage for the craft beer movement – the Amber Ale. Today this style doesn’t receive all the notoriety of a West Coast IPA or the new hazy IPA styles; however, it was one of the original popular craft beer styles appearing in the 1990s that continues to be a staple among fans.

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The OGs of Craft Beer | Anchor Brewing – Anchor Steam

Anchor Steam®. Those two words serve as a metaphorical window into a world filled with a veritable wealth of American beer history.

To view Anchor Brewing is to observe three distinct stages of American brewing: 19th Century to Prohibition; the resurrection of American craft and the establishment of craft as a business worthy of significant investment. To drink the beer is to enjoy a historical brewing process that afforded West Coast brewers an ability to brew successfully without ice; it also helped remind later-twentieth-century beer drinkers that beer need-not be clearish-yellow and full of adjuncts.

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The OGs of Craft Beer | New Belgium Brewing – Fat Tire

Imagine, if you will, a bicycle trip through Belgium. That bike ride served as the catalyst for a butterfly effect that helped to change the face of beer in America and encouraged a new generation of brewers and beer drinkers to prize flavorful, full-bodied and well-balanced liquid.  This surge, partially powered by New Belgium Brewing, has swept us into a new world of craft beer. Had this journey not taken place, there would be no Fat Tire. Without Fat Tire, there would not be New Belgium Brewing Company, and, without them, we may not have access to such a bountiful cornucopia of craft beer. Read More

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

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

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

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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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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Paying Homage to the Pioneers, PorchDrinking.com Explores the OGs of Craft Beer

We at PorchDrinking.com thoroughly enjoy covering craft beer trends and showcasing the newest beers. But, before terms like Brut, Milkshake, New England and even BBA entered the brewing-industry lexicon, beer fans were thrilled to taste Ambers, Pale Ales and some mysterious beer that may or may not have arrived from India. So, for one month, we are going to take time to remember some of those OGs of Craft Beer — the brews that made it all possible.

An OG beer showcase will publish each day for the next several weeks. It would be a daunting task to cover them all (we are discussing less than one-half of the beers on our list), but our writers selected beers near and dear to their heart, ones that were often gateway beers that lead to our love of craft. We hope you enjoy our homage to the abridged list of classics.

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