Victory Brewing Company | Vital IPA

ABV: 6.5%

As the second American IPA in Victory Brewing Company‘s year-round lineup, Vital IPA had to fight an uphill battle against the existing family favorite. This brew had to differentiate itself from Victory’s better-known Hop Devil IPA and prove that it could stand on its own. By being crisper, more subtle, and lighter-bodied than its predecessor, Vital IPA attracts an audience that Hop Devil may not: lager lovers.

Read More

Odyssey Beerwerks | Oh Snap!

ABV: 6.4% | IBU: 20

The end of the year brings holidays, reflections about the year behind us, plans for the year ahead and some of the best seasonal brews around. In the northern hemisphere, this coincides with winter, darker days, colder temperatures and snow (usually). Lights go up on houses, relatives come down to visit and there’s little doubt you’ll make it to at least one brewery to while away the hours in avoidance of going to the mall to pick up that one last gift for the second uncle of your mom’s cousin thrice removed. Similar smells of cinnamon, pine trees and allspice waft out of stores and restaurants and even your neighborhood brewery.

Read More

Listermann Brewing Co. | Bourbon Barrel Aged Chickow!

We have a special beer here in Cincinnati, one in which is hard to pass up when you find it and has more delicious variations than Lady Gaga’s wardrobe. Listermann Brewing Co. is the proud father of Chickow!, a Hazelnut Double Brown Ale weighing in at a hefty 10% ABV. It has grown from a local favorite to being nationally recognized at the 2016 Festival of Barrel Aged Beers in Chicago. Listermann brought home two medals this year with their Barrel Aged Chickow! Not only did it win gold in the category of Speciality/Experimental beer, but it won the highest award of being Best in Show! Read More

Reformation Brewery | Stark Toasted Porter

ABV: 5.5%

The Time: October 1517

The Place: All Saints Church; Wittenburg, Germany

The Major Player: Martin Luther, Theology Professor

The Action: Unhappy with the Catholic Church, Martin Luther writes down 95 suggestions and nails a copy to the door of All Saints Church.

The Result: The Protestant Reformation. Boom.

Read More

Real Ale Brewing Co. | Axis IPA

ABV: 7% | IBU: 70

This year Real Ale Brewing Co. celebrated 20 years of brewing and is the Austin area’s oldest brewery. Recently they released Axis IPA, a brand new mainstay that highlights its ability to continually innovate and produce a wide array of styles. I caught up with head brewer, Schmitty, to find out more about the new release.

Read More

Pipeworks Brewing Co. | Blueberry Cichlid

ABV: 9.5%

There are few beers that I actively go out and look for the day that distribution begins. One of those rare exceptions is anytime Pipeworks Brewing Co. releases a new beer from their Fish Series. If you’re not familiar with this series, it consists of big imperial IPAs with the addition of fruit and, typically, honey. They’re sweet, they’re fruity and the most recent release does not deviate.

Read More

Deschutes Brewery | Armory XPA and Sagefight Imperial IPA

Armory XPA ABV: 5.9% | IBU: 55
Sagefight Imperial IPA ABV: 8.0% | IBU: 75

I spent the first few of my formative beer drinking years living in Portland, Oregon, where IPAs are king. Like a child who doesn’t like broccoli, I was naive about hoppy, aromatic beers and stuck to sweeter beers as much as I could. But alas, a beer drinker can repent of their beer drinking sins, and however naive I once was, I have seen the light.

Read More

SweetWater Brewing Company | Dank Tank Pulled Porter

ABV: 7.7%

BBQ is a deeply rooted tradition in the south. SweetWater Brewing Company asks the question we all truly want answered. Does BBQ make everything better? Settle down there is no meat or thick BBQ sauce in Pulled Porter. Rather, Nick Nock and the rest of the brewing staff at SweetWater Brewing Co. decided to smoke some of the malt for this beer. I’ll repeat that because it really is heavenly to read. Nick Nock and the SweetWater Brewing Co.’s brewing staff decided to take some of their base malt down to Fox Brothers BBQ, one of Atlanta’s top BBQ spots, and smoke that malt and then make Pulled Porter. Genius!

Read More

Schlafly Beer Debuts New “From The Ibex Cellar” Specialty Series

This week I got the rare pleasure to visit the Schlafly Beer Taproom and sit down with Ambassador Brewer Stephen Hale.  I’ve known Hale for 15 years and I credit him with introducing me to craft beer.

Read More

12 Beers of Christmas | Cellarmaker Wreather Madness

Cover photo by Simon Offord

ABV: 7.6% | IBU: 35

Dankota Fanning, Barbarian Steissand and Wicked Juicy are a few of the names of beers made by one of the best breweries in the Bay Area: Cellarmaker Brewing Company. Conveniently located in the South of Market (SOMA) neighborhood of San Francisco, anytime you find yourself nearby is a great time to enjoy some of the finest brews around. Their motto is “Beer Without Limits” and they live by the creed that they are a “neighborhood brewery making fresh beer for the Bay Area. Hoppy, dark, Belgian, barrel aged, etc. We enjoy making a wide variety of brews.” Their attention to detail and expertise at their craft really shows through their beer.

Read More

12 Beers of Christmas | Fremont Brewing Coffee Cinnamon B-Bomb

ABV: 14.0% | IBU: 65

Fremont Brewing delivers another liquid giant to liven up another holiday season. Coffee Cinnamon B-Bomb is the awesomely adjunct-ed, cooler and even more popular older cousin of Bourbon Barrel Aged Winter Ale, Fremont’s flagship bourbon barrel aged beer. It can be found lounging around the MoonTower, slicking back it’s long golden waxy locks, and murmuring phrases like: “Alright, alright, alright.”
Read More

12 Beers of Christmas | Great Lakes Brewing Company | Christmas Ale

ABV: 7.5% | IBU: 30

My friends who know me well know that I love food and I love to cook. From trying different restaurants or expanding my tastes with different cuisines to just staying in and making something for dinner, I’ve always had a knack for knowing my way in the kitchen. Cooking has been something I’ve loved to do for a long time, to the point where I considered going to culinary school after undergrad. I owe a lot of what I know and what I love about cooking to one person: my mom.

Read More

12 Beers of Christmas | Live Oak Brewing Co. | Primus

ABV: 8.0% | IBU: 10

You have probably heard the old adage, “if you don’t like the weather in Texas, wait thirty minutes”. Quite true, it’s more than typical for temperatures to rise and fall over thirty degrees in a matter of hours; therefore, Christmas in Texas can mean flip flops or fur lined boots. However, one thing that is consistent year to year is the release of one of my all time favorite seasonal releases Primus by Live Oak Brewing Company.

Read More

12 Beers of Christmas | Port Brewing Santa’s Little Helper

ABV: 10.5%

When the weather outside gets frightful, a nice big imperial stout can be very delightful, but you should be sure that you’ve got no place to go. For me, one of my favorite big imperial stouts during the holiday season is Port Brewing’s Santa’s Little Helper. Like sweet baby Jesus, Santa’s Little Helper is pure and good in every way. The beer doesn’t have any “holiday seasoning” in it, which is a nice break after pumpkin beer season to avoid nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, etc.

Read More

12 Beers of Christmas | Baderbräu Christmas Bliss Baltic Porter

French hens, ladies dancing, swans swimming and, of course, a porter in a beer tree. These are necessary components for a successful 12 days of Christmas. For this writer, the beer found under the tree is Baderbräu Christmas Bliss Baltic Porter with vanilla and orange peel. Because, in Chicago, Jack Frost does more than nip our noses, it darn near renders them red enough to qualify us to guide Santa’s sleigh. Hence, any porter good enough for those traversing the frigid waters of the Baltic Sea is good enough for us living on the ice-covered shores of Lake Michigan.

Read More

12 Days of Christmas | Anchor Brewing | Christmas Ale

ABV 6.5%

Welcome to the time of year when families gather to spend quality time in the same room staring at their phones. With all kidding aside, sometimes it is nice to take a step back to reflect on the good old holiday traditions of the past, with a good old Christmas Ale.

Read More

12 Beers of Christmas | Snipes Mountain Brewery | Terror

ABV: 10%

For me, Christmas time is synonymous with getting my hands on the darkest beers that I can find. And though I can be easily satisfied with a stout with a hint of peppermint, or a porter with a hint of pecan, there is one style in particular that I crave once Christmas tunes start playing and once the tree is decorated: The coveted barrel aged stout. Read More

12 Beers of Christmas | Schloss Eggenberg | Samichlaus Classic 2015

ABV: 14%

To represent Switzerland as one of PorchDrinking’s 12 Beers of Christmas, I’m not sure there is a more perfect fit than Samichlaus Classic from Schloss Eggenberg. I was told of this brew by a friend back in the States. Upon learning I was going to become a pretend Swiss resident, he told me about Samichlaus. Not the fat guy in a red jumpsuit – more on that later – but the beer. He said something about it being released once a year and having several years’ worth sitting in his cellar awaiting a vertical tasting. Seeing it on the shelf at the local beer store, I wasted no time buying it. But then wasted lots of time staring at it wondering when I should drink this fabled brew. Along came the 12 Days of Christmas article and my problem – when to drink a beer – was solved.

Read More

Prairie Artisan Ales | Birthday BOMB!

ABV: 13%

In a few short weeks, Christmas will be here followed by New Year’s. Before I celebrate those two holidays, I have one more special occasion to celebrate–my birthday! … Read More

Denver Beer Co. | Drama Queen Saison Aged in Wine Barrels

ABV: 8.3%

I don’t mean to be dramatic, but I think they’ve named this beer wrong. With a name like, “Drama Queen”, you’d expect this 8.3% barrel-aged saison to be too boozy, quick to fly off the handle with overly pronounced flavors. No, she is far too balanced to be called a drama queen.

Read More