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Beer Showcases

PD’s own dissect beer. Leave the pretentiousness on the curb.

The Ultimate 6er | Finding Beer in Utah on a Sunday

February 18, 2015 |

The taboos associated with Utah seem to be broad and polarizing. Locals are protective of their state. From the outside looking in you can only imagine men with five wives who belong to a cult that won’t allow you to drink alcohol. Visitors to the state seem to revel in its beauty, gloating over world-class ski resorts to the vast red rock desert in the southern regions and are often puzzled over the strange Utah liquor laws.
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Sixpoint for Bill’s Burger | Bill’s Brew ESB

February 18, 2015 |

When it comes to ingestion, there are no two substances I love more together than craft beer and red meat. This is the sole reason I am known by the servers at Bill’s Burger in the Meatpacking District on a first name basis. Whenever I am within walking distance of the joint, my feet involuntarily turn and pace straight towards the front door, stopping only by the contentment of being seated at a high top table, adorned with it’s infamous red and white checked table cloth atop.

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Odell Brewing Company | Wolf Picker Pale Ale

February 17, 2015 |

With craft breweries opening at a rate of 1.5 per day, coming up with inventive names can be a real challenge for brewers. Thanks to aggressive litigation and creative marketing, we have inventive names like Raucho Man Randy Beverage from Against the Grain, Boom Shakalager from Terrapin, and my personal favorite: Those Candies Your Granny Loves Brown Ale from Cigar City. Then there’s Wolf Picker Pale Ale from Odell Brewing Company. What’s a Wolf Picker? Good question. Trigger warning: German subtitles.

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Lakewood Brewing Co. | Sin Mint Temptress

February 13, 2015 |

ABV: 9.1%

I always look forward to Girl Scout cookie season, seeing the multitude of colored boxes laid out neatly on the table sparks a tiny bit of happiness inside. Whenever I see the girls eagerly awaiting, I just know I am in for some trouble. I have somewhat of a Thin Mint obsession. Luckily for me, Lakewood Brewing Co. has sinfully crafted my favorite treat into a glass with their Sin Mint Temptress. Read More

2015 Cincinnati Beer Week | BlackTart

February 12, 2015 |

Cincinnati Beer Week | BlackTart

Tart Stout

ABV: 8.0%

IBU: 18

 

“An amalgamation of breweries. A dichotomous combination of flavors. Tart and refreshing yet full bodied and malty. … Read More

Elysian Brewing Company | Loser Pale Ale

February 11, 2015 |

ABV: 7.0%
IBU: 57

I know what you’re thinking, but no, I did not choose to write about Elysian’s Loser Pale Ale because it’s from Seattle and the Seahawks lost the Super Bowl and everyone is (still) talking about how Pete Carroll made the play call that lost it all… But now that you mention it, my choice of beer does allow me to draw some interesting comparisons between the Anheuser-Busch acquisition of Elysian Brewing and the Super Bowl.

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Founders Brewing Company | Big Lushious

February 10, 2015 |

ABV: 7.8%

This Friday we will celebrate one of the worst holidays, Valentine’s Day. If you’re in a relationship, it is almost impossible to make any kind of unique romantic plans that 100 other couples won’t be doing. If you’re single, it’s a 2 week build up engineered to make you feel like a loser. The one positive is that no one judges you for buying ridiculously expensive chocolates. This year I decided to try to find the beer equivalent of romantic, fancy chocolate. With the cartoon Rihanna-circa-Umbrella on its label, Founders’ Big Lushious was the clear choice.

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Bohemian Brewery | Czech Pilsner

February 9, 2015 |

ABV: 4.0%

Among the numerous reasons that I enjoy writing for PorchDrinking.com is that it allows me to drink beer at the laundromat. Now, I’d typically shy away from popping the top on some suds in a place such as this, and surely there’s some legality issues at play (or at least some questions of decorum, especially here in Salt Lake City). But I feel that writing for a reputable, national beer blog like PD brings to my drinking some professional perspective, thus justifying this laundromat imbibing; I have a beer showcase due tomorrow, and I’ve been going commando, as they say, for damned near a week now.

For this public showcase I went with a beer from Midvale, Utah’s Bohemian Brewery. I chose their 1842 Czech Pilsner. Why? Because I enjoy this light-bodied golden lager? Yes. But also because the silver can, in the right light, looks like it could be full of off-brand soda, or as we call it in my home state of Michigan, pop. Read More

The Rare Barrel | Forces Unseen

February 6, 2015 |

DSC_0616
Forces Unseen, The Rare Barrel By Cleo Tobbi

Sour beers have quickly become an obsession for beer drinkers around the world. This is nothing new. American breweries have taken to mimicking styles that range from old ales to long-practiced lambics and more. As of late, the US has been bestowed with many breweries whose sole purpose is to bring the world (or those who can access it) that puckering elixir known commonly as sour beer.

Enter, The Rare Barrel and their exclusively barrel-aged sour brewery. Other than having one of the best names in the industry (I mean, come on, “rare” is right in the title), The Rare Barrel also produces some top-quality sour beers. Ranging from barrel-aged Goses to Berliner Weisses, to everything in between, The Rare Barrel rolls the dice with each batch of this lively drink, especially one of their latest brews: Forces Unseen. Read More

Ellis Island Casino & Brewery

February 4, 2015 |

Las Vegas is synonymous with excess. Strolling around the Bellagio or trendy new Cosmopolitan, it is all too common to see a Chinese businessman with stacks of strangely colored chips at the baccarat table, or a hip-hop star and their entourage with an endless stream of overpriced bottles of vodka and champagne in the VIP area of an equally overpriced club. This is one of the attractions of Vegas. This and the scantily clad waitstaff, ready to bring a seemingly never-ending supply of drinks for as long as you’re willing to keep gambling.

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Braven Brewing Co. | White IPA

February 3, 2015 |

beer-white

 

 

ABV: 5.0%

IBU: 47

The logo is incredible, isn’t it? Half raven. Half buck. Braven.

Marshall Thompson, co-founder of Braven Brewing Company, wanted to merge elements of each parent’s family crest in order to dually identify with his roots. That he did, and can prove it by his tattoo. When co-founder Eric Feldman approached him on the topic of starting their own brewery, the two found little debate in bringing forth this cross-breed animal to represent the partnership.

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Mother Earth | Dark Cloud

February 2, 2015 |

ABV: 5.1% | IBU: Low

Out in rural, eastern North Carolina, there lies a town called Kinston. Kinston boasts as the home of at least a couple of highly notable entities: Mother Earth Brewery and the Chef and the Farmer, a fine-dining restaurant with its own show on PBS. Since we’re all about the beer here at PorchDrinking.com, I’ll leave the food commentary for another day, but I thought I should mention it in case any of you find yourself in the area. Read More

Kettle Green Brewing Co | Holy Grale Hemp Ale

January 30, 2015 |

When I moved to Australia earlier this month, people warned me that the Land Down Under lags behind the rest of the world in almost every way, including beer. I was afraid I would reach for a pint after my long voyage and find only vintage old style lagers prevailing. Instead, what I’ve found is actually a budding craft beer culture that hasn’t yet gone hop-crazy and therefore fits my palate perfectly. Read More

Distillery Lane Ciderworks | DLC Cider

January 28, 2015 |

I like to think of cider (hard cider, that is) as beer’s misunderstood and oft neglected cousin. Some see cider as an “easy way out” or perhaps not as refined or complex as the craft beers we have become so accustomed to. But cider has a lot more to give than many think. In D.C., we are lucky to have a ciderworks fairly close to the city. Obviously, a visit was warranted. Read More

Fullsteam Brewery | Fearrington Winter Coffee Pecan Porter

January 27, 2015 |

ABV: 6.0% | IBU: 32

Today we have another installment in Fullsteam Brewery’s plow-to-pint series, the Fearrington Winter coffee pecan porter. In the previous installment, I discussed Fullsteam’s commitment to using locally grown produce in their limited edition brews. Fearrington Winter upholds that commitment. Inspired by southern pecans and nearby Pittsboro’s Fearrington Village coffee beans, Fearrington Winter embodies the dark roastiness and toastiness of a porter without being overly bitter. Read More

Unity Vibration | KPA (Kombucha Pale Ale)

January 26, 2015 |

ABV: 7%

I would like to begin by saying I LOVE THIS BEER. Unity Vibration’s Kombucha Pale Ale is funky, weird, and intensely flavored. It is also organic, gluten-free, and vegan, if you’re into that. I was initially drawn to it as a fan of kombucha tea. Read More

Stone Brewing Co. | Master of Disguise Imperial Golden Stout

January 22, 2015 |

9.7% ABV
National Release/ Limited Season

As is usually the case this time of year, dark weather brings out the dark beer in my libation rotation. Shying away from the conventional brewed coffee, the stout has become my go-to for comfortable drinking. Spending time in Ireland just recently, my liver has come to expect little else than the delicious homemade Guinness that really isn’t the same on this side of the Atlantic. Coming back after a fair share of Black & Tan’s and Baby Guinness Shots (the most delicious shot if Kahlua and Baileys are up your alley), I spent a fair amount of time during the Holidaze getting reacquainted with Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout, Sierra Nevada Stout and the annual Christmas Car Bomb (while abroad, order at your own risk, fyi).

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Mobcraft Beer | Beelzebub’s Run

January 21, 2015 |

ABV: 7.6%

IBU: 23

Have you ever had a great idea for a beer but no means to realize it? Do you lay awake at night longing for that imperial rice lager aged in fish sauce barrels that nobody seems interested in brewing? Well, don’t lose hope; Mobcraft, the world’s first crowdsourced brewery, might just be the answer to your dreams.

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Peekskill Brewery | Simple Sour

January 20, 2015 |

ABV: 4.5%

Have you ever had an out-of-beer experience? It happens like this: you enter through the doors of a craft beer establishment with an unquenchable thirst and powerful desire to satiate it. At the sight of a chalkboard covered in clever titles on tap, your eyes quickly scale the menu for something familiar yet slightly unrecognizable to keep your taste-buds on edge. With confidence, you order the Peekskill Brewery Simple Sour to start — and suddenly — you are no longer in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, but transcended to the stool of a brewpub in Berlin enjoying the most delicious, tangy, sweet-and-sour Berliner Weissbier to ever graze your palate.

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Peticolas Brewing Company | Velvet Hammer

January 19, 2015 |

ABV: 9%

IBU: 85

As if there weren’t enough days to drink during the week. Somehow Thursday’s always seem to take the prize as one of my … Read More