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Beer Showcases

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

Sun King Brewery | Fistful of Hops

May 8, 2014 |

6.5 ABV, 77 IBU

Welcome to Indiana, home to my back porch. I’m excited to bring all the fermented wonders that this great state has to offer to you PorchDrinkers. Around here Sun … Read More

Stone Brewing Company | Spröcketbier Debut

May 7, 2014 |

Two regular guys set out to brew a simple beer that ended up taking over the world. Well, that is, if you call two Stone Brewing Company veterans with a … Read More

Rhinegeist Brewery | Citra Tooth Tiger

May 7, 2014 | 1

Rhinegeist Brewery – Citra Tooth Tiger Imperial IPA

9% ABV

95 IBU

Today’s breweres have taken beer, above and beyond being just beer. In some cases this has evolved to near obsession, especially when it involves tracking down a rare brew. Sometimes keeping tabs on these fleeting offerings can be difficult, but the challenge just adds to the overall experience – that is if you can manage to actually land a bottle or two. Another trend that has helped provide a positive impact on the craft beer scene is taking an already great beer and enhancing it with the addition of one or two more ingredients. Yeti Imperial Stout, by Great Divide Brewing Co., is a great example of this – oatmeal, chocolate, espresso, oak aged, barrel aged.

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El Segundo Brewing Company |Two 5 Left

May 6, 2014 |

ABV: 8.2%

Ah, Los Angeles.  Main Street, mom and pop shops, and shuffle board courts. Or wait, LA has oil refineries and aviation? Yes and no. Enter El Segundo, quite possibly the strangest, most awesome small town in America and the home of a darn fine brewery. Read More

Negra Modelo | La Crema de la Cerveza

May 5, 2014 | 1

Tis the season to drink my favorite beer from Mexico, Negra Modelo. I know there aren’t many write ups on here featuring Mexican brews, so I’m happy to add this … Read More

Hill Farmstead | Daybreak Imperial Stout

May 1, 2014 |

Hill Farmstead Brewery

10% ABV

Driving up the snow covered dirt road to Hill Farmstead Brewery brought flashbacks of days growing up in the green hills of Vermont. Once the … Read More

4 Hands Brewing | Contact High

April 30, 2014 |

4 Hands Brewing
ABV: 5%
IBU: 28
Style: Wheat Ale

The name of this beer, Contact High, had me looking. The trippy label design had me reaching. And the 80 degree weather had me buying this brew with promises of a bright, warm weather feel. On top of that, it seems to be for sale everywhere PLUS my brother was in town for a visit. Noticing a six pack on display, he excitedly pulled me over while nodding his head up and down and smiling like The Joker. Who am I to refuse? Read More

Terrapin Beer Company | Wake ‘n’ Bake Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout

April 29, 2014 |

ABV: 8.1%

There truly is something special about drinking a beer that’s not available in your home town. Granted, Colorado has a wide array of world class breweries and … Read More

Solemn Oath Brewery | Kidnapped by Vikings

April 28, 2014 | 1

6% ABV | 75 IBU

Just yesterday, I was having a conversation about beers with the best names. Beers that taste amazing AND have a twist making them fun to … Read More

Brewery Ommegang | Gnomegang

April 25, 2014 |

ABV: 9.5%

IBU: 26

Everyone’s journey into craft beer begins differently. Perhaps you favored light beers and then one day stumbled upon a particularly refreshing Kölsch that made you look towards beers not readily available in the supermarket coolers. Or maybe it was a break you took from Blue Moon to try that German hefeweizen. For me, the turning point came with my first taste of La Chouffe. There was just something about that gnome that changed me. So when I learned that Brewery Ommegang teamed up with my favorite little gnome to brew the adorably named Gnomegang Belgian Blonde Ale, I knew great things were ahead.

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Deschutes Brewery | Fresh Squeezed IPA

April 24, 2014 |

Deschutes Brewery

6.4% ABV | 60 IBU

What a mouthwatering beer, this one! The next best summer beer. I was strolling past one of my favorite quaint Wicker Park patio bars only to be pleasantly lured in by their $4 Beer of the Month, Deschutes Fresh Squeezed IPA. Read More

De Struise Brouwers | Pannepot

April 23, 2014 |

De Struise Brouwers

ABV:  10%

IBU:  27

Style:  Belgian Quadrupel

Belgium-based De Struise Brouwers produced this beautiful baby gem known as the “Pannepot.” Since 2003, this beer has been their signature brew among other delightful beers such as the Struisse Rosse and Red Haired Jeanne. I was told by a friend that it was “the best beer the world has to offer,” and after that, I could not refuse. (I mean, how could I?)

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Brooklyn Brewery | Summer Ale

April 22, 2014 |

Brooklyn Brewery

ABV: 5.0%

So let’s dive right into summer and talk about Brooklyn Brewery’s annual Summer Ale because omg this winter. This winter has been like that kid in Problem Child or North Korea – it just won’t effing quit! While I know that we may technically still be in spring, summer brew taps are already being installed at all our favorite bars, and pictures of Oberon are littering Instagram feeds everywhere, so maybe, just maybe, if we collectively signal to the gods of the seasons that we are ready for change by toasting them with lovely summer beer, they may finally let us break free from these wintery shackles. Yes? Yes. Cheers to summer, sunny picnics, patio brunches, and the delightful countenance of a Brooklyn Summer Ale. Read More

Great Lakes Brewing | Chillwave Double IPA

April 21, 2014 |

Great Lakes Brewing Co.

Chillwave Double IPA – 9.4% ABV

I honestly had no idea there were people who willingly went onto the chilly lake in the dead of winter off the shores of Cleveland to surf. My ignorance lasted until I watched the Cleveland episode of Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations. Bourdain was brought to the rocky shores, snow blanketing the sand, and he got to watch the surfers out on the ice-cold lake attempting to catch a few waves, before needing a couple beers themselves.  Read More

Founders | Kentucky Breakfast Stout

April 18, 2014 |

I haven’t had this beer before.

I figured I would try Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout eventually, but I didn’t know when. I’ve heard stories of lines, of drives, of cases purloined from delivery vehicles. No beer should have a story this big. It’s almost unfair for a product’s reputation to balloon like the KBS brand has. Wouldn’t it be too much, almost inherently?

On April 1st, my home-brewing friend sent me a text: “You may want to swing by Liquor Barn on lunch. It’s Founders KBS day.” I looked at my phone, and I dismissed the idea out of hand.

But then I looked again.

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Deck & Donohue: Monk brown ale

April 17, 2014 |

ABV 5.3%

Mike Donohue and Thomas Deck are friends who managed to go from drinking the beer they love to making it. Open just over a month, their brewery, Deck & Donohue, is already making waves in Paris. Located in the Parisian suburb Montreuil, the brewery is one of the few close enough to Paris to bike to. I made it out there during a Saturday open house to taste their Monk brown ale and see what else was on tap. Read More

Left Hand Brewing – Black Jack Porter

April 16, 2014 |

English Style Porter
ABV: 6.4%

I’ve realized over the past year that porters, stouts and dark beer in general is where my taste buds find their happy place. And Left Hand Brewing seems to have my number as every brew I find from them becomes the liquid heaven we all search for in a beer. Plus, they seem to have more than enough choices in the deep, dark colored arena. So when I noticed this previously untasted option on the shelf, it was an easy choice. Read More

Sol | Summertime Cerveza

April 15, 2014 | 3

4.5% ABV

Mexican Golden Lager

Craft beer has been my pride and joy over the past year and the beers just keep on coming. The only problem with this is that I find myself only buying craft beers – meaning I hit the title of “beer snob”. This is not an entirely bad thing, but I feel like I am not being fair to all the other beer out there – which is just not cool. Now, I do realize that Sol from Cervecería Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma, S.A. de C.V. is not a typical beer that we would write up on PorchDrinking, but it is one that I personally enjoy, and absolutely love on a hot summer day. Sol, which means sun in Spanish, is a Corona-like beer, but is one that not as many people have learned to love and enjoy. For a brief history click here.

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Blackrocks Brewery | Grand Rabbits

April 14, 2014 |

ABV 5.9%

Blackrocks Brewery, in Marquette, Michigan, named themselves after the cliffs just north of town that people hurl themselves off into icy Lake Superior. They opened a few years ago in a two-story house with their brewing setup in the kitchen and live music just about every night.

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Rivertown Brewing | Old Sour Cherry Porter

April 11, 2014 |

ABV – 9.0%

IBU – 31

I bought a bag of Sour Patch Kids on my drive home from Thanksgiving with my family. Last time I checked, there is about 2/3 of a bag of Sour Patch Kids in the console of my truck. They’ve long since dried out. I’m not a geologist, but if I had to guess, I’d guess they would rate somewhere feldspar and quartz on the mohs hardness scale. While I may not be a geologist, I still remember some of my 4th grade science fair kung-fu, and through application of a bit of inductive reasoning, I’ve concluded that Sour Patch Kids do not age well. Read More