Winter Warmer by The Brew Kettle (TBK)

The Brew Kettle – Strongsville, Ohio
Winter Warmer – Spiced Christmas Ale
8% ABV – 24 IBUs

For us Ohioans, it is pretty obvious that this whole “Winter Wonderland” is going nowhere fast. It is February, but our good friend Phil the groundhog decided to bless us with 6 more weeks of cold and snow. Luckily, my good friend Mr. Wolf decided to take matters into his own hands and end this madness. Read More

Deschutes and Goose Island – Class of 88

Belgian Style Ale

IBU: 7 / 17

ABV: 10.9% / 11.2%

Beer brings people together. That was true 25 years ago, when Gary Fish (Deschutes) and John Hall (Goose Island) were starting their breweries and that was certainly true last week at the Pintley release party for the new Deschutes/Goose collaboration, Class of 88 Belgian Style Ale. I’m new to both Los Angeles and PorchDrinking, so an opportunity to meet some fellow craft beer enthusiasts and to try a brand new beer was too much to pass up. Read More

Rhinegeist Ink – Imperial Russian Stout

Rhinegeist Ink – Imperial Russian Stout ABV – 10%

Ink. A dark black thick liquid substance that many of us associate with printing and feathery pens. Ink is everywhere. In … Read More

Cantillon Fou’ Foune

Cantillon Fou’ Foune

ABV: 5.00 %

I attended the Shelton Brothers Post-Litigation Celebration last Friday at the Louisville Beer Store. If I’m honest, I didn’t go “because of Fou’ Foune,” exactly: I actually didn’t know much about Cantillon’s apricot lambic until the drive down. A friend told me it was a rare drink. LBS were selling bottles and pouring drafts, so why not go try it?

Beer geeks may be chewing their tongues right now.

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Revolution Brewing – A Little Crazy

ABV: 6.8%

I checked two bags on my flight back to LA from Chicago, and thanks to the absurd amount of beer I was transporting, the baggage weight limit was a real issue. Walking up to the counter I knew it was going to be close, but I was prepared to jettison anything and everything to keep my precious stock of Chicago beer. Read More

Columbus Brewing Company Bodhi

8.5% ABV, 93 IBUs

As any beer fanatic in the midwest and beyond knows, January is Bells Hopslam season. Long on hops and ABV but short on supply, it can be tough to find in even the biggest markets. As if battling fellow fanatics for the limited supply wasn’t hard enough, you also apparently have to compete with bottle shops (see: Hopslamgate here, here,  here, here, and here). Read More

Smuttynose Brewing Star Island Single

ABV 4.7%

IBU 17.2

Today we are talking about session ales and mermaids both of which are manifest in Smuttynose Brewing’s Star Island Single. So before we get into the beer, let’s look at that sweet label. Now, I bet your instinct is to think that all mermaids live in tropical waters, but actually there is a large contingent of mermaids that live off the coast of New England. This is scientifically confirmed by the 1984 hit movie Splash starring Tom Hanks and Darryl Hannah. Now we have further evidence, in the form of this label!

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Singlecut Beersmiths – Billy 18-Watt IPA

IBU: 66 ABV: 5.0%

The last time I was in New York City, the only place I had much interest in going was MTV Studios in Times Square. That was … Read More

Boulder Beer Co. | Shake Chocolate Porter

ABV: 5.9% | IBU: 39

There are chocolate porters, and there are CHOCOLATE PORTERS. This deviantly devilish beer falls into the later category. Without a doubt, the most chocolatey … Read More

Deschutes Brewing Mirror Pond Pale Ale

5% ABV, 40 IBUs

Trees, snow-capped mountains, jagged rock faces and their inverted reflection on pristine water. Nature. You vast, beautiful, dwarfing bastard. You produce all of those things which … Read More

Samuel Adams | Cold Snap

ABV: 5.3% | IBU: 10

Last Tuesday, Ohio University shuttered its doors due to extreme wind chills, giving me a gloriously unexpected day off work. (Thank you polar vortex.) While at the store shopping for dinner, Samuel Adams new seasonal brew, Cold Snap, caught my eye. It’s as if the fates had aligned! For those of you who don’t know, a cold snap is a meteorological phenomenon described as a period of intensely cold and dry weather. If that doesn’t describe what we’ve been experiencing here in the Midwest, I don’t know what does. I’ve never met a Sam Adams beer I didn’t like, so of course I had to buy it. Read More

Great Lakes Brewing | Blackout Stout

Great Lakes Brewing Co.

Blackout Stout – A Handcrafted Imperial Stout – 9.0% ABV

Picture this—You walk into a local bar and you see Hopslam on Draft, so you decide … Read More

Bell’s Hopslam: The Greatest Beer You May Not Be Able to Find

Bell’s Hopslam

ABV: 10%

IBU: 90+

Sometimes, the chase is all the fun. Anyone who has watched a sappy rom-com knows how this plays out – the pursuit becomes the fun becomes the commitment, and then the waffling suitor gets cold feet. No sooner than he can regret it, Logan Marshall-Green swoops in and before you know it, Hide & Seek is playing in slow-mo.  But what do you do when the object of your affection is no vexing vixen but a soapy seductress, a hoppy harlot, or a malty matron? We’re not talking about the 4:30 thoughts of a 5 o’clock cold one, this is serious: this is some Captain Ahab shit, and Bell’s Hopslam is my white whale.

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Cigar City Brewing/Terrapin Beer Co. Southern Slice

ABV: 10%

IBU: N/A

Pecan pie has long been a staple in the South, and Terrapin and Cigar City have joined forces to pay homage to the timeless dessert (and sometimes breakfast). Brewed with vanilla beans and pecans, the Southern Slice is a Munich lager that pours an opaque dark brown to black, with a beige colored, lacey head that dissipates quickly. The nose is primarily pecan, with a grainy malt background. Read More

Reuben’s Brews – Roggenbier

ABV: 5.3% IBU: 19

PorchDrinking.com recently had a round table discussion about what beer best suits our personalities.  I found myself unable to come up with an answer that I thought really encompassed the various traits I have.  Sometimes I can be slow and sweet (stout), occasionally aggressive and powerful (Imperial IPA), sometimes delicate and light (Pilsner).  Ok I’m reading that last line and maybe I misunderstood the assignment. Read More

Jungle Jim’s – Barrel Aged Beer Bash

People were staying warm last Friday night at the Barrel Aged Beer Bash hosted by Jungle Jim’s International Market. Located in Fairfield, OH, Jungle Jim’s has built the largest international market from the ground up. Starting as small fruit stand, Jim Boniminio pursued a dream that led him to building a 300,000 sq. ft. plus international food paradise. As a major tourist destination there is never a shortage of exotic fruits and vegetables or rare beers and fine wines to keep you busy as you spend a day traveling throughout the store. By hosting a barrel aged beer festival, the Jungle was able to bring in all the good stuff.

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Gøse – Fanø Bryghus and Brown Paper Bag Project

ABV 5.5%

A few years ago, in the French region of Brittany, I had a beer that took me by surprise: the label said it was brewed with sea salt. I hadn’t yet heard of gøse and the beer had a salinity and fullness that was new to me. I forgot the name and spent several years trying to track down salty beer. On a brewery tour in Seattle I piped up and asked the head brewer if he’d ever heard of such a thing—he looked at me like I was crazy. Of course I wasn’t; I’d just asked several years before the sour beer frenzy hit the States. Read More

Crux Fermentation Project- Impasse Saison

Crux Fermentation Project in Bend, OR claims that for this beer they were “at an impasse”—use standard fermentation techniques to have a more controlled beer and greater yield, or use the traditional Belgian style of open fermentation to produce a more unique flavor profile. In an ode to the ages-old Belgian saison style, they threw caution to the wind and went with the latter. And as the consumer, we should be glad they did!

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Flat 12 Bierworks – Walkabout APA

ABV: 5.3%
IBU: 40

Pinewood Social isn’t really a place you go to drink beer. In fact, ordering beer there always feels like a little bit of a cop-out, like I don’t understand what the restaurant does, or at least what the restaurant does best: cocktails. But, guys, sometimes I just want a beer. And I want an APA or an IPA or some combination of a PA with an IPAEDLFSOIWEUR. You know, sometimes you just want a beer?

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TRVE Brewing – Eastern Candle

TRVE Brewing – Eastern Candle (Batch #2)
ABV: 6.5%
Currently listening to: Absu – Never Blow Out the Eastern Candle

“So take thy hand and join me for elixir,
And we shall ride the portentous serpent tonight.”

In honor of the 20th anniversary of their second album, “The Sun Of Tiphareth,” TRVE Brewing has released the first of four ales dedicated to the mythological occult metal act, ABSU.

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