Ardent Craft Ales | Brett IPA

Richmond, VA is known to some as a mecca for craft beer in the state for lovers. Ardent Craft Ales was originally started as a cooperative of homebrewers who wanted to get out of their kitchen and brew a little more seriously. To do so, they rented out a garage with a half-barrel system and started brewing every Sunday in said garage located in the Churchill region in the eastern side of the city.

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Beer Showcase | Old Bakery Brewing Oktoberfest

We all could use a dose of fall to remind us that these dog-days of summer will end, and we won’t melt. So, thank goodness for Old Bakery Brewing Company. Sensing our need for cooler thoughts Old Bakery is “speeding” up their release of their popular Oktoberfest Märzen, releasing it on July 28, (a few days earlier than most of the nation’s breweries) in conjunction with St. Louis Craft Beer Week.

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Prairie Pride Brewing Co. | Wagon Trail Coffee Stout

It can be difficult to keep up with all of the new craft breweries opening up in Nebraska but be sure to check out Prairie Pride Brewing Co. located in Grand Island, NE.

Prairie Pride opened in 2016. Their taproom is a cozy spot, located fifteen minutes north of Route 80. The artwork and custom-made flight trays clearly show off their love of Nebraska and they’re sure to make any native smile.

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Urban Artifact | Pickle

I jumped onto the Urban Artifact wagon a bit late. “Better late than never” is a cliche that I find myself faced with quite regularly. Needless to say, I became an instant fan of the brewery’s vast array of spectacular beers that often steer away from the typical IPA and other popular beer styles we’ve come to expect in the craft beer circle. My first dive into their collection was while watching a soccer match at a local restaurant that sells numerous beers, canned and bottled. I saw Urban Artifact’s Keypunch, a key lime Gose, and my mouth instantly started watering. I had two of those sweet, flavorful Goses. Later, I learned of their other varieties. One stopped me in my tracks when my brother-in-law introduced it to me. Urban Artifact Pickle is a dill pickle Gose. It intrigued me enough to return again and again for more salty and sour sips to refresh during the dog days of summer.  

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Maine Beer Company | Another One

The craft beer explosion in unique to everyone depending on location. Once the contracts are signed, state distributors awash the bottle shop shelves with rows of new possibilities. These beers become exciting mysteries; sold as 1 to 2 bottles per customer to get everyone’s attention to the hot new kid on the block. Years will go by, some breweries will go away, but others stay thanks to their long lasting quality. Maine Beer Company fits all these descriptors when it arrived in my state years ago.

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Fort George Brewery | Matryoshka

It’s not every day that you get to taste a truly marvelous beer – a beer that defies expectations across flavor, aroma, body; that leaves you “oohing and ahhing” at every sip. Personally, when this happens to me, I feel the need to share it, to sing its praises. I send texts, take notes and, as demonstrated with this post, divulge all the details here on PorchDrinking. The Matryoshka, from Fort George Brewery, is such a brew – and is perhaps one of the best beers that I’ve been able to get my hands on this year.

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4 Noses Brewing Company | Fruit on the Bottom

With a name like Fruit on the Bottom, it would be easy to mistake this kettle sour from 4 Noses Brewing Co. for a yogurt parfait. Alas, dear readers: I can confirm that it is indeed beer.

While my go-to beverage in a heat wave is usually a salty gose, every once in awhile it’s time to switch things up. I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve had from this Broomfield-based brewery so it seemed like a worthwhile gamble.

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Ravinia Brewing Company | Flight of the Rooster

Have you ever had a beer that changed your mind about that entire style of beer? I’ll admit, I’m a fan of a huge variety of beer styles and I’m usually try something new. That said, Saisons have never done it for me. I’d go as far as to say I despise them but that feels a tad dramatic.

This opinion quickly changed at the recent Square Roots Festival in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of Chicago. Like most summer street festivals, this one had no shortage of food and drink options. To really show off, Square Roots Festival had a “Brew Lounge” for attendees to try more “exotic” options, which happened to be mostly local to the Ravenswood neighborhood (how exotic). It was there that I tried Flight of the Rooster by Ravina Brewing Company.

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Troegs Independent Brewing | Apricot Farmette

Hershey, Pennsylvania, is more than just The Sweetest Place on Earth! Beyond the chocolate bars, the town is also home to the 27^th largest craft brewery in the U.S. based on beer sales volume. This brewery, Troegs Independent Brewing, has been around since the late nineties. Throughout the years, they have created a variety of beers including lip-puckering wild ales like Apricot Farmette. Read More

Charleville Brewing Company | Amelie

I’ve declared that my Summer of Beer 2019 will include a return to some styles that have sort of fallen off my beer list, namely Hefeweizens and Witbier.  Witbiers are Belgian-style ales that are usually unfiltered which gives them a pale and cloudy hue on the pour. They are usually spiced with a fruit such as coriander or orange peel, and are both crisp and wheaty on the tongue.

I find them to be refreshing with an orange slice, but some people don’t care for the extra fruit.

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Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co. | Camp Light

People heavily involved with craft beer have been saying for quite some time that lagers were going to make a comeback and see gains in popularity. If you were one of those people, you were spot on and I applaud you. Lagers have been killing it in 2019 and it shows no signs of slowing down. Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co. isn’t new to the lager game, but they’ve been ramping up their lagering efforts lately. One of their more recent releases was a light lager called Camp Light. Read More

Industrial Arts Brewing Company | 2019 Summer Landscape

With the 2019 release of Summer Landscape, Industrial Arts Brewing Company moves into the second year of its Landscape Series. These seasonal beers are meant to highlight New York State ingredients, and are entirely produced with materials grown within the state. This latest version is another success for the brewery. Read More

Odell Brewing Co. | 180 Shilling

Odell Brewing Co. has always had a great beer lineup. Whether you are a fan of hoppy beers or more unique and/or aged beers, it seems as if Odell makes a beer that you’re bound to enjoy. Since Colorado has an abundance of fantastic breweries, it’s quite an accomplishment that Odell is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. To celebrate, they decided to pay tribute to their flagship beer from 30 years ago, 90 Shilling.

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Fretboard Brewing | Klosterman Honey Wheat Lager

Bread and beer have some very obvious connections. Which means there’s always plenty of breweries using bread as a clever ingredient or naming convention. And that is exactly what is happening in Cincinnati, Ohio, with Fretboard Brewing and Klosterman Baking Co.

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Drekker Brewing | After School PRRRT

I’m not sure about everybody else, but this summer seems to be going by way too quick. Sometimes, however, certain things come up that remind you of school in all the best ways. Drekker Brewing, out of Fargo, North Dakota (yes, that’s a real place) has given me a true sense of nostalgia with this fruited sour ale that I recently tried. Read More

Crystal Lake Brewing & Signature Room | Top View Brew

Crystal Lake Brewing may be located on the outer edges of the Chicago Metropolitan region, but the brewery is as much a “Chicago beer” as any brewery located within the city limits. So much so, the Crystal Lake Beach Blonde Lager has become a staple at the Signature Room, a posh restaurant & lounge located 1,000 feet above Chicago on the 95th & 96th floor of the John Hancock Center.  And now, the brewery has created Top View Brew Golden Wheat Ale exclusively for the Signature Room and Signature Lounge. “Aside from occasionally being on draft at the Crystal Lake Tap Room, it’s only available 95 floors up in the Hancock building. Guests at the restaurant will be able to order this beer year-round while they enjoy the great menu and amazing views of Chicago,” explained Crystal Lake Sales Manager, Jesse Able.

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Barrel + Beam | Terre Magique

Michigan’s magic is in its power to make locals forget winters exist. We suffer for half the year as ice-pops, then thaw for a couple months of good season. Thankfully, summers around here are peak. Life blooms, lakes warm, that ice cream truck jingle haunts our city streets. Best of all: fruit. We have bushels coming out the ears, blueberries and tart cherries especially, but also apples, peaches, pears, plums, grapes—the list goes on. For brewers, it’s not a question of if they can find fruit for beer, but which ones they’ll pick. For Barrel + Beam Terre Magique, blackberry is our lucky winner.

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Triptych Brewing | Wake Up, Neo

Triptych Brewing started from a successful Kickstarter campaign back in 2012 but didn’t push out their first beers until February of 2013. Located in Savoy, IL (a small village just south of Champaign, in the middle of the state), the brewery has released more than 200 beers in the past six years and recently just expanded distribution so you can find them all across central and northern Illinois.

With the brewery’s recent expansion, I am finally able to enjoy its beers. Today, I found a four-pack of Triptych Brewing Wake Up, Neo: a Double IPA “brewed the hazy way.” This variation was brewed with Citra, Ekuanot and Mosaic hops and is sold in four-packs of 16-ounce cans that cost $17. The good news is each pint has a solid 8.4% ABV.

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Local Brewing Company | Duboce IPA

There are moments when we don’t appreciate the constants that exist in our lives. When we don’t stop to wonder in awe of electricity, the access to nonstop show binging, the simple and comforting knowledge that every California brewery is going to have a truly pine-sapping West Coast IPA on their tap list. But a haze has set over California, and not just Karl the Fog. It’s nice to see the West Coast IPA embraced again on taproom boards and specialty can drops.

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Allagash Brewing Company | Tiny House Session Beer

In the heat of the summer, a beer ideally hits on three marks: refreshing, light, and delicious. Sometimes there are exceptions, like when a somewhat seasonal style–for example, a Stout–can’t be left alone for several months out of the year. Guilty. Similarly, nobody will blame you for drinking your wheat or sour beers throughout the entire year, either. Read More