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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What We’re Drinking | July 5, 2019

I’m not hungover, you’re hungover. America had a mean beer selection at her birthday bash yesterday, and if you partook in the celebration, you might be feeling a little fuzzy today like me. Between fire trucks blaring their sirens–racing to put out a dozen fires from the idiots in the world who still haven’t caught on to the fact that fireworks are flammable–and dogs barking at the constant explosions, I didn’t get a whole lotta sleep.

Nevertheless, it’s Friday, and it’s a beautiful day for a beer, right? If you have to work today, I feel your pain. If you’re off, all the more reason to start day drinking. And we’ve got a helluva list of beers to get you started in this week’s What We’re Drinking. 

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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

Belgian-Style Baseball | Dubbels & Tripels

This time of year nothing’s more American than watching a baseball game with a beer in hand. Everyone knows the power of singles, doubles and triples in baseball’s major leagues, but few are familiar with Belgium’s similarly-named heavy-hitters. Belgian-style of Dubbels and Tripels often cause confusion since they aren’t as intuitively familiar as counting the bases in the ballpark.

Starting with the basics, the majority of craft beers fit the category of a single, or table beer as the Belgians would say. These beers typically fall into the 4 – 6 percent ABV range and encompass a wide range of styles and flavors.

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2 Day 2 Nights | Charlottesville, Virginia

About an hour’s drive west of Richmond, Virginia, the small city of Charlottesville offers an ideal weekend getaway for beer lovers. Being a college town, summer is a great time to visit with many of the college kids home for break. Here are some ideas on how to spend a weekend here. Read More

Great Lakes Brewing Company | Buckin’ Mule Moscow Mule Ale

Great Lakes Brewing Company has been busy this year, releasing two new beers during the first few months of the year. So far, we have Great Lakes IPA now out for year-round distribution and Midnight Moses as a part of their Holy Moses variety pack. Late last month, a third offering arrived ready to meet our taste buds during this summer season. Great Lakes Brewing Company’s Buckin’ Mule Moscow Mule Ale is a unique and refreshing alternative to the mainstays one normally comes across in the beer cooler.

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PorchDrinking’s Weekly Denver Beer Beat | July 3, 2019

The Denver Beer Beat is a weekly roundup of brewery openings, special tappings, firkins and one-off batches, bottle releases, dinners, pairings, and more happening in the Front Range and beyond. Be sure to check in each Wednesday to discover anything and everything happening around Colorado’s beer scene. Now let’s get to this week’s can’t miss beer events. Read More

Ultimate 6er | 4th of July Parade Pairings

Every 4th of July, citizens across the U.S. gather together to watch their local parade. Red, white and blue floats, outfits and decorations dominate the show, music fills the air, and kids wait in anticipation for candy. Some parades have tractors, some have two-story floats, and others have dancers and singers. While not everyone gets exactly the same show, there are a few parade commonalities across the country that spectators are guaranteed to see. For this special 4th of July edition of our Ultimate 6er, we bring you six of those common elements and the beers that go alongside them.

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This Ain’t the Beer that You’re Used To—An Interview with Dom Cook

“I didn’t write it for people who are into beer. I wrote it for a specific demographic of people who didn’t know anything about beer.”

That’s Dom “Doochie” Cook, founder of Beer Kulture, talking about his new book, This Ain’t the Beer that You’re Used To: A Beginner’s Guide to Good Beer. The book is intended to be an introduction not just for newcomers to craft beer, but for racial and ethnic demographics that for the most part haven’t had good beer marketed to them. The book is finding an audience with established beer fans as well though, providing a new perspective on an industry that has too long been dominated by white voices.  Read More

Minnesota Legislature Stems Future Growler Sales for Breweries

The ability to sell growlers in the future looks bleak for some Minnesota breweries as a critical piece of legislation failed to move forward in the Minnesota Senate this year.

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48 Beer Project | Meet Label Artist Heidi Geist

We all know the cliché, “don’t judge a book by its cover.” In theory, that advice can be applied to beer as well but yet, we all ignore that saying. In reality, the cover (or in the beer industry, the label) is what sells the first can or bottle, while the contents sell the following case and create loyalty. It would be foolish to think the package doesn’t matter. The design wrapped around the liquid tells the story of the product and the company.

Stories are the foundation of human experience and connection and Portland, ME based artist Heidi Geist has quite the story. She is in the midst of a cross-country endeavor to explore and experience the American craft beer culture through label art. I had a great conversation with her about the 48 Beer Project, how it got started, what she is experiencing and the works she creates.
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Pinelands Brewing Co. | Paradise in the Pines

The Pinelands National Reserve, or Pine Barrens, crosses seven counties and encompasses a total of 22% of New Jersey’s land area with 1.1 million acres of National Reserve. More than 400,000 people live within 60 miles of the pines, as well. In fact, the area is so much more environmental and culturally diverse than the northern part of the state that people jokingly say it’s a different state entirely. The lush forested area creates a different way of life and Pinelands Brewing Company is located here in Tuckerton, New Jersey. Tucked within a vast line up of beers at PInelands Brewing is the always awaited, and incredibly popular, release of Paradise in the Pines.

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Brewery Showcase | New Glarus Brewing

“You’re going to Wisconsin? Can you pick me up some Spotted Cow?”

If you like beer and you live in the Chicagoland area when someone knows you’re going … Read More

Rockyard Brewing Company | Buoyant American Blonde

A customer walks into a liquor store, searching for a crushable, refreshing beer to beat the summer heat. The customer has an idea. Maybe a Pilsner, or what about this … Read More

What We’re Drinking | June 28, 2019

Summer is in full swing and for me so far, the highlight has been the Women’s World Cup games. I’ve been on the edge of my seat watching some of the most talented women in the world compete in the quadrennial matches, always with a craft beer in hand. The U.S. Women’s National Team plays today in a do-or-die match against France, here are some recommendations from your PorchDrinking team what to imbibe while cheering on the #1 team in the world in this week’s What We’re Drinking.

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Event Preview | Ultra Fresh IV Brings the New New Beers

This Saturday, June 29, marks the fourth annual Ultra Fresh Fest, brought to you by our friends at The Hop Review. This Chicago craft beer festival is truly unique, featuring pours from (mostly) local breweries that have been packaged within one week of the event. You know what that means? Some ultra fresh beer!

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Five Questions with Rhinegeist | Celebrating Six Years of Brewing

Rhinegeist in Cincinnati is about the celebrate six years of brewing, and what a journey it has been. Three years ago, we featured the brewery’s Streaker Rye IPA and I wrote, “Streaker Rye IPA from Cincinnati’s up-and-coming Rhinegeist provides insight into why this Queen City brewery is enjoying such rapid success.” Well, three years later, it is no longer accurate to describe Rhinegeist as “up and coming.” They’ve arrived.

The brewery operating in the historic Over-the-Rhine Brewery District in Cincinnati (from whence the brewery name is derived), has grown into one of the nation’s largest breweries. We had a chance to pose Five Questions to Bryant Goulding, Co-Founder and VP of Sales & Marketing for Rhinegeist, and ask about where the brewery is, where it’s been and where it’s going. 

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Wild Creatures | Tears of Saint Laurent

What happens when a vintner’s daughter, who has worked in her family vineyards and wine cellar from early childhood, falls in love with spontaneously fermented beers in Belgium? Enter Jitka Ilčíková and her “vintner brewed beer” at Wild Creatures in Mikulov, Czech Republic.

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First Look | Alamo Drafthouse Westminster Opens This Weekend

Hold on to your butts, the Colorado movie-going experience is about to be elevated in a big way. Alamo Drafthouse, pioneers in the cinema industry, pairing classic contemporary and cult-following … Read More

Craft Brewers See Opportunity in Adding Hard Seltzer to Their Growing Portfolio

What does it mean to be a craft brewer in 2019? For many, sticking with the status quo is no longer business as usual. Brewers today understand their consumers on a deep level and have more data than ever on their preferences. One of the newer preferences that continues to make waves outside of the typical craft beer market is hard or “spiked” seltzer. 

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