Beer Topics
PorchDrinking’s own discuss beer.
Ultimate 6er | Charitable Michigan Breweries
August 22, 2018 | Jessica Spengler
No one can deny that the influx of local breweries throughout the United States has been a major boon for local economies. Breweries drive beer and food tourism, create jobs, and encourage new business opportunities. In fact, this is often a factor for brewers when choosing where to open their business — they want to make the community better. This is even more clear when breweries make philanthropy a priority, no matter how small. This week for the Ultimate 6er, we’ll be featuring six charitable Michigan breweries who are doing just that — improving their communities in multiple ways.
Read More
PorchDrinking’s Weekly Atlanta Beer Beat | Georgia Beer Fortnight
August 22, 2018 | Josh Ritenour
The Atlanta Beer Beat sheds light on news of brewery openings, special tappings, firkins and one-off batches, bottle releases, dinners, pairings and more!
The OGs of Craft Beer | Magic Hat Brewing Company – #9
August 22, 2018 | Danny King
In writing this, I fired up the PorchDrinking DeLorean and visited our original showcase of #9 from 2012. Even though it’s way before my time with Tristan and the gang, reading the article was a nostalgia trip that perfectly reflects the reason #9 deserves its place in this series. Coit Stevenson is so excited just to get #9 in Colorado he barely remembers to review it. #9 was for many drinkers their first dabble into fruit beers and pale ales. With the market today practically drowning in Blood Orange as multi-fruit sours are available in any mid-level liquor store, it’s nice to remember a time when a little bit of magic, and some apricot, brought so much wonder onto your palate.
Read More
Dancing Gnome | Lustra Day 2018
August 21, 2018 | Gregory Acero
Dancing Gnome has been making serious brews and waves in the craft beer scene. They have truly expanded their horizons from hazy IPAs and pale ales to stouts, sours and lagers. In less than two years, Dancing Gnome has: expanded their canning line, added more tanks, hired more staff to help assist in the brewery, collaborated with other breweries and individuals to brew some delicious beer and has become one of the most popular craft beer breweries on the western side of Pennsylvania.
When Dancing Gnome (DG) released their weekly newsletter on July 31 and mentioned Lustra Day, those two words spread quickly through the Pittsburgh craft beer scene. Knowing that Lustra Day would be a huge event for the brewery, I made plans to be in attendance. From that point on, my beer buddies and I planned our arrival times and the beers we would bring for the line share on the big day.
The OGs of Craft Beer | Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
August 21, 2018 | David Nilsen 1
Friends, I was lucky: I never went through a crappy beer phase.
When I reached the legal drinking age in the early 2000s, I drank a lot of really bad wine instead, believing myself to be refined. When I finally loosened up and decided to give beer a fair chance, a friend who worked at a liquor store pushed me straight past the macro shelves toward the craft beer section. I found the variety confusing (if I thought that during the first George W. Bush term, I can only imagine what it’s like for a newcomer today) so I asked him what he drank.
“Most nights? Sierra Nevada Pale Ale,” he said. “That’s my go-to.”
Chicago Quick Sips | A Roundup of Chicago Events & Beer News – August 20th
August 20, 2018 | Mike Zoller
Quick Sips is our way of highlighting beer events, tap takeovers and other notable beer news around the city of Chicago. If you’d like to submit something to be included in the next Quick Sips, please email us at [email protected].
New Belgium Partners with The Source Hotel on The Woods Rooftop Bar
August 20, 2018 | Zoe Lanterman
The long-awaited project pairing a budding local mixed-use development empire in Zeppelin Places, with one of craft beer’s most storied pioneers, New Belgium Brewing, has finally opened to the public.
The Source Hotel, the fourth major mixed-use space in Denver’s River North Art District from the Zeppelin team following Taxi, The Source and Zeppelin Station, has been a long time coming. In fact, New Belgium Brewing and Kyle Zeppelin’s team had been collaborating on this project since 2014. Normal construction delays and accidents made opening a practice of patience for everyone involved, but the excitement was palpable as Kyle Zepplin (developer), Stephen Dynia (architect) David Stutz (The Source Hotel GM) and Kim Jordan (New Belgium) addressed the crowd at the soft-opening this past Thursday.
Half Acre’s The Big North Celebrates Duality of Mainstream Appeal & Creativity
August 20, 2018 | Taylor Laabs
This past Saturday, beer fans from across Chicago (and the larger U.S.) made the trek to Half Acre’s Balmoral home to partake in the burgeoning beer fest called The Big North. Half Acre has hosted this event for three years running now. Each year is bigger, each year is better, and each year, the beer list grows to eye-popping quantities. The third iteration of Half Acre’s beer celebration did not disappoint as hundreds of sudsed-up beer fans took in a picturesque summer evening across Half Acre’s ever-expanding campus. The event is special for many reasons, but it’s also an important milestone for Half Acre’s self-titled pursuit of “duality,” which means that they’re able to make enough mainstream brews to keep business moving, while also keeping their creative and experimental programs producing at a high clip. The result of Half Acre’s pursuit was witnessed on Saturday, and boy did it taste good.
Alamo Drafthouse Announces Upcoming Westminster, CO Location
August 20, 2018 | Tristan Chan
For the past 21 years, Alamo Drafthouse has served as a pioneer in the cinema industry, pairing classic, contemporary and cult-following movie screenings, with sing-a-longs, themed event spectacles, a killer culinary program and elite level craft beer. Alamo Drafthouse has announced that it will open its third Colorado location in downtown Westminster, just 10 miles north of Denver.
The OGs of Craft Beer | Surly Brewing – Surly Furious IPA
August 20, 2018 | Hannah Carlson
Similar to the rest of the country, my home state of Minnesota has seen an explosion within the craft beer scene. According to one article, thirty breweries opened up in Minnesota in 2017 alone – which was nearly double the openings that the state saw in 2016. Needless to say, the scene is not showing any signs of slowing down. So what initiated this domino effect? One might argue that Surly Brewing – Minneapolis’ 12-year-old craft beer darling – is partially to thank for the recent surge. And if we’re going to give thanks Surly, we have to look back to the beer that first helped put Surly on the map: Surly Furious, the IPA that makes you question what an IPA should be.
Brewery Preview | Burns Family Artisan Ales Set to Open in Denver on Saturday
August 17, 2018 | Tristan Chan
Last Fall, the Denver beer scene saw two pioneers embark on a unique partnership, which left the brewery space at Wit’s End available for purchase. As Wit’s End was closing their doors, two industry veterans happened to be looking to begin a new path of their own. Taking over the space and equipment at Wit’s End gave Wayne Burns and Laura Worley just the opportunity they were looking for.
Wayne, brewing resume dates back to the early 90’s having spent time with Michigan staples such as Bell’s Beer and Kuhnhenn’s. And since moving to Denver, he’s spent time brewing with Vine Street Pub, Jagged Mountain, Wynkoop, and recently Holidaily. Burns’ wife Laura has also run the gamut of brewery experience, having spent time bartending or serving as General Manager as the likes of Tommyknocker, Lost Highway, and Woods Boss. Together this combined experience of front to back of house operations is something both Laura and Wayne believe will help them succeed with Burns Family Artisan Ales which opens tomorrow August 18th at 2:00 PM. Read More
Beers With(out) Beards: How a Beer Fest Truly Celebrated Women in Beer
August 17, 2018 | Stephanie Macchione
Most craft beer festivals are sausage fests. But that’s because most craft beer festivals aren’t focused on the beardless bad asses of the industry – the women.
Enter Beers With(out) Beards. The grand finale to the week-long celebration of women in craft beer hosted by Hop Culture.com
Stone Brewing 22nd Anniversary Celebration & Invitational | Event Preview
August 17, 2018 | Drew Troller
This Saturday, Stone Brewing is throwing a party to celebrate its 22nd anniversary. And in addition to pouring Stone beer, Stone has hand-selected some of the best breweries in the world and invited them to join for an event with food, music, private tastings and the best place to drink beer in California this weekend. I’m making the pilgrimage from LA to San Marcos, and here’s all the information you’ll need to join in the fun.
Fast Facts on Surly Brewing’s New Hop Pack
August 17, 2018 | Taylor Laabs
Oh, variety packs. What Hazy IPAs are to trending beer styles, the variety pack is to new packaging formats. And why not? You lower buyer’s remorse by offering more options and expose consumers to a wider array of your beer. Minnesota’s Surly Brewing has experimented with offering new beers available only in variety packs before (ala 60 Below Rye IPA), and its newest Hop Pack offering aims to build on this by offering two new beers in a hop-focused format.
Breaking Down the Newcomers & Breweries Missing from 2018 GABF
August 17, 2018 | Tristan Chan
Each year one of the most exciting aspects of the Great American Beer Festival is the ability to explore and sample some of the country’s best new breweries that have emerged on the scene. Additionally, it can be equally as rewarding to revisit some familiar faces you may only get to try once each year at the country’s largest beer showcase. However, with the evolving landscape of craft beer, and varying priorities, we also tend to lose some familiar friends. As we’ve done each year, we’ve broken down the new / returning breweries as well as those who sadly aren’t coming back for this year’s Great American Beer Festival.
The OGs of Craft Beer | Widmer Brothers Brewing – Hefeweizen
August 17, 2018 | David Thompson
It was the summer of 2009. Black Eyed Peas’ Boom Boom Pow was blasting on pop radio, the Lakers had just beaten Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic in the NBA Finals and for the first time in my college life, I wasn’t going home to Montana for the summer. It was also the summer that I had Widmer Brothers Brewing’s Hefeweizen for the first time and that summer I fell in love with craft beer.
BREAKING | 2018 Great American Beer Festival Brewery List Announced
August 16, 2018 | Tristan Chan
Over 800 Breweries. 4 Sessions. 3 Days. More than 4000 beers. 60,000 attendees. Spanning over 584,000 square feet (a 17% increase). This year’s Great American Beer Festival is back and primed for its 37th Anniversary. The field has finally been set, and we now know which breweries will be part of the world’s largest beer festival. It is time once again to begin planning your routes. Which breweries are your can’t miss? And which are your must tries?
Be sure to check back often as we’ll be bringing complete GABF coverage leading up to, during and after the festival.
As we do each year, we will also be breaking down the list breweries to showcase the newcomers who are joining the fest for the first time, as well as those breweries who are notably missing. Read More
Has Constellation Lost Their Minds? Church’s Beer to Benefit LGBTQ & More News
August 16, 2018 | Tristan Chan
Often when we find an inordinate volume of random beer news happening all at once, we’ll try to round them up as quick hitters to make sure to keep everyone in the loop. So in today’s edition of the roundup, we’ll touch on some bizarre decisions by Goose Island and Constellation, some release info as well as a great story on inclusion from an unlikely source.
We’ll kick things off with four equally bizarre moves from Constellation Brands, the beer conglomerate that owns Corona, Modelo, Ballast Point Brewing, Funky Buddha Brewing and the recently acquired Four Corners Brewing.
Schlafly Partnering With Award-Winning Wineries for Newest Release
August 16, 2018 | Jordan Palmer
If you have never had a sip of anything from Schlafly’s Ibex Series, I highly recommend you start. Schlafly Beer first introduced this series of premium beers in 2017. Since then, the series has provided new, handcrafted beers from what is known as the Ibex Cellar.
Breweries Plan Big Events for First-Ever Georgia Beer Fortnight
August 16, 2018 | Josh Ritenour
We’re gonna need a bigger boat. Why? Because one week of celebrating Georgia craft beer just isn’t going to cut it anymore. Thanks to September 2017 changes in state legislation allowing beer sales directly from breweries to customers, the Georgia Craft Brewers Guild and Wrecking Bar Brewpub have decided to extend Georgia Beer Week by introducing the inaugural Georgia Beer Fortnight.
recent comments