Red Hare Brewing | Red Hare Chase 5k/15k

Red Hare Brewing‘s first annual Red Hare Chase 5k/15k in Marietta, Georgia, gave me the perfect excuse to combine two things I love: beer and running (a duo best enjoyed in the correct order — painful when not).

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The Glass Is Life | GABF Bottles to Try

This post brought to you by Glass Is Life. The content and opinions expressed below are that of Porch Drinking.

There’s a certain mystique that still exists when cracking open a rare bottle of beer. Perhaps it dates back to the familiar … Read More

GABF Daytrip | Denver Brewery Tour

With almost 700 breweries from all over the country pouring at the Great American Beer Festival this year, it’s easy to overlook how many great ones we have right here in Denver. How many? I count 37 breweries and cideries with taprooms in a roughly five-mile radius of the Colorado Convention Center where the festival will be held, and I’m guessing a handful more opened while I was typing this post. Many of them will not be at GABF, and most do not distribute their products outside of Colorado. We know craft beer drinkers to be an adventurous sort, so why not do a little exploring before or after the fest? In that spirit, I’ve compiled a list of destinations nearby that are easily accessible by foot, bike, or a short ride with your favorite car service. Dear readers, please stow your pretzel necklaces and hop cone hats for a moment – we’re going on an insider’s Denver brewery tour.

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Weekly Growler Fill | National Beer News Roundup

I know the Great American Beer Festival week just started, but some of you may need a break from all the mayhem of the best beer festival in the country. Expand your mind by getting up to date on all the latest beer news: Crooked Stave ends it’s cellar reserve membership, Upland announces another sour lottery, and Rogue Ales puts on a contest for a good cause. Find out about all of this and more in this edition of the Weekly Growler Fill.

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Upland Brewing Company | Champagne Velvet Pilsner

ABV: 5.50% | IBU: 29

After a long week at work, I felt I needed something light and simple to drink. While pilsners are usually one of styles of beer I avoid, I’ve found plenty of pre-prohibition style beers that surpassed my expectations. When I realized that Champagne Velvet was originally released as a part of Upland Brewing Company‘s 15th anniversary, I was intrigued by this modern take on the early 1900s beer that originally put Indiana brewing on the map.

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CANvitational hosted by Sun King

This is the second annual CANvitational hosted by Sun King Brewing Co in Indianapolis IN. As the name might suggest, a festival that celebrates canned beer throughout the craft community. This brings beers from all around the US to our beautiful … Read More

Event Preview | Offensively Delicious

When: Wednesday, October 1, 6–10 p.m.

Where: Oriental Theatre, Denver, CO

Do you hate puppies? What about beer? I am so glad that you answered no to both of those questions. That means you can continue enjoying PorchDrinking.com. It also means that you need to check out Offensively Delicious, a pre-Great American Beer Festival event that mixes a comedy show and beer fest with a “we’re giving money to a no-kill shelter” cherry on top.

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Moonlight Brewing Company | Reality Czeck

ABV 4.8%

Since everyone has already hopped on (pun intended) the pumpkin train, I thought I would instead giddy up on the often forgotten Pilsner train because we hardly get autumn in Southern California. And few perform better in the Pilsner department than Moonlight Brewing Company in Santa Rosa, Ca.

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Ultimate 6er | 6 Beers Your Bartenders Are Currently Drinking

We don’t always solicit advice from complete strangers, but when we do, it’s usually going to be about which beer to choose. Read More

Rogue Ales | Shakespeare Oatmeal Stout

IBU: 56
ABV: 6%

This past weekend, New York celebrated the annual Brooklyn Book Festival – which is basically book nerd Christmas. During the end of September, you celebrate the first stiff breezes of fall while running around the old Brooklyn courthouse discovering new writers, learning about your favorite authors, and getting all your favorite works signed. Over the years it’s become my favorite holiday, but besides my constant renewing of the website until the schedule of events is posted, it has no rituals. To correct this oversight, I decided to dedicate the weekend to the arts by trying a beer after the bard whose influence is inescapable in writing of the Western World: Rogue’s Shakespeare Oatmeal Stout.

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2014 GABF Pour List Preview *UPDATED 9/26*

The Great American Beer Festival has always meant so very much to us. We were granted credentials to the festival in our first year of existence, and since then we’ve vowed to provide as much in-depth coverage as possible surrounding the … Read More

Boulevard Brewing Co. | Hibiscus Gose

ABV: 4.2% | IBU: 11

I have a secret. I can’t stop buying Boulevard’s Hibiscus Gose. It’s been in Atlanta just a few days, and my hands keep grabbing the cardboard box the sixer comes in. I’ve bought three so far. I can’t control it. Hey, Boulevard, why don’t I just direct deposit part of my paycheck to you?

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Weekly Growler Fill | National Beer News Roundup

This week’s growler brings you some must-read craft beer news. First off, the best beer bars around the country have been named by the readers of CraftBeer.com, so you must check that out to find your new favorite watering hole. Next, Odell Brewing has been around for 25 years and they are releasing a new beer to celebrate. Other important news includes a way to make beer while hiking, the Hop the Vote candidates have been announced, and Victory Brewing can now be found in Nevada. Expand your craft beer knowledge through this edition of the Weekly Growler Fill.

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Wasatch Brewery | Provo Girl Pilsner

4% ABV

Wasatch Brewery’s Provo Girl Pilsner is a beer showcase that I do not want to write. Why? Because I just spent the day shooting grouse with my good buddy Charlie, who moved to Utah a year before I did to fight fires and occasionally dress up as Smokey the Bear at rodeos. We had some wild nights together as members of Northern Michigan University’s Moosemen Rugby Football Club, and we just spent a day shooting birds and wandering around the Ashley National Forest in Utah’s Uinta Mountains (we didn’t get lost —we just didn’t quite know how to get back to camp). Sitting here by the campfire under some amazing stars with our tired pooches at our feet, writing in a notebook might ruin it. Read More

Tallgrass Brewing Co. |8-Bit Pale Ale

Tallgrass Brewing Co. | 8-Bit Pale Ale

ABV: 5.2%

IBU: 40

Okay, I’ll admit it. I was initially drawn to this beer by its awesome retro can design, as I imagine many children of the late 70s and early 80s would be. The word “Galaxy” also caught my eye, as this relatively recently available Australian hop variety is complex in flavor, and adds a tropical element to many beers. Made in Manhattan, Kansas, by Tallgrass Brewing, the 8-Bit Pale Ale is fairly easy to find here in the midwest, and it has become one of my go-to picks over the last few months. Read More

Cooking with Beer | Southern Tier Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies

I don’t know where you stand on whether it’s acceptable to start drinking pumpkin beers or not, but I’ll tell you I’ve decided that it is definitely okay to start eating them. Southern Tier came to Colorado earlier this year so I quickly snatched up their products, Pumking and Warlock. For the past few weeks they have just been sitting in my fridge, haunting me, daring me to use them. Finally, I caved, and in the best way possible. I figured, why not use them both at once? Since it’s just about fall, I did the most #basicbitch thing I could think of – make pumpkin cheesecake brownies (oh em gee, pumpkin spice lattes!) While they aren’t exploding with pumpkin flavors, they have just enough to make you think, “Damn, these aren’t #basic at all!” That’s exactly what I was hoping you’d say. Cheers to eating your beers.

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Bell’s Brewing Co. | Mars – The Bringer of War

ABV: 10.1% | IBU: 100

It is my pleasure to introduce you to the first of what is going to be an incredible beer series, Bell’s Mars – The Bringer of War. A roaring Double IPA that is the first brew to roll out of Bell’s Brewing Co. “Planets Series”. A series that has been inspired by Gustav Holst’s seven-movement orchestral suite, “The Planets.” As a fundraiser for the arts and consumer of higher quality beer, my passions are colliding in this deliciously tasteful work of art known as the Planet Series.
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PorchDrinking’s Weekly Denver Beer Beat

PRE-GABF week! Strap on your beer drinking shoes. These next couple of weeks are crazy packed full of events.

Are you native to the city and looking for events to tide you over for the week? Are you new to the city and looking for the best place to find tasty suds? Visiting and looking for events to hit while you are in town? Check out this week’s Denver Beer Beat and return each week to find all things #craftbeer in the Denver Metro Area.

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Ultimate 6er | Washington Cider Week

As many of my colleagues have pointed out on this very site, fall has arrived (just check out Josh’s feature on NFL opening day or Tristan’s editorial on pumpkin beer if you don’t believe me). But one fall tradition that … Read More

Denver International Airport Celebrates Craft Beer

I love the airport. I love the romanticism behind reuniting with loved ones, the anticipation of traveling somewhere exotic, the ebb and flow of humans moving toward a different destination.

But if there’s one airport ritual that is almost universally appreciated above … Read More