River Horse Belgian Freeze

River Horse Belgian Freeze

ABV: 8%

Adult kickball leagues are great. The nostalgic feel of playing kickball in my backyard with my cousins is nice, but when you add beer to that, it’s fantastic. Last Thursday, I had the privilege of substituting in a kickball league in Cincinnati and was pleasantly surprised when I was offered some unique beers by a fellow teammate. One beer I particularly enjoyed was called River Horse Belgian Freeze, brewed and sold only in New Jersey. Therefore, if you ever find yourself visiting Jersey, I highly recommend you buy some of these beers to ease yourself into the experience of some Jersey Shore-esque behavior that seemed to have taken over the state.  Read More

Dogfish Head – Immort Ale

Dogfish Head – Immort Ale

ABV: 11.00%

With a smoked peaty richness and a subtle sweet maple finish Immort Ale is bound to warm even the coldest of hearts in … Read More

The Real Adventures of a PorchDrinker on OKCupid

OKcupid. Yep, that’s right! Fasten your awkward-belts kiddos; we’re goin for a ride!  You are on OKcupid right? Well if you are single (or ‘available’) and you’re not already on it, you should be. Why is that? Well because frankly if your commute, your most recent breakup, and the occasional bout with adult acne aren’t enough to make you feel bad, OKcupid can do the rest.

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The Fort Collins Brewery’s Hoptitude Imperial Extra Pale Ale

ABV: 7.5%   IBUs: 54

With the Spring weather being so bi-polar lately, I wasn’t sure that I would be able to ride my bike to Fort Collins Brewery to meet with marketing director Charles Stanley and chat beer. I sucked it up, threw on a scarf, and braved the wind. I was going to have a beer after all, The Fort Collins Brewery was releasing their most recent seasonal, Hoptitude Imperial Extra Pale Ale. Read More

Sierra Nevada Ruthless Rye IPA

Sierra Nevada Ruthless Rye IPA

Key Facts:

• Bottled in Chico, California
• Style: American Rye IPA
• 6.6 ABV
• Season: Winter-Spring

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Homebrew Tasting – Green Bullet Saison

The Green Bullet

Style: Single Hop Saison

ABV: 6.8%

As the weather has gotten warmer I have been craving a light tart saison.
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The Shed Brewery Mountain Ale

The Shed Brewery Mountain Ale (via Otter Creek and Long Trail Brewing)

ABV: 7.4%

IBU: 35

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The Ultimate 6er – The Beers of Metal

Please stop! I know the sound of beer cans smashing against the human skull is an invigorating sonic sensation but, I must digress, I’m not talking about the kind of beers you drink straight-from-the-can in a dark alley before the AC/DC metal show. I’m talking about the brews that make the true metalhead feel like a Viking rowing a giant battleship into war!

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Kona Brewing Co. – Koko Brown

26.7 IBU

5.5% ABV

What I went to Jungle Jim’s looking for and what I came home with were two completely different beers. Nevertheless, I was pleased with my choice. Kona Brewing Company’s Koko Brown is an ale brewed with coconut, and I absolutely LOVE coconut! Coconut candy, coconut shrimp, coconut rum…you name it, I want it. Unfortunately, I know a lot of people who don’t enjoy it as much as I do, so I don’t get to eat it (or in this case drink it) as often as I would like. Read More

Odell Brewing – Tree Shaker Imperial Peach IPA

On a Saturday in Fort Collins, a few of us PorchDrinkers brewery hopped, visiting New Belgium, Funkwerks and Odell. Lucky for us, a new beer debuted that day (April 6) at Odell Brewing, so it was a chance for all of us to try something new. The Tree Shaker Imperial Peach IPA is just as delicious as it promises to be.

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2013 Craft Brewer’s Conference: Take Two

A pair of us from PorchDrinking.com were fortunate enough to attend the 2013 Craft Brewer’s Conference in Washington, DC in March. Considering Erin and  I hold very different beer backgrounds (but are both beer enthusiasts nonetheless), here is my take (as someone who spends his 9-5 in the industry) on CBC:

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Samuel Adams’ 26.2 Boston Brew

It’s Marathon Monday! If you don’t know what that means, you obviously do not live in Boston. I suppose it’s known as “Patriots’ Day” elsewhere[1], but ironically, in the land of the Pats, the Boston Marathon is the main event. Imagine if Macy’s Thanksgiving Day was 20 miles longer in a city 1/20th the size of New York: things get a little crazy and crowded.

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Bluegrass Brewing Company– Horse Piss

Bluegrass Brewing Company– Horse Piss Beer – 5.0% ABV

Remember Opposite Day? When good meant bad, ugly meant pretty, and happy meant sad? Opposite day paved the way for things like “not” and facetious “no-ew-oh” remarks, and eventually to the consistent sarcasm of high school and the intentional irony of adulthood. Many people say that we are living in the Age of Irony. Irony is in; it is cool. If you get it…then you get it. John Deere hats are no longer worn by farmers, sons of farmers, or those who have ever actually rode a tractor, but by those that shop at the mall at Hot Topic. We are so inundated with irony that we now have to say “literally” when we are not being ironic or sarcastic or hyperbolic. (By the way, my personal pet peeve is when someone prefaces a comment with “literally” and then says something figurative. That is not hyperbole; that is stupidity.) Bluegrass Brewing Company’s Horse Piss Beer, which I assumed to be a wittily ironic name, piqued my interest then confounded my senses, making me realize (for the second straight review) that craft brewers should heed the warning that quite a bit comes with a name. Read More

Homebrew: Growing Your Own Hops

If you’re already brewing your own beer, you’re probably like me. You care about quality products and aren’t afraid to try doing it on your own and dabbling in new things. I love to cook extravagant meals and have dabbled in building furniture (including boss kegerators), growing a vegetable garden and growing my own hops.

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Awesomesauce- Letters of Note

My brother and I were lamenting the other day that people just don’t write like they used to.  Specifically, we were comparing letters from the battlefield or from across an ocean to the tweets and text messages of today. When the two are juxtaposed, the everyday ramblings of an 18^th century average Joe or Jane seem almost poetic in comparison to 140 characters on a screen.
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Unity Vibrations Ginger Kombucha Beer

As an Ohioan, this first week of warm weather makes me want to pop a bottle of champagne and celebrate the end of a long and cold winter (despite what the groundhog said otherwise a couple months ago). However, thanks to my brother who just came back from Grand Rapids Michigan, the brewery capital of the country, I think he may of found something even better… drum-roll please…Unity Vibrations Ginger Kombucha Beer!!!  Read More

Diving Into Drafts: Exploring Stouts

Beer.  I first met beer in May of 1995.  I was sitting on the tailgate of a red pickup parked at the beach, getting ready for a bonfire and someone … Read More

Ultimate 6er | Beer + Beer = Mixed Beer!

Have you ever found yourself agonizing over choosing between two beers? In some cases, the best solution is do get both and mix them. Perhaps you have heard of a Black and Tan ( Stout & Pale Ale), a Snake Bite (Stout or Lager with Hard Cider), or a Black and Blue (Stout & Wheat (Blue Moon)).  Most people associate these mixed beer drinks with Guinness + ____ , but there are some other great mixed beer variations out there. I propose to you this ultimate mixed beer 6er! Read More

Devil’s Backbone Vienna Lager

ABV: 4.9%

IBU: 18

As the age-old tradition goes, when the parents come to town, you have them treat you to dinner at places that are a bit (or a lot) out of your price range. I personally do not think this pasttime will ever fade, as my family loves exploring new places and sampling interesting eats, and (to be perfectly honest) I am always willing to let someone else pick up the check. As the fam visited the District this past weekend, I, of course, packed our itinerary with delicious prospects from new and old favorite restaurants. One particular gem is The Pig on 14th Street. As a member of the EatWell family, The Pig specializes in a more local, sustainable, and – when possible – farm-to-table approach to food. Beyond the merits of its laudable approach to sourcing ingredients, this place just makes a lot of very tasty, pork-filled dishes.

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Beer Trivia: A State Microbe for Beer?

Here’s a bit of bizarre beer trivia you can bring up the next time you’re drinking out on the porch with friends: have you ever heard of Saccharomyces cerevisiae?

It’s about to be Oregon’s new state microbe. Yes, microbe. While your state might have a state flower or bird or tree, the state of Oregon is about to officially recognize Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a yeast used in making craft beer, as the state microbe (not sure what benefits come with that).

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