Tommyknocker Brewery- Small Batch Harvest Pumpkin Ale

ABV: 5.0%

September weather calls for Pumpkin Ale

Fall is the time to be outdoors. Everyone, including myself, loves the summer weather, but there’s something very charming and complimentary about sipping on a nice brown pumpkin ale and not wasting headspace on whether I need sunscreen.
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Inaugural Avery IPA Festival Recap

Here’s the challenging aspect of taking notes while drinking—the more you drink, the more incomprehensible and terse your notes become. You start out detailed, taking into account every distinct characteristic. After several beers, the notes become more brief. Maybe they’ll just list your first impression, if you’re lucky. Several beers later, you’re fortunate to have a listing of the beer you’ve tried. Read More

Punkin Brown Ale – Dogfish Head Craft Brewery

ABV: 7%

IBU: 28

Let it be on the record. As many of my friends know, I usually have nothing to do with brown ales. I have had a few of them here and there, and not one of them has really stood out for me as a solid beer worth buying again. That being said, autumn is coming and I’m starting to see all the fall beers hitting the shelves so I decided to try this out. Read More

Hoppin Frog Brewery – Hop Heathen Black

ABV: 8.8%

IBU: 70

Hoppin Frog is a brewery that is new to me. Until B.O.R.I.S the Crusher was put on tap at the pub I work at I had no idea that it existed. Generally that doesn’t surprise me but being located in Akron, Ohio, a town I pass through each time I visit my family I thought I would have heard of it by now. Akron is devoid of any attractions besides the childhood homes of The Black Keys and a quality brewery should generate a lot more interest.
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David Markham’s Avery IPA Winning Homebrew Recipe

We caught up with David Markham, the winner of the Avery IPA Fest homebrew contest, and he was nice enough to share some tips for starting your own homebrew as well as some info about his winning homebrew recipe. David’s Belgian Pale Ale had prominent yeast flavors, but it finished clean. It was not so strongly hop forward nor was it very citrus-y which differs from most traditional American IPAs, but matched well with it’s subtle malty flavors in the background. It would work well as a fall seasonal. Read More

Oktoberfest – Left Hand Brewing Company

ABV: 6.6%

IBU: 24

In my preparation for my stein raising trip to Munich for Oktoberfest, I wanted to have at least one local Märzen lager to compare with the brews offered in Germany. Since my favorite beer is Sam Adams version of Oktoberfest, I’ll try not to be biased. That being said, I am setting my sights on Left Hand Brewing’s Oktoberfest.
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Beervana: Portland, OR (Part 2)

Oregon Brewers Festival (OBF from here on out): So let’s first go over some of the logistics of OBF.  As I said in my previous post, there were about 80 or so breweries present, and it’s all outdoors. Unlike other beer fests, you also choose how much beer you get at each booth. Do you only want a sample? That’ll be one token. A full mug of beer? Four tokens. It’s really a beautiful system. Read More

Blue Point Brewing Company Pumpkin Ale

ABV: 6.0%

IBU: 26

Availability: Mid-August-December

The dog days of August have ended; cooler weather has prevailed. And with the changing weather comes a slew of seasonal beer offerings—a surefire sign winter is fast-approaching. Oktoberfests, pumpkin beers, winter ales—as the heat subsides, they all brave Indian summers to wet our palettes and whet our appetites for blazing fires and snowball fights. Read More

Labor Day Fall Beer Preview Ultimate 6er

In the club of so-called rich countries around the world, workers in the United States put in more hours on the job than any of their peers (source: OECD). The U.S. also consistently ranks as one of the most productive workforces in the world. Although American productivity has recently fallen from historical highs (due to more hours/strain put in at the job during the global economic/financial crisis), there is no question about the effort we put in relative to others around the world. Even more important, then, that we force ourselves to carve a vacation day each September to save each other from our otherwise hectic lives. With a nod to how hard we’ve all worked over the past several years and an eye towards the glorious Fall and its sporting festivities, here’s an Ultimate 6er to get us going with some delicious fall beer this September. Read More

Deschutes Brewery – Chainbreaker White IPA

One of the most important factors to consider when searching for a new home, or at least somewhere new to live, is the availability of a quality neighborhood bar. Seriously, forget the school district and don’t pull your hair out over the distance to the nearest grocery store. It’s all about whether your neighborhood bar has:

1. A solid beer collection
2. A great staff/great service
3. Reasonable prices
4. Great atmosphere
5. Solid food
6. Is close by
7. Non-douchey clientele. Read More

Ellie’s Brown Ale- Avery Brewing Co.

ABV: 5.5%

Mmmm… Brown Ale. You had me at hello.

Brown Ale may or may not be the key to my heart. I do love most beers – yes- but I will never turn down something specifically classified as a “Brown Ale”. Read More

New Belgium Tour De Fat 2012 – Fort Collins

On a sunny summer Saturday, it’s only 8am and the mercury is already over 80 degrees; today is going to be a hot one. I dug into the bowels of my closet to find whatever mismatch of clothing and/or flair I could get my hands on, grabbed a backpack full of water, sunscreen, and PBR and hopped on my bike. This, my friends, is the beginning ritual for thousands of beer enthused, fun lovers all around the country when New Belgium Brewery’s Tour De Fat rolls into town. Read More

One Minute Beer Review: Great Divide Brewing- Rumble

ABV: 7.1%

One of my favorite things about Rumble is the fact that you can enter any room with a six pack and unabashedly exclaim “LETS GET READY TO RUMBLE” without … Read More

Beervana: Portland, OR (Part 1)

“I gave up clowning years ago.”

“Well in Portland, you don’t have to.”

Easy intro, I know. But here’s the thing—Portland is that hipster. This isn’t a knock against the city. I love Portland. Fantastic public transit, fantastic food, and the beer … my God, the beer. But yes, it’s a very hipster city. More so than Denver. More so than even Boulder. The house we rented on the east side of the city was actually called the “Urban Cabin.” Placard and everything. Read More

One Minute Beer Review: New Belgium Brewing- Red Hoptober

ABV: 6%

IBUs: 60

This fall there were several things that I was really looking forward to, football, fantasy football, Kentucky football, then after last weekend’s performance Kentucky basketball, the … Read More

Ultimate 6er Recipes for Cooking with Beer

I grew up watching my dad pour beer over pretty much every single type of meat you can think of before throwing it on the grill. The funny thing about this technique is that it can make even the worst tasting beer into a valuable component of your meal. My dad would only really use cheap beer—Budweiser, Coors, Olympia—so I followed suit. It wasn’t until I left college that I started incorporating better beers into my cooking. It wasn’t just for grilling anymore—stews, chili and other random recipes were enhanced by introducing beer. Read More

Climbing a 14er and Drinking a 12 Ouncer

Typically, Mike Tolliver serves as our resident outdoorsman who hikes, bikes, camps, climbs, rappels, grapples, boulders, skis, snowboards, what not and what have you, all while enjoying a celebratory beverage, after spiking the proverbial flag into mother nature’s ass. Afterwards he’s nice enough to transpose those travails on PorchDrinking while making us all feel like lesser beings. I on the other hand, went on my first camping trip this June. Yes, my first camping trip. However, like most transplants in Colorado, I’ve quickly acclimated to the rest of this great state’s lifestyle by diving head first into the rugged outdoors. The most recent of these adventures involved completing my second 14er. Read More

Breckenridge Brewery – Agave Wheat

ABV:  4.2%

IBU: 9

I originally wanted to write this review about Maumee Bay Brewing Company’s Agave Chili Ale. I took a sip of it at Ohio Brew Week this June and was blown away by just that small taste. Alas, my emails to the brewmaster and sales manager to get my hands on some were to no avail. I searched high and low for something similar, but it was no use. The closest thing I could find was Breckenridge Brewery’s Agave Wheat. Read More

One Minute Review – Anchor Summer Beer

ABV: 4.5%

Availability: April-October

It’s official: summer is winding down. People are starting to head back to school, pools will close soon, and retailers are putting their summer styles on clearance. It’s time to soak up the last you can of summer—including seasonal beers!

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Agave Wheat – Breckenridge Brewery

ABV: 4.2%

IBU: 9

While attending the first annual Big Denver Barbecue Block Party, I had the pleasure of eating some great ribs and sides, listen to some fantastic live music, both with some awesome friends. At the event, they had a variety of a brew from Breckenridge Brewery. Of the ones available, I decided to choose Agave Wheat. I think the choice was good. Life is good when you sit on the grass in the sun, eat some BBQ, listen to live music, and have a beer to tie everything together.

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