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First Taste | 2019 Goose Island Bourbon County Stout
October 24, 2019 | Mike Zoller 4
Following a year that saw Goose Island’s Bourbon County Stout go heavy on adjuncts such as vanilla, orange, berries, and chocolate, the 2019 lineup is focused on the barrel itself.
The eight-beer lineup will be released, as is the tradition, on Black Friday but those attending FoBAB or Prop Day will have a sneak peek at the beers ahead of their official release. The media was invited to the Goose Island Barrel House for the first public tasting of this year’s lineup.
Dancing Gnome | Black Clouds Double Vanilla
October 24, 2019 | Gregory Acero
It has been quite some time since my last article, but I figure I would come back and write about one of my absolute favorite breweries in Pittsburgh, Dancing Gnome. DG has been brewing, hazy deliciousness IPA/DIPA/TIPA, fruity goodness sour ales and delicious pale ales. But the one other beer style that has been talked about and that has craft beer patrons lining up early are their stouts, such as Black Clouds!
Event Preview | Detroit Beer Experiment at the Detroit Fall Beer Festival
October 23, 2019 | Danny King
The Michigan Brewers’ Guild 11th Annual Detroit Fall Beer festival is coming up this week (Friday and Saturday, October 25-26), which means Detroit beer fans (and writers) get the privilege of having some of the best breweries in the state in their backyard. It also means the return of the Detroit Beer Experiment. Last year, the festival provided fans with the enjoyable Faygo-infused (and inspired) beers, so what’s in store for this year? We asked Dave Cicotte of Brew Detroit, who was able to provide a sneak preview.
PorchDrinking’s Weekly Denver Beer Beat | October 23, 2019
October 23, 2019 | Jeremiah Cornelius
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
Revolution Brewing Releases First 3 Deep Wood Series Beers
October 23, 2019 | Mike Zoller
As they did last year, Revolution Brewing is once again staggering the release of their Deep Wood barrel-aged series. The first three beers got released last week at its now routine release party, which included cans to-go and a draft list full of rare and stand out beers you won’t find packaged.
Bad Weather Brewing Company | Tippin’ It Down
October 23, 2019 | Max Sundermeyer
The four weeks of mid-September to mid-October represent the greatest weather of the year in Minnesota. It’s often around 68 degrees and sometimes sunny. Everyone is donned in flannel (my personal outfit of choice). Orange-, red- and yellow-leafed maples line the streets as Oktoberfest celebrations begin. Everyone it seems is in a jovial mood.
That’s because this time of year depicts what is often the beginning of the end of favorable weather in the state. After this beautiful window, the temperature plummets, and we often see our first snowfall. Read More
Brewery Showcase | Wild Creatures
October 22, 2019 | Karl Kalinkewicz
It’s a hard-knock life when you have beer-related engagements scheduled in two countries on two consecutive weekends. I recently found myself in Poland for the incredible One More Beer Festival before planning to meet up with friends in Munich for Oktoberfest six days later. Doing the wise thing and taking a full week of vacation, I started to scout out how I could spend the days between periods of copious beer consumption. Lo and behold, the world’s number one beer-drinking country per capita, the Czech Republic, happened to be smack dab in the middle of my two destinations. The gods smile upon me.
Beer Event | Collabapalooza Recap
October 22, 2019 | Jadon Flores
This past weekend was one of the most highly rated beer festivals in Southern California: Collabapalooza. The ethos of the beer festival is a sense of community within the beer industry–in most cases, all of the breweries involved were friends with each other and the brewers were all trying each other’s beer while talking shop. As we got to talk to several breweries in the preview article on the beers they were bringing, we got to experience the selection of a ridiculous tap list contributed by all the breweries. Here are some standouts.
WeldWerks Brewing Company | Fit Bits
October 22, 2019 | Karen Mills
Lighter, low-calorie, more health-conscious beers are becoming increasingly popular in the craft beer world. We shared six crushable options in an Ultimate 6er and talked about breweries such as Sufferfest Beer Company, (Sierra Nevada acquired them earlier this year) targeting a segment within craft beer that is constantly growing. WeldWerks Brewing Company, who wowed the craft beer world by creating more than 100 new SKUs in 2018, recently released their version of a low-calorie beer: Fit Bits.
2020 to See Expansion for Many Chicagoland Breweries
October 21, 2019 | Mike Zoller
Not only is Chicago’s craft beer scene seeing new breweries opening seemingly every month, but more than half a dozen breweries in the Chicagoland area have also announced expansion plans, setting the stage for a busy end of 2019 into 2020.
Breweries like Marz Brewing Co. and Ravinia Brewing Company will be opening second locations within the city of Chicago. While Noon Whistle Brewing and Pollyanna Brewing Company are expanding in the suburbs. Meanwhile, Forbidden Root Restaurant & Brewery is opening a second location in Columbus, Ohio.
Prairie Artisan Ales | Paradise
October 21, 2019 | Karen Mills
As the weather cools off, you may be left dreaming of those warm summer days when you’re lounging out and soaking up the sun. Although we’re not in the worst of the winter just yet, Prairie Artisan Ales‘ Paradise will keep you reminiscent of those summer days, despite being a Stout.
What We’re Drinking | October 18, 2019
October 18, 2019 | Pam Catoe
It finally feels more like fall here in the south and I’m ready to celebrate with a delicious fall brew. You can find my pick below, along with all the other fabulous choices from your PorchDrinking crew to get in the spirit of the season (no pumpkin beers were consumed for this post).
Inaugural Beer Culture Summit Aims to Educate Chicago Beer Fans
October 18, 2019 | Mike Zoller
It’s only fitting that the city with the most breweries would host a first of its kind conference exploring craft beer from the culture, history, diversity, and everything in-between. Chicago will be hosting the inaugural Beer Culture Summit on October 24-27, organized by The Chicago Brewseum.
Athletic Brewing Company | Run Wild IPA
October 18, 2019 | Chris & Sylvia Hollands
An interesting thing happened while prepping annual GABF coverage here at PorchDrinking this year. We noticed a growing trend of breweries bringing craft alcohol-free beer to the beer-lovers event. Now of course, alcohol-free beer isn’t new. Can you recall the times of “near beer” and O’Doul’s? And most recently Heineken introduced their version to the market. Out of curiosity we gave the latter a try, and to our surprise it tasted like a regular Heineken. Needless to say it was intriguing, so we did more research into the non-alcoholic craft craze. Read More
Latin-Inspired Casa Humilde Cervecería joins Chicago’s District Brew Yards
October 17, 2019 | Mathew Powers
The nation’s first all-in-one brewery collaborative, Chicago’s District Brew Yards, has added a forth member to its team of breweries. The Latin American-inspired Casa Humilde Cervecería will join Burnt City, Around the Bend and Bold Dog in the unique pour-your-own beer hall and retail shop on Chicago’s West Side. The announcement of the fourth brewery comes on the heals of the Brew Yards’ unique Kveik Fest and Bold Dog Brewing winning the 2020 Sam Adams “Brewing the American Dream” award, which was announced at the Great American Fest in early October. The four breweries will officially kick off their new partnership with a Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebration on November 1.
Ultimate 6er | Six Beers to Pair with the Halloween Classic: Hocus Pocus
October 17, 2019 | Jaclyn Menendez
Is there any movie more quintessentially Halloween than the 1993 classic Hocus Pocus? I’ve been watching it annually since I was a kid, but it’s even better now, because now I can drink beer at the same time. So let’s cuddle up with our talking cat, light that Black Flame Candle, and get to it: here are six beers to pair with the bewitching characters from the spooky film Hocus Pocus.
Market Evolution Drives Boulder Beer Company To Focus Locally
October 17, 2019 | Scott Grossman
Last week, Boulder Beer Company dropped a seismic announcement, that beginning in 2020, they will end outside distribution of their beer, and that the iconic brewery would subsequently layoff several members of their team. The surprising news immediately led to industry-wide discussions regarding the future of the brewery, as well as how this move reflects on other heritage brands that helped pioneer craft beer’s growth.
It also left beer lovers wondering how and where they’ll find their favorite brews. However a deeper analysis shows that the sky isn’t falling; this move simply reflects the evolving industry and is realistically just one of Boulder Beer’s many adaptations during their 40 years as an independent craft brewer. Read More
Previewing Epic Brewing’s 2019 Big Bad Baptist Variants
October 17, 2019 | Tristan Chan
From WeldWerks to Holy Mountain, Moksa to Prairie, many of today’s most hyped rising American breweries can attribute part of their rabid following to proficiency in producing barrel-aged Stouts and subsequent variant spinoffs.
Roughhouse Brewing | Ona
October 17, 2019 | Katie Kalk 1
Outside of Austin lies what many locals call the prettiest little part of Texas: Hill Country. Small rolling hills break up the endless blue sky and Texas scrub provides shade to white-tailed deer, armadillos, and the hordes of tubers leisurely floating down the San Marcos River. Many Austin based companies will provide tubes and transportation for easy access to San Marcos’ best-known attraction. Visitors shouldn’t stick to the water; getting out and exploring Hill Country charms is best done on dry land. Some of the best boozy attractions in the state are scattered around Hill Country from the elite Jester King Brewery to the only sotol distillery in the United States, Desert Door. With over twenty-five breweries in Hill Country, visitors will find plenty of delicious reasons to keep exploring the surrounding scrubland.
PorchDrinking’s Weekly Denver Beer Beat | October 16, 2019
October 16, 2019 | Jeremiah Cornelius
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
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