Makin’ Noise: A Pussy Riot Beer Project Celebrates Anniversary After Raising $25K

Just over a year ago, five Colorado female brewers joined together for a series of collaboration beers made to raise money for charity and support a protest. Today, the Makin’ Noise: A Pussy Riot Beer series is starting its second year and releasing Version 5 on Saturday. To date, the movement has garnered 20 brewers to participate, and generated over $25,000 for various charities across Colorado!

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Previewing The Brewtography Project’s Discovering Colorado Breweries Book Release

If you’ve attended any Colorado beer festival over the past four years, chances are, you’ve at some point encountered photojournalist Dustin Hall, who shoots under the moniker, The Brewtography Project. Sporting his traditional short trimmed beard, signature Brewtography Project Dickies work shirt, flat-brimmed brewery cap turned backward, with his trusty Canon 5D Mark IV draped around his neck, Hall is both iconic and unassuming at the same time.

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Breaking Down the 30 New Colorado Breweries that Opened in 2017

Last year, Colorado added 30 new breweries to its already impressive arsenal. That means all new recipes, taprooms and beers to explore throughout the Centennial state. How many of the new breweries did you visit last year? How many of these have you heard of? Either way, it’s time to welcome Colorado’s new class of brewers.

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Colorado’s Best Beers & Breweries from 2017

Colorado craft beer has come a long way. While the old guard of New Belgium, Odell, Wynkoop, Great Divide, Left Hand, Avery, and Ska initially thrust the state onto the national scene the early 90’s, it’s been Colorado’s current brewing renaissance that has propelled its meteoric rise to even greater heights of recognition and acclaim. Just in the past 5 years since PorchDrinking’s existence, we’ve seen alleyway breweries grow to become national powers, startups in rural towns grow to become coveted brands, and a countless number of homebrewers who have their desk jobs to become household names among beer circles.

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Why I’m Done Cellaring Beer—An Update

About a year ago I wrote how in 2017 I was going to stop cellaring beers and enjoy them fresh. The article got way more exposure than I would have ever thought and it brought out some pretty strong emotions in people—both for and against cellaring.

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16 St. Louis Beers That I Loved in 2017

2017 was a banner year for St. Louis beer, and I say this based on how much of it I drank. Between festivals and brewery visits, my Untappd account topped 200 different beers in 2017. Is that a lot of beer? It is for me, but who is really counting?

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Beery New Year’s Around the World

Confession: New Year’s is my favorite holiday of all the holidays. I have long been drawn to the celebration of turning the page, leaving the previous year behind and the anticipation of new beginnings. (I would be lying if I denied that my love of the holiday has nothing to do with the excess.)

Several years ago, a good friend of ours in Wisconsin invited us to an epic New Year’s Eve party. Starting at 8:00 in the morning, every hour featured a traditional food or drink from a country within that time zone.

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Home for the Holidays Drinking Game

This week, many of us will pack our bags and head home to visit family, friends and loved ones alike. But the holidays can be stressful and many occasions can … Read More

First Look: Oskar Blues LoDo Marries Music & Beer in Downtown Denver

I am not a fan of Market Street.

Chalk it up to too many nights downtown where one of my friends convinced me to go to the latest trendy club and by the end of the night, I have spent too much money on drinks, got mean mugged by a ton of bros, and had multiple women literally look through me on the dance floor. Short, glasses, and a beer belly doesn’t attract women as well as every romantic movie I have ever seen where the awkward guy can steal five minutes of intelligent conversation with the woman to eventually convince her that he is funny, sexy, and charming. Nope. I’m the guy that hangs out at breweries off Broadway or tap houses off Blake and avoids downtown.

Until tonight.

I arrived around 6:30pm and parked in the lot down the street for $10, then walked a few blocks to preview the upcoming Oskar Blues LoDo (downtown) location. This is Oskar Blues’ second foray into downtown Denver, since first planting their CHUBurger flag in RiNo last year. Located in what formerly housed Crocs, an Ohio State alumni sports bar, the bar bookends a set of narrow brick buildings that include Two Fisted Mario’s Pizza and Double Daughters. This isn’t the part of town I typically frequent, but neither was RiNo three years ago. Read More

Maplewood Lounge | A Taproom Example Worth Emulating

Maplewood Brewery & Distillery didn’t merely open a taproom and tasting space, it opened a thoughtful representation of the entire Maplewood experience — and that’s how all breweries should approach taproom designs.

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Join Avanti F&B, New Belgium & Topo Designs for a White Elephant Exchange

This is a sponsored post on behalf of Avanti F&B

New Belgium, Topo Designs and our friends at Avanti Food & Beverage are teaming up for a holiday classic on Monday, December 11. While White Elephant exchanges are often dreaded obligations at the office holiday party, this trio of Colorado heavy hitters have upped the stakes to help you get in the holiday spirit!

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First Draft Taproom & Kitchen Expands Pour-Your-Own Taproom to Minneapolis

Imagine walking into a taproom and being able to sample as much, or as little beer as you want from nearly 54 draft lines. While it may sound more beer festival than beer bar, First Draft Taproom & Kitchen features a pour your own draft system, similar in concept to an adult version of a froYo shop.

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Founders Brewing’s Stevens & Engbers Cap Off Massive 20 Year Anniversary

Calagione, Avery, Jordan, Oliver, Koch, Grossman, Cantwell, Bell, Maytag, Firestone, Bouckaert, Cilruzo. Over the past 20 years craft beer has experienced its greatest boon, and with that explosive growth, there have emerged figures so iconic and influential, that they have risen to become household names. However despite their steadfast ascent to becoming the 16th largest brewery in the country, Stevens and Engbers don’t command the same celebrity as their fellow industry luminaries.

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Adam Avery on the Decision to Sell a Minority Stake to Mahou San Miguel

Yesterday Avery Brewing Company announced that it would be selling a minority stake, in the range of 30%, to family-owned Spanish brewing group, Mahou San Miguel. Recently celebrating their 24th anniversary, Avery Brewing has served as a pioneer in the art of barrel-aged and high gravity beers.

The news of yesterday’s partnership immediately drew a wide range of reactions and speculation from beer fanatics, so we decided to catch up with Adam Avery, who alongside his father Larry founded Avery in 1993.

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Stranahan’s Sherry Cask Brings Craft Beer’s Innovation to Single Malt Whiskey

This is a sponsored post as the Sherry Cask Finished Whiskey experience was provided by Stranahan’s Whiskey

Illuminated by a blood red, iron oxide composition, with a pair of monoliths … Read More

Sierra Nevada Catches Holiday Spirit In Latest Celebration Fresh Hop Video

Believe it or not, now that we’re past Halloween, many folks have already begun trading out their pumpkin spiced lattes for thoughts of turkey time and decking the halls. For the folks at Sierra Nevada, this shift from autumn to winter signals the launch of Celebration, their fresh-hopped winter release. And what better way to get into the holiday spirit, than by paralleling the mountains of bright green hop cones collected during hop harvest season with the playful child-like wonderment of a snow day. Read More

On Tap Credit Union, Not Your Typical Banking Provider

Over the past year PorchDrinking has partnered with On Tap Credit Union as official sponsors of the website. Like some of you, when I was first approached by the folks at On Tap, I was a bit confused as to what banking had to do with beer, and seeing as how we only work with sponsors that are relevant to our industry, it was a legitimate concern. However we quickly realized just how much of an overlap and impact their credit union can have on breweries.

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Book Review & Interview | Atlas of Beer

Atlas of Beer: A Globe-Trotting Journey Through the World of Beer (National Geographic, 2017) by Nancy Hoalst-Pullen and Mark W. Patterson, with foreword and tasting tips by Garrett Oliver

For well over a century, National Geographic has been bringing the world’s wildlife, landscapes, and cultures to our homes in the form of an iconic magazine, incredible photography, and television programming. Now, the esteemed publication is broadening our perspective on an unexpected but welcome topic: beer. Read More

Craft Beer’s Next Step from Session: The Table Beer

One of my fondest family moments was the first time I got to sit at the adults’ table at Thanksgiving. The seating shift represented a changing of the guard, a signal that I was growing up, and a possible glance at some alcohol. Little did I know, back in Medieval times, the kids table had their own, special, alcoholic drink: The Table Beer. This was an extremely low ABV beer known for its malty and sweet flavors. Now, the Table Beer is having a bit of a renaissance as it makes its way to the adult table and into the favor of craft brewers across the nation.

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Growth is All Local in Virginia

Expansion means something specific in Virginia’s beer counties, which both encircle Washington, D.C. and span to verdant farmland.

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