Features
PorchDrinking Fantasy Football Recap | Week 2
September 24, 2021 | Brandon Cohran
Week 2 of the NFL season brought us a myriad of entertaining games, comebacks and unfortunate losses. Looking at you, my poor, poor pitiful Falcons. What the hell was that? Seriously. A lot of the expected stars shined bright while others have yet to show up. Josh Allen and the Bills lit up the scoreboard while underwhelming the fantasy score sheet. Sunday Night Football featured the Kansas City Chiefs visiting Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens and was one of the best football games, at any level, in recent memory. Whether you’re celebrating a W or staring at another L, just know we’re here with you. Grab a beer and see how our matchups went down this week.
PorchDrinking Fantasy Football Recap | Week 1
September 16, 2021 | Brandon Cohran
It’s the best time of the year, no doubt. Fall brings in cooler temperatures, a ton of specialty beer releases and football season. In an effort to talk about both great beers and football season, twelve of us at PorchDrinking joined up to play a season for a little camaraderie and competition. Regardless of your wins or woes, you’ll have friends here all season long to cheer on or watch as seasons crumble for some due to injuries or bad luck. Either way, we’re gonna have a good time or at least, some good beers. Read More
Craft Beer News | Firestone Walker Mind Haze Tropical Haze Mixed Pack
September 14, 2021 | Brandon Cohran
Surely there are other people besides myself who are cherishing the last few days of summer, right? Fall has a lot to look forward to–football weekends and holidays–but Firestone Walker Brewing Co. just made quite the splash with a new release mixed pack that has enough vacation-vibe and tropical flavors to keep us celebrating summer well into the autumn season. Read More
New Belgium Brewing Interview | The Carbon Neutral Toolkit
September 7, 2021 | Brian Phipps
One year after making Fat Tire the first certified carbon neutral beer in the United States, New Belgium Brewing is releasing a Carbon Neutral Toolkit, available on their website, DrinkSustainably.com. With the toolkit, breweries can educate themselves on climate change, learn what outputs they need to track and use the toolkit’s spreadsheet for recording. Additionally, in April, New Belgium released Torched Earth Ale, a beer made of ingredients they believed “would be available in a climate-ravage future.”
Cerebral Brewing Announces Second Taproom and Brewery in Aurora
September 3, 2021 | Tristan Chan
When Cerebral Brewing first opened its doors nearly six years ago, we wrote nostalgically about the charm of a promising young brewery that was willing to take a gamble as … Read More
Deschutes Brewing Goes the Extra Mile with Brooks Running Partnership
September 1, 2021 | Taylor Laabs
How do you measure the success of your run? In calories burned, miles ran… or beers you’re able to consume afterwards? Many brewers and drink companies have leaned into that third category by making better for you NA-beers, light ABV options with salt and electrolytes, or even sponsoring races and marathons. The fitness drinker group is certainly a growing category, which is why Deschutes Brewing has decided to partner with one of the predominant running companies in the world, Brooks Running, on a new beer and merchandise line. The new, running-inspired “Run Hoppy” partnership updates Brooks’ “Run Happy” tagline with a playful nod to Deschutes’ IPA line and is sure to excite both runners and beer drinkers alike thanks to the corresponding launch of the Run Hoppy Golden IPA and a bevy of Run Hoppy merchandise, including an awesome new collectible Brooks Ghost 14 running shoe. Here are the details.
Revolution Brewing’s Hazy Hero Heads to Sweden
August 25, 2021 | Taylor Laabs
Chicago’s Revolution Brewing is a constant presence on local shelves, with an ever-growing national footprint as well. The brewery’s well-crafted lineup of ‘Hero’ IPAs and Deep Wood barrel-aged beers competes well in the ever-competitive American craft beer market, but the immense competition among breweries and changing tastes of consumers has made the market more unpredictable than ever. Like any smart business, Revolution looked for new markets – and mouths – to sell their beer and struck gold in Sweden. Soon, Revolution’s Hazy Hero IPA will be available in 450 stores across the Scandinavian country. Here’s how the unique partnership came to be.
Firestone Walker Double Barrel Ale Turns 25
August 23, 2021 | Robert French
Not many beers brewed in the US have an origin story that equals Firestone Walker’s Double Barrel Ale, aka DBA. So when Adam Firestone and David Walker, two brothers-in-law, set out to brew this beer in 1996, it was safe to say they were not just forging their own path. Instead, they were envisioning a new concept.
Firestone Walker Crafted Thru Hops with Propagator Series
August 19, 2021 | Emma Wargolet
As a person who loves choices in food and drink, I am always elated when I see breweries come out with mixed packs. Two of my favorite things in this world are tapas restaurants and create your own six packs at beer bars. Therefore, when Firestone Walker came out with another Crafted Thru Hops mixed pack featuring the Propagator Series with Strata Hops, I had to get my hands on it.
Hi-Wire Brewing to Open Louisville Location
August 13, 2021 | Jereme Zimmerman
Hi-Wire Brewing of Asheville, North Carolina, is opening its sixth location in Louisville, Kentucky next week. This will be their second taproom outside of North Carolina, and the first out-of-state brewery with facilities in Kentucky.
Book Showcase | Modern British Beer
August 6, 2021 | Kevin Kain
Most craft beer enthusiasts in the U.S. respected and enjoyed English beer a generation ago. The American craft beer revolution itself was in many ways based on traditional British beer styles. As the scene created its own identity, and a younger generation came aboard, the British presence took a back seat. This was coincidentally during a lull for beer in England. A lot has changed since then, and it’s time to revisit this nation that is so integral to beer. Read More
Hidden Hand Brewery Operates Within Another Brewery | Both are Thriving
August 5, 2021 | Taylor Laabs
Illinois’ Solemn Oath Brewery is ambitious. Founded in Naperville, the brewery continues to grow its presence through well-crafted IPAs and GABF medal-winning beers like their prestigious Lu Kolsch. Part of that strategic growth was opening up a secondary taproom in the brewery-filled Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago. The latest strategic venture is the establishment of their Hidden Hand Brewery operation, which exclusively brews IPAs and DIPAs inside the four walls of the larger Solemn Oath operation.
29 Rising International Breweries To Get You In The Olympic Spirit
August 2, 2021 | Karl Kalinkewicz
Trappist Ales, room-temperature pints, and generic lagers. Maybe you once heard your most enthusiastic beer friend explaining the origins behind the “India” in India Pale Ale and the “Russian” in Russian Imperial Stout after their 5th flight of the day. While 20 years ago this may have been the extent of international beer knowledge for the common consumer, today the gospel of craft is spreading to all corners of the world.
With the glory of the Olympics underway, we’ve decided to highlight some of the up-and-coming stars in the international craft game. You won’t see Mikkellers or Cantillons featured front and center on this list, but rather a set of breweries who are either growing in stature or proudly representing their countries as craft pioneers. Check out our 29 rising international breweries that will get you humming those John Williams Olympics theme songs. Special thanks to Miguel Rivas, @thebeertrekker, for his contributions to this article!
Riverbend Malt House Expands Its Capacity
July 29, 2021 | Jereme Zimmerman
Riverbend Malt House, based in Asheville, North Carolina, has expanded its overall malthouse capacity by 40 percent through the installation of a new 10-tonne Germination Kiln Vessel (GKV) unit.
How New Glarus Brewing Kept its Employees Top of Mind in its Marketing, Pandemic Response
July 22, 2021 | Taylor Laabs 2
New Glarus Brewing beer courses through the veins of Wisconsin, yet its presence isn’t overbearing. The quiet brewery, stationed atop a hill in quaint New Glarus, Wisconsin thrives on subtlety. They don’t do any advertising—at all. Instead, they thrive on word-of-mouth marketing from their hordes of fans, both in-state and out-of-state. These avid fans clamor to buy their beer across Wisconsin outposts. They also trade for it if they reside outside of state lines. The brewery doesn’t need more marketing, but it still looks for new ways to connect with their audience. One of those avenues is through setting up a new Twitter account. This also connects with New Glarus’ broader mission of putting their employees first, in marketing decisions, brewery upkeep and their COVID-19 pandemic response. I talked to New Glarus’ COO and General Counsel, Drew Cochrane, about how New Glarus acts on this overarching mission.
Shippingport Brewing Wants to Be a Catalyst for Change in Louisville’s West End
July 20, 2021 | Kindsey Bernhard
When Amelia Pillow decided to open her own brewery, she wanted to pick a location that could be a catalyst for change for the neighborhood she calls home. Pillow opened Shippingport Brewing in the Portland neighborhood of Louisville, KY, becoming the first taproom and brewpub to open in Louisville’s West End.
Denver Beer Co. NFT Release Grants Owner “Beer for Life”
July 20, 2021 | David Thompson
How much would you pay to drink for free, for the rest of your life, at your favorite Craft Brewery? It’s a question that was answered by one Denver Beer Co. enthusiast when he won the auction for the “Beer for Life” NFT recently for 4.33 of the Cryptocurrency Ethereum (roughly $9,200 USD at the time of purchase).
“We like to play on the edge of the news and be fresh and try new things,” says Denver Beer Co.’s Co-Founder Charlie Berger. “We had to learn about NFT’s. Not many people knew about them nine months ago. We really just wanted to just try it, and we wanted to learn about it by creating it.”
Campaign Launched to Make the Kentucky Common the Official Beer of Kentucky
July 15, 2021 | Kindsey Bernhard
A campaign has been launched to make the Kentucky Common the official beer of the state of Kentucky. Michael Moeller, co-founder of Louisville Ale Trail, sent a request to Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear’s office to consider naming the Kentucky Common the official beer style of Kentucky through executive order.
Kentucky has a state flower, a state tree, a state mammal, a state horse, a state food, a state dance, and many more state insignias. It’s time to add a state beer to the list.
Saison-Focused Breweries in Chicago Helping Grow the Style
July 12, 2021 | Mike Zoller
They can be dry, spicy, floral, citrusy, herbal, barrel-aged, smoky, and that’s not even the limit. They are a style that most craft beer drinkers know about but many probably couldn’t tell you the last time they had one. They are Saisons.
A favorite style amongst those in the craft beer industry because of their versatility, low ABV, and flavor potential, the Chicagoland area is home to three breweries dedicated to Saisons.
Fifth Street Brewpub Hires Former Goose Island Brewer
July 12, 2021 | David Nilsen
Fifth Street Brewpub in Dayton, Ohio, found their new head brewer in a way perfectly befitting the small, neighborhood establishment’s community focus: through a hometown connection and a pint at the pub.
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