COVID-19 Closures | Ways to Support Your Local Colorado Breweries During the 30* Day Closures

As new developments arise and things are changing as it seems almost by the hour during the COVID-19 pandemic, it may be tough to keep up with which breweries are still open; in what format they are open in, if they have certain limitations (depending on the state that you’re in), and so on. The underlying factor remains the same: everyone is affected in one way or another by the growing pandemic, but we all love the craft beer community and want to find ways to continue to support one another.

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Supporting Local Breweries in the Midst of COVID-19 Mandated Closures

What a time it is right now. The Brewers Association announced last Thursday they’ll be cancelling CBC 2020 and that was followed shortly by the Colorado Brewers Guild announcing the suspension of this year’s Collaboration Fest. The craft beer community has been diligent about updating procedures and staying on top of these changes that need to be implemented. Although it’s unclear the full impact of how COVID-19 will be affecting breweries, they’ve responded by continuing to announce temporary closures, event cancellations, or sharing their processes to help protect their employees and patrons. With the recent announcements from California, Illinois, Ohio, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minneapolis, Pennsylvania, and now all of Colorado asking for bar closures, which includes breweries and taprooms, we want to share ways you can continue to support your local breweries with these changes, while still being mindful of public health safety.

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New Orleans-Based Urban South Brewery Expands to Houston

Houston’s beer scene continues to grow with the addition of award-winning Urban South Brewery’s first expansion outside of New Orleans. A satellite brewery, Urban South – HTX will focus on creative experimental beers in Houston’s Sawyer Yards District, including the hazy IPAs they are well-known for.

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The State of Independent Hop Farming

Mighty Axe Hops is an 80-acre hop farm located near Foley, Minnesota, roughly a 90-minute drive northwest from Minneapolis. It’s the largest hop farm from Michigan to Idaho and grows 13 varieties of hops.

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OpenTap | A Beer App That Breaks the Mold

For nearly every beer nerd or active barhopper, they have at least one type of beer-based application on their phone. In most cases, it’s Uptappd, as it’s easily the most downloaded and widely used beer application. But there are others worth taking note of, including another big name, Taphunter. And with the influx of so many craft breweries, it’s hard to keep track of everything. This is where the OpenTap app is trying to change the game a bit. This particular application focuses on only California breweries, so we reached out to the founder to learn more about his unique perspective.

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Boulder Beer is Here to Stay | Brewery Inks Agreement with Sleeping Giant

In an indication of just how fast the craft beer market moves these days, earlier this week Boulder Beer Company and Sleeping Giant Brewing Company announced a partnership to bring Boulder Beer back into distribution. This comes fast on the heels of Boulder Beer’s October decision to exit distribution. Boulder Beer was to be available only in the Boulder brewpub.

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Event Recap | 2019 Wynkoop Brewing Day of Darks

Again this year dark beer lovers filled the top floor of Wynkoop Brewing Co. for some of Colorado’s best dark beer pours. Breweries from up and down Colorado’s Front Range brought heavy, dark and malty brews to Day of Darks. Meanwhile, Wynkoop supplied chocolate treats for pairing, including ice cream made with Wynkoop’s own Cowtown Milk Stout.

Brewers brought their A-game with kegs, cans, bottles and even some growlers with extra-special brews. While most beers were production-level and available at the breweries, enjoying them all in one space was certainly a great convenience. Attendees also had fun trying a handful of one-offs and pre-release beers that some breweries brought, although one had to sniff those out early as they tended to go fast. Read More

Fulton Beer | Specter

“It’s there and then it’s not.”

Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP). An alarming public health crisis, the death-by-suicide rate for Americans has grown 30 percent in the last two decades. In 2017 alone, more than 47,000 Americans died by suicide. The tragedy of the suicide epidemic in the last 20 years seems to have touched all of our lives at some point. Three years ago, it touched the family of Minneapolis’ Fulton Beer.

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Perrin Brewing Co. Releases New IPA Inspired by Now-Canceled “Storm Area 51”

Brewing new beers to celebrate a local event or festival is not unusual in the craft brewing community. Michigan-based Perrin Brewing Company took that idea and flipped it on its head with their latest IPA: Storming The Gates Area 51 Experimental New England style IPA. Brewed in celebration of their 7th anniversary party, the new NE-style IPA is brewed to celebrate (or mourn) the now-canceled Storm Area 51 event that was supposed to take place on September 20, 2019. While that viral event is now no-more due to a myriad of practical and human safety issues, the IPA remains and has had many Michigan beer fans storming the gates of the brewpub this past week. 

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Indeed Brewing Company’s New Taproom Now Open In Milwaukee

Indeed Brewing Company, home to Northeast Minneapolis’ original taproom, has officially completed its expansion farther east with the opening of its Milwaukee brewery and taproom.

On August 23, the brewery announced via social media the official soft opening for the new location on 530 S. 2nd St. in Milwaukee’s Walker’s Point neighborhood would take place on September 6. A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held at 3 p.m. to celebrate the opening.

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Ultimate 6er | Best Beers for Cheering on the Big Ten Conference During March Madness

For those of us who live in the Midwest, it has been a long, bitter winter. However, for Big Ten basketball fans, a competitive regular season has pulled us through to the first signs of spring.

For most people, the Christmas season is their favorite time of year. However, for me, March Madness could be the underdog that upsets this crowd favorite in a battle for the most wonderful time of the year. I love that every game matters, as I have a team to root for in each match-up. I enjoy the high of celebration as teams claim victory, and I feel the heartache for each team as their season comes to an end. The upsets, the Cinderella Team, and the bracket busters elicit excitement in me, and of course, I have my favorite team that I hope is ultimately cutting down the nets at the end of it all. For those of you who will be rooting on a Big Ten team with me this March Madness, this Ultimate 6er will provide you with craft brews that show your loyalty to your team and your conference as you celebrate. Let the madness begin! Cheers (and Go Big Ten!).
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Historic Agreement Reached on Beer-to-Go Sales in Texas

After years of dispute, Texas brewers and distributors have reached a historic agreement on Beer-to-Go sales from craft breweries. Texas remains the only state where production breweries are not permitted to sell beer-to-go from their taprooms.

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Three Weavers Brewing Company Crafts Special Beers for the Alita Expereince

A new immersive pop-up experience, Alita: Battle Angel – Passport to Iron City is now open in Austin, Los Angeles and New York City to celebrate the release of the highly anticipated Robert Rodriguez film Alita: Battle Angel. During the experience, guests can explore the film’s futuristic world Iron City, which has been recreated down to the last detail to include the Kansas bar where guests can enjoy an exclusive beer from Three Weavers Brewing Company out of Inglewood, California. Each city will feature a beer crafted specifically for that city, along with other beers from the brewery.

I caught up with founder Lynne Weaver and brewmaster Alexandra Nowell to find out how the collaboration came about.

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PorchDrinking’s 2019 Oscars Drinking Game!

The 91st Academy Awards is sure to be one for the ages. Every single step of the event has been marred in some form of controversy ranging from what awards will be shown, who is going to host and if we’ll even get musical performances this year. There’s usually one faux pas from each year from the classic La La Land/Moonlight mix up from two years ago to Jack Nicholson’s reaction to Crash winning Best Picture. Who knows what will go to go down at this year’s broadcast?

Whatever happens this year, one thing is for certain is that a drinking game will make the experience even sweeter. So whether you’ve obsessively followed the nominees or you saw only five movies in a theater as per the national average, the Oscars should be fun for you too!

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Celebrating National Pizza Day with Michigan’s Best Craft Beer & Pizza

In honor of National Pizza Day on February 9, I am overjoyed to be writing about two of my favorite things: craft beer and pizza. Seriously–is there anything better than taking a bite of a hot, tantalizing slice of your favorite pizza and chasing it with a sip of a cold IPA or a refreshing pale ale? Just thinking about it makes my stomach rumble and my mouth begin to water.

In our explorations of Michigan’s craft brewery scene, my husband and I have tasted a lot of amazing food paired with some exceptional beer. However, nothing seems to top the beer and pizza combination for us, and we find ourselves returning to some of our favorite Michigan breweries again and again simply to indulge ourselves in this dynamic duo. If you don’t have a location to celebrate National Pizza Day already chosen, here are my recommendations for the best of Michigan’s craft beer and pizza scene to inspire you. Maybe we will see you there!
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Brewery Locks Arms with Denver Teachers During Strike

Denver’s teachers voted last week to strike after negotiations between Denver Public Schools (DPS) and the Denver Classroom Teachers Association (DCTA) fell though. At the center of the strike is a disagreement over teacher’s pay, including a pay-for-performance system called ProComp. During negotiations, DPS offered teachers a 10% pay raise and offered some concessions on ProComp. DCTA rejected the offer, seeking a 12.5% increase in pay and the streamlining or elimination of several ProComp incentives. Read More

Dissecting Garrett Oliver’s “Beer Expert Guesses Cheap vs Expensive Beer”

If you’ve been paying attention to the Gourmet YouTube scene, many classic publications are rejuvenating themselves through spectacular new digital content series. Bon Appétit has been pushing forward with glorious junk food recreations in “Gourmet Makes” and fermentation experimentation in “It’s Alive With Brad.” America’s Test Kitchen has transitioned to online magnificently through highly informative videos on products and cooking techniques. But the series that’s been most interest in terms of flavor analysis is “Price Points” by recipe index Epicurious.

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PorchDrinking’s 2018 Midterm Election Drinking Game

Looking for the 2022 Midterm Election Night Drinking Game? Head Here!

Can you hear it? That’s the sweet sweet sound of silence on the horizon. We’ve finally arrived at election day, which means by tomorrow the barrage of political ads will be all but a distant memory. Until then, we thought we’d help make election day a little more entertaining with a 2018 Election Drinking Game.

Early voting numbers in several states have already dwarfed 2014, but the main event culminates on Tuesday, November 6 when millions of Americans will decide the fate of Congress, state officials and a host of other positions. After the polls close, there’s nothing one can do but sit back and watch the results. What better way to enjoy the tallying, than with a few drinks…and a game? It’s time for PorchDrinking’s semi-regular election night drinking game. Are you ready?

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From Beer to H2O | Breweries Lending a Can After Hurricane Michael

On Wednesday, October 10, Hurricane Michael slammed into the coast of Florida into a tiny town called Mexico Beach. On Monday, Oct. 8, the storm had been a Category 1 as it made its way to the Panhandle; by the time it hit, it was a Category 4. Though news reports, complete with eye-witness testimony and photos and videos released after the fact, try to illustrate the devastation that this storm wreaked, it’s hard to fathom. Even when you hear it from friends and family, it’s hard to take in.

My family was lucky. The trailer that my grandparents bought in 1985 is still standing, with only a few windows blown out. The house my parents’ built and have been living in full-time since 2008—my home for half the year—sports shattered windows like empty eye sockets, a hole in the roof and an exterior that looks as if it’s been skinned due to the siding being torn off, but it’s standing as well. We were lucky. But it’s going to take time to rebuild. In the meantime, many areas are still without power and running water.

In these times of disaster, when most of the luxuries that we take for granted are gone (electricity, internet, flushing toilets and potable water), all help is appreciated. But the necessities: a place to sleep, food and water to drink, are even more important. It’s times like these that breweries and beer companies step up.

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Event Preview | Scallywag! Craft Beer Meets Punk Rock

Craft Beer meets Punk Rock – that’s the focus of the Scallywag! festival headed to Austin, Texas on Sunday, September 23 at the Austin 360 Amphitheater. The punk rock extravaganza features over … Read More