The PorchCast Ep 72 | Jonathan Shikes – Denver Beer: A History of Mile High Brewing

In episode 72 of the PorchCast, we spoke with Jonathan Shikes, freelance beer journalist, former Managing Editor of The Westword, and author of Denver Beer: A History of Mile High Brewing

We spoke with Jonathan about how he got into writing about beer, what went into the research for creating this comprehensive history of Denver’s craft beer scene, some of his favorite beers and breweries currently in Denver, some of the events he misses most since the onset of the pandemic, setting up an Etsy page, and so much more.

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Peculier Ales Launches Collaborative Beer for Colorado Wildfire Relief

While this year continues to be a harrowing one for most across the country, residents of Northern Colorado have had a particularly trying summer as forest fires ravaged significant parts of the state.

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Launch Pad Brewery | Pumpkaccino Imperial Pumpkin Espresso Stout

Let’s be honest, pumpkin beers are hit or miss. That random six-pack you grabbed at the liquor store on your way to your buddy’s place for Friendsgiving? Likely disappointing. But good news, the highly underrated Launch Pad Brewery knows how to make a hit pumpkin beer and has been doing so for five years in their aeronautics and space-themed location in Aurora, Colorado. In fact, the business was more or less founded on pumpkin beer with Dave Levesque, owner and head brewer, brewing for pumpkin-themed parties before even thinking of opening a business. Launch Pad also knows how to make Russian Imperial Stouts, with a new release each month in 2020, and other big beers, including their “Eight Crazy Nights” of barrel aged beers starting December 16. Add this together with Espresso Torro from West Coast Roasting Co. and holiday pumpkin spice, and Launch Pad brings their delicious Pumpkaccino, Imperial Pumpkin Coffee Stout. It’s no wonder that this beer has made it to the final table at GABF multiple times. Eat your heart out, Starbucks!

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Colorado Beer Beat | Bi-Weekly Beer Release Guide 11/12

Welcome to the Colorado Beer Beat, a bi-weekly roundup of all of the new can releases around the state. From Denver to Grand Junction, and everywhere in between, we have you covered. Be sure to check back on Thursday’s to find out what’s new in the Colorado beer scene.

The election is over, so now there’s nothing keeping you from going to pick up some of the new beer releases across the State of Colorado. Let’s take a look at what’s new around the state.

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Faces in Beer | WeldWerks Brewing Co.

Welcome to Faces in Beer, one of PorchDrinking’s most ambitious projects ever.

Normally when a new writer joins our team, they go through a process where they cut their teeth on some easy first assignments–a beer showcase, or maybe an Ultimate 6er. Not Erik Stabile. Our newest writer pitched his onboarding project without hesitation: “I want to take film photographs of brewers and develop the film in the beer they brewed.”

Intrigued? So were we. Stabile explained he had been experimenting with developing photos in unconventional mediums and was ready to try craft brews. The pH of every beer is slightly different, and therefore each photo would theoretically reflect the unique makeup of that beer. It was going to be a temperamental process and potentially a giant failure, so naturally we were totally on board.

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Veterans Bring Military Discipline to Wild Blue Yonder Brewing Co.

The U.S. boasts a large and diverse number of veteran-owned breweries. With Veteran’s Day coming up on Wednesday, Nov. 11, it seemed like a great time to look at why military service provides practical preparation for brewery ownership by checking in with Wild Blue Yonder Brewing Co. in Castle Rock, CO.

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Baere Brewing Company | Proceed to Memory IPA

In the beer world, the “trend” pendulum never stops swinging and it’s often some variation on an IPA that tops the latest list. While breweries keep cranking out hazy and milkshake IPAs, there remains a large swath of consumers who yearn for the classic, bitter IPA with that telltale bite. Proceed to Memory IPA from Baere Brewing Company in Denver, CO was made for those consumers and for anyone seeking a superbly balanced, flavor-filled exemplar of an IPA.
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Denver Amends Home by Ten Public Health Order for Bars & Breweries

As COVID cases and hospitalizations continue to dramatically spike across the country, the city of Denver, Colorado announced a new set of regulations on Friday named the “Home by Ten” … Read More

Veteran or Current Military? Locavore Beer Works Wants to Buy You a Beer

If you ask, most veterans are willing to share at least some details of their military service with you. However, Locavore Beer Works co-owner Jason Reinhardt isn’t allowed to say very much.

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Brewery Showcase | LUKI Brewery

“We were just another set of yahoos trying to make it happen,” Jeff Smith, owner and brewer at LUKI Brewery in Arvada, Colorado says. “There are so many delusions of grandeur, so I respect the professional collective apathy at yet another ‘homebrewer going pro’ story.”

In 2018, Smith quit his job to focus on the brewery full-time, unaware (as we all were) of the pandemic that would soon ravage the industry. When his family cut the ribbon on LUKI (a combination of his daughters’ names) in July of 2020, Smith’s “delusions of grandeur” manifested into a wild new reality: A fun, circus-themed brewery on the west side of Arvada.

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4 Noses Brewing Company | Fly to the Polls

Hopefully you’ve already voted, or made plans to cast your vote for the 2020 election (if not, it’s ‘Bout Damn Time you do). In one final push to motivate voters, 4 Noses Brewing Company released their newest Hazy IPA, Fly to the Polls, on Friday.

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Colorado Beer Beat | Weekly Beer Release Roundup 10/29

As we approach Halloween, breweries around the State of Colorado continue to face an immense amount of pressure on their businesses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Even such, they’ve been pressing on, trying to provide a sense of normalcy for us all.

You may be asking yourself, “What can I do to help support these breweries during the spookiest time of the year?”. Well look no further! We’ve put together an extensive list of the newest canned beer releases from across the state, all in one easy to find place.

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Celebrate Untappd’s 10th Anniversary Party with PorchDrinking’s Founder

It’s been a busy recent few years for the team at Untappd who announced the acquisition of the iconic publication and message board, Beer Advocate earlier this February, and in … Read More

The PorchCast Ep 71 | Alex Kidd – Don’t Drink Beer

In episode 71 of the PorchCast, we spoke with Alex Kidd, founder of the popular entertainment and satire brand Don’t Drink Beer, who this summer also raised an astounding $67,000 via 14,000 participants in fundraisers for the family of Breonna Taylor and Elijah McClain.

We caught up with Alex to talk about how he started Don’t Drink Beer, what comedy looks like in the beer world today, how his podcast Malt Couture has pivoted during the pandemic and, of course, we dove into his apparent obsession with Barleywines and otters.

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GABF Virtual Recap | Lady Justice Brewing

What if the money you spent on beer also supported deserving causes in your community? That’s the question the founders of Lady Justice Brewing in Aurora, Colorado, asked themselves a few years ago when they were working in the non-profit sector. Kate Power, Betsy Lay, and Jen Cuesta were having a beer after work, commiserating about the lack of funds for the causes they believed in. What if their beer money could help?

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Halloween Beer Treat | LUKI Brewery Grammy’s Pumpkin Pie

During a drastic weather change like the ones we experience in Colorado from time to time, it’s easy to go right from crispy summer brews to heavy winter Stouts without the intermediary Oktoberfests and pumpkin beers. But LUKI Brewery in Arvada, Colorado, is giving its fairly new fan base reason to seek out squash and gourd-centric beers this fall: Grammy’s Pumpkin Pie.

Instead of being labeled a “pumpkin Ale” or an Imperial Stout with pumpkin like so many others, Grammy’s Pumpkin Pie is a spiced Brown Ale. LUKI’s current craft lineup contains no sub-5% ABV beers nor any 10%+ ABV booze bombs; the beers are born from owner and brewer Jeff Smith’s love of old-school styles and desire to create well-balanced, accessible (and still entertaining) brews.

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Colorado Breweries Who Won Big at the 2020 GABF Competition

Colorado has long held a reputation for strong showings at the Great American Beer Festival, and while this year was no different, Colorado breweries had a slightly down year earning … Read More

2020 GABF Awards Results | Who Won Big at This Year’s Competition

Much like the rest of 2020, this year’s Great American Beer Festival (GABF) has been anything but the norm. Without a week filled with rare beer releases, mini-festivals drawing hype … Read More

Breweries with the Most GABF Medals and More Competition Trends

Tomorrow night marks the 34th iteration of the competition portion of the Great American Beer Festival. And while this GABF week looks and feels unlike any other, tomorrow night’s awards … Read More

Colorado Breweries Launch Campaigns to Promote Voter Turnout

For years, PorchDrinking has documented the innumerable variety of ways that craft breweries have utilized their platform within local communities to support and promote noteworthy causes. Now during one of … Read More