Image Image Image Image Image Image Image Image Image Image
Scroll to top

Top

Pacific

Bootlegger’s Brewery | Black Phoenix

January 9, 2019 |

Bootlegger’s Brewery sold their first keg of beer in 2008. It was originally located in Fullerton, California in a small industrial building in an area that was a little rough around the edges. The brewery felt closer to a neighbor’s garage than it did a commercial brewery. Since then, they upsized the brewhouse from a 7 to a 30 barrel system. They moved the main brewing operations to a larger industrial area while staying in Fullerton. They also open their third tasting room location in Costa Mesa to go along with the Fullerton and Redlands locations. Read More

PorchDrinking’s Best in Beer 2018 | Pacific Region

December 31, 2018 |

2018 has been quite a year for California! Our Pacific team has been all over this lovely state to cover beer festivals, brewery openings, special releases and much more. We … Read More

What We’re Drinking | December 28, 2018

December 28, 2018 |

We are officially in the middle of the holiday week, and it’s probably time for a nice break from all the festivities. Here is what your favorite PorchDrinkers are enjoying this holiday season, it’s time for another installment of What We’re Drinking.

Read More

Firestone Walker | Champs de Fraises (2017)

December 14, 2018 |

Firestone Walker is known for creating some awesome brews, from the Luponic Distortion IPA series to Velvet Merkin, at their Paso Robles brewery. I feel that their Barrelworks beers can be overlooked at times, like the Champs de Fraises. I will be the first to say it took me a while to get down with wild ales, always thinking they would turn out a funky “gym sock” Belgian nose. Obviously, I had a lot to learn! Nowadays, wild ales are my jam and I seek out the opportunity to try these beauties.

Read More

Sierra Nevada | Beer for Drinking Hoppy Blonde Ale

December 3, 2018 |

As the craft beer industry continues to evolve and become more complex, Sierra Nevada switched gears and brewed an ale for a different beer lover. For the consumer who’s no connoisseur or who may not even care what the hell a hop even is, there’s Beer for Drinking.

It’s not barrel-aged, dry-hopped or infused. It’s beer. Plain and simple. And for many, that’s all they need.

Read More

Russian River Brewing Company | Windsor Porter

November 27, 2018 |

Russian River Brewing Company is an iconic brewery, a brewery that started beer trends, even before we knew what beer trends were. They are also a company that methodically moves at their own speed, with their own vision.

Though there’s no question that Russian River could have expanded earlier, they completed their expansion on their own terms, in my mind further proving their dedication to, and love of, craft beer. The stunning new brewing facility is located in Windsor, CA, just about nine miles from their Santa Rose brewpub. The new location includes a multi-room restaurant and a bar, with both indoor and outdoor bar seating, along with separate tasting and gift shop areas.

Read More

Bottle Logic Brewing | Darkstar November

November 9, 2018 |

Temperatures are dropping, costumes have been Instagrammed, worn, mangled and stashed away in the closet — out of sight, out of mind — once again. Having moved out of the U.S. seven months ago, it came as quite a shock to me this past week to learn that MOST COUNTRIES DON’T CELEBRATE HALLOWEEN. So forgive me if I want to hold on to it for just a little longer.

But the changing colors and declining thermometers also indicate another seasonal change is upon us: Stout Season. We have a glorious few months where high ABVs and barrel-aging take the spotlight as they encourage long talks by the fireplace and cap off fall festivities. In this humble writer’s opinion, Bottle Logic Brewing provides some of the finest dark brews around, and what beer is more appropriate to fully transition us into the season than the very appropriately named Darkstar November.

Read More

Georgetown Brewing Company | Manny’s Pale Ale

November 7, 2018 |

Readers of PorchDrinking.com, I’d like to introduce you to Seattle’s pale ale. That’s right – in the city with the most craft breweries in the entire country, known for pioneering brewers and enthusiastic hopheads, I’m daring to single out one brew as Seattle’s illustrative pale. Please raise a glass and introduce yourself to Manny’s Pale Ale from Georgetown Brewing Company Read More

Firestone Walker’s Terroir Project: A Beer & Wine Hybrid Event Recap

October 8, 2018 |

Traditional beer festivals are fun and a great place to experience new breweries, but they also can be a bit predictable if familiar breweries choose to just pour core beers that you’ve tried over and over again. If you’ve been to one local beer festival, chances are the next local festival will be much of the same… not bad, but still predictable. Over the last few years, we’ve seen breweries branching out and creating their own, and often uniquely curated beer festivals. Firestone Walker is no rookie when it comes to this. Events like From the Barrel, Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Festival and most recently Pils and Love all offer something beyond the norm.

Read More

Brewery Showcase | The Booth Brewery

September 28, 2018 | 1

The Booth Brewery, originally based in Korea, is taking it global.

The Booth Brewery has recently expanded to the U.S., with a brewery in Eureka, California. They purchased the 30-barrel brewing facility from Lost Coast Brewing, who recently expanded to a new location. The new facility is up and running, and The Booth has set a goal of producing 10,000 barrels in the next year. This will include both U.S. distribution and Korean exports.

Read More

Moonraker Brewing | Holy Hermit

September 27, 2018 |

Located in the heart of California’s Gold Rush county, Moonraker Brewing Company sits in an unassuming business park in the City of Auburn, a mere 700′ from neighboring Knee Deep Brewing.

Walking in their front door, it seems like you might not be in the right spot. No bar, no taps anywhere to be found. However, as you make your way towards the back, the space opens up into a large indoor/outdoor area, that screams beer hall. It also has a few small rooms that give it a bit of a “loungey” feel.

Read More

Event Recap | California Craft Beer Summit

September 19, 2018 |

Now that our Northern California team has waded out of their post-California Craft Beer Summit comas, we can bring you all the fun goodies from this year’s CCBA! To kick the Summit off right there was a State of the California Craft Beer Industry session. Here we were shown the cold, hard, data facts of our State’s Industry—how craft beer is doing compared to other alcohols (spirits, wine) and who is drinking more craft beer (age wise), and also popular styles. It was awesome to see it broken down in such a way that everyone had their phones out to get photos of the slides! We left there pumped for what’s next and what our State is doing. Read More

Firestone Walker Brewing | Leo v. Ursus – Doublus

September 12, 2018 |

If you’ve been following the beer scene for more than a minute, you’ve probably have been disappointed and had one of your favorite beers has been discontinued, reformulated or may be moved to a limited release. If you’re a fan of Firestone Walker Brewing, there is no doubt that this has happened more than once over the last few years. Walker’s Reserve, Wookey Jack, Opal and Double Jack. This is a lineup of beers that most breweries would kill to have on their tap list. For Firestone Walker… discontinued, or have they been? Read More

California Craft Beer Summit | Event Preview

September 7, 2018 |

This time last year my wife and I were just settling into our new home in Sacramento. Being here only a few months, we had experienced quite a few of the craft breweries around the area, but hadn’t fully experienced all that the Golden State had to offer to the craft beer lover. Then we went to the Craft Beer Summit and we got the glimpse of the variety and quality of the craft beer in California.

Read More

The OGs of Craft Beer | Bear Republic Racer 5

August 24, 2018 |

If you met me about a decade ago, you’d never think “this girl is into craft beer.” I could be found with anything from Coors Light to Hypnotic in my hand; yes, I was obviously very cool. It wasn’t until I was introduced to Sierra Nevada’s Pale Ale that I started to right my drinking ship and start learning about what craft beer really is.

My boyfriend’s parent’s always had a stocked beer fridge, hashtag goals, and would always have Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and Bear Republic Racer 5, among other tasty beers. Trying new beers in a judgment-free atmosphere was great – no beer snobs to scoff at me for my current faves and describing beer in terms I understood.

Read More

Stone Brewing 22nd Anniversary Celebration & Invitational | Event Preview

August 17, 2018 |

This Saturday, Stone Brewing is throwing a party to celebrate its 22nd anniversary. And in addition to pouring Stone beer, Stone has hand-selected some of the best breweries in the world and invited them to join for an event with food, music, private tastings and the best place to drink beer in California this weekend. I’m making the pilgrimage from LA to San Marcos, and here’s all the information you’ll need to join in the fun.

Read More

Has Constellation Lost Their Minds? Church’s Beer to Benefit LGBTQ & More News

August 16, 2018 |

Often when we find an inordinate volume of random beer news happening all at once, we’ll try to round them up as quick hitters to make sure to keep everyone in the loop. So in today’s edition of the roundup, we’ll touch on some bizarre decisions by Goose Island and Constellation, some release info as well as a great story on inclusion from an unlikely source.

We’ll kick things off with four equally bizarre moves from Constellation Brands, the beer conglomerate that owns Corona, Modelo, Ballast Point Brewing, Funky Buddha Brewing and the recently acquired Four Corners Brewing.

Read More

Lagunitas Partners with Short’s Brewing Co. on New Session Ale

August 14, 2018 |

Last July, Lagunitas purchased 20% of Michigan-based Short’s Brewing Co. When it was announced, Short’s spokeswoman Emily Sullivan noted that the agreement was strategic and helped them grow their business through easier access to materials and packaging that a brewing behemoth like Lagunitas can offer. Now, we’re seeing the first real activation of the partnership, as brewers from both operations joined together for a Midwest meets West Coast collaboration: Passion Grass Session Ale made with passion fruit and lemongrass. The new creation is the first consumer-facing example of their partnership and is sure to appeal to beer geeks nationwide. Here are the details.

Read More

The OGs of Craft Beer | Anchor Brewing – Anchor Steam

August 14, 2018 |

Anchor Steam®. Those two words serve as a metaphorical window into a world filled with a veritable wealth of American beer history.

To view Anchor Brewing is to observe three distinct stages of American brewing: 19th Century to Prohibition; the resurrection of American craft and the establishment of craft as a business worthy of significant investment. To drink the beer is to enjoy a historical brewing process that afforded West Coast brewers an ability to brew successfully without ice; it also helped remind later-twentieth-century beer drinkers that beer need-not be clearish-yellow and full of adjuncts.

Read More

The OGs of Craft Beer | Russian River – Pliny the Elder

August 9, 2018 |

Neither Vinnie nor Natalie Cilurzo are likely to read this piece about Russian River Pliny the Elder.

Not that it is anything personal; it is just that when you are in the nonstop process of brewing world-class beer while expanding from a 17,000 BBL system to a 70,000 BBL system, you tend to lack the time to Google yourself. Read More