Chicago-Area Breweries and Bottle Shop Host Beer Hunt 2020

Illinois Craft Beer Week my be postponed due to the COVID19 lockdown, but that’s not stopping six suburban-Chicago breweries and one bottle shop from celebrating craft week in spirit. Together, they have put together the 0th Annual Suburban Beer Hunt. From May 15 to May 30, beer fans can solve a series of puzzles that will take them on a to-go journey to six breweries and one bottle shop located in Chicago’s western suburbs. If they can solve each puzzle correctly, and in the correct order, prizes await the participants.

Read More

120+ New Colorado Beer Releases to Enjoy This Weekend

Since Colorado Governor, Jared Polis enacted stay-at-home orders in mid-March, breweries around the state have had to pivot their business models to focusing solely on beer-to-go, beer delivery, and retail … Read More

The Sweet Tastin’ Good Life Is so Easily Found | Over Yonder Brewing Company

Perched above the Denver metro area at the absolute foot of the Rockies, Golden’s Over Yonder Brewing waits with propped-open doors and beers to-go at the ready. Inside, a colorful mural and projector screen (playing a live concert stream) welcome its socially distanced pickup patrons. Upon greeting co-founder and head brewer Jason Bilodeaux, we (OK, I) forget briefly not to shake hands and then we go in for the elbow-five.

Read More

Inside The Tank | Brewery Faisan

The Coronavirus pandemic has touched every part of the nation, from how we meet, work, play, and come together. As an industry that relies heavily on building relationships with consumers, craft brewing has been especially hit hard. We have reached out to find out what its like to try and keep business thriving while the country remains largely indoors. Paul and Rachel Szlaga of Brewery Faisan, located in an eclectic Detroit neighborhood, were nice enough to take some time out of operations to speak with us about what it’s like to be operating in the midst of the uncertain.

Read More

Yards Brewing Company | Jefferson’s Golden Ale

Philadelphia: The city of brotherly and sisterly love. Whether you live in Philadelphia, the surrounding area that wishes it was Philly, or are just visiting, the significance of the history of the eastern Pennsylvania city is undeniable. From statues of individuals such as William Penn, John Barry and George Washington, to the bricked neighborhood of Old City and an almost deity like appreciation of Benjamin Franklin, the 300+ years of history are sure to include beer as well. Yards Brewing Company, in the city’s Northern Liberties neighborhood, thrives off the old world tradition of beer styles with Jefferson’s Golden Ale, formerly called Thomas Jefferson’s Tavern Ale.

Read More

Could Colorado Hop Terpenes Be the Latest in Brewing Innovation?

While it may sound more like genetic engineering than advancements in beer, what if you could isolate and amplify only the flavor and aroma compounds in hops and distill it down to liquid form? What’s being described is what is already being applied through hop terpene extraction, and it may be the next major leap in how hops are used in beer.

When you think of new hop varietals, hopping techniques, and innovation in hop usage, it’s easy to assume that the work being done is coming from the Pacific Northwest. But with the resinous plant being so closely related genetically to cannabis and sharing a class of organic compounds called terpenes, it should come as no surprise that research from the cannabis industry here in Colorado has inspired innovation in hop usage as well.

Read More

Side Project Brewing | O.W.K.

It’s been almost (exactly) two years since this extremely limited release from Side Project came out. While many who are familiar with O.W.K still consider it to be the best beer ever produced, perhaps even a larger percentage of people still don’t even know of its existence.

Read More

The Brewing Projekt | Dare Mighty Things IPA Series

The Brewing Projekt Dare Mighty Things Single Hop IPA and Double IPA are something to be grateful for during the monotonous hours of being at home. This brewery located in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, is almost five years young and truly making pieces of liquid art. They absolutely crush this experimental Hazy IPA series, and their fruited beers are out of this world. Don’t pass if you have an opportunity to open one of these beers. Even here in the Pacific Northwest, we’re fortunate enough to be getting a few drops every couple of weeks and the beer community couldn’t be happier. These are challenging times and this beer is a reminder that we can persevere this pandemic and all enjoy a great craft beer for some sanity.

Read More

Drink Beer, Do Yoga, Support Local

Just about everything looks different than it did a few months ago: We’re buying to-go beer and drinking at home because many of us cannot enjoy our favorite beverage at a local brewery or bar right now. Overnight, breweries have turned into delivery companies specializing in contactless delivery and carry out. Innovation is the name of the game and many breweries are offering creative options for people to stay entertained, from gift baskets to DIY pizza kits.

The fitness industry has drastically shifted as well. We cannot currently take large group fitness classes and instead are forced to participate in at-home workouts, oftentimes with dogs and small children attempting to join in.

Read More

Edge City Brewery | #squadgoals Berliner Weisse

Opening a new brewery in Charlotte, North Carolina, is already a risky business move. In a city with more than 30 breweries, it’s hard to stand out and generate the revenue and clientele necessary to survive. But opening a new brewery during a global pandemic in any city is an even riskier business move. Edge City Brewery tossed both of those fears to the wind and opened in Charlotte on April 16, 2020. Read More

Newbies & Freshies Adapts, Illinois Craft Beer Week Postponed

For the past three years, PorchDrinking and Bitter Pops, a craft beer bar and bottle shop, have put on Newbies and Freshies during Illinois Craft Beer Week to highlight the freshest and newest breweries in Chicagoland.

This year, with all events postponed, Newbies and Freshies will change the format. Instead of people coming to Bitter Pops to experience new and fresh beers hitting Chicago over the past year, we’ve created a box that you can take home full of a dozen beers from a variety of breweries.

Read More

Creature Comforts Brewing Co | Automatic

Pure excitement. That’s one of the many emotions that Athens, Georgia, beer lovers are feeling as Creature Comforts announced Automatic, their seasonal Pale Ale, was finally joining the ranks of their year-round offerings. Creature Comforts chose Automatic as their sixth year-round beer as part of their six-year anniversary celebration. 

Automatic has been a staple of summer since its first splash onto the Georgia craft beer scene more than four years ago. Now, summer never has to stop. Read More

4 Noses’ Wild Provisions Beer Project Opens in Boulder

Since its rough and tumble beginnings, Colorado’s residents have always shared a reputation for their wild west, anything goes, experimental nature. Sure the state has rich historical roots, but that … Read More

Unique COVID-19 Brewery Baskets and Community Partnerships in Chicago Suburbs

The idea of “craft community” has always enjoyed duality in that it both touches on brewery-to-brewery camaraderie and the connection between breweries and its neighborhoods and cities. Breweries such as Chicago-area’s Skeleton Key, Wolfden and Sew’d Hop—to name a few, along with a host of brewing and service industry peers, are now creatively working together and with nearby businesses as they pivot to a new “normal” during the lockdown. And, that effort is exemplified by the unique to-go COVID-19 Brewery Baskets available to customers.

Read More

Dutchess Ales | GB

On paper, Dutchess Ales GB doesn’t scream traditional English Ale. This Pale Ale includes a variety of hops like Centennial and Amarillo, and ferments with a hybrid yeast containing three different strains, none of them English in origin. However, this is a beer that works well in the pub (remember those?), several pints at a time. In that sense, it’s 100 percent spot on. Read More

Drinking Through Deschutes’ Latest Small Batch Reserves | Tumalo Kriek & The Ages 2020

Barrel-aged and blended beer releases aren’t just for winter months and colder temperatures. The dark liquid, bourbon barrels and boozy aftertastes of October through December releases give way to lighter colors, wine barrels and fruit-forward flavor offerings found in April and May. Such is the case for Deschutes Brewery, which has staked its fall and winter barrel-aging claim thanks to the likes of the popular The Abyss Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout. The Bend, Oregon brewery also recently announced the release of two new additions to their Small Batch Reserve series for spring: Tumalo Kriek and The Ages 2020. Both are available in 500 mL bottles and both highlight warm weather, seasonal ingredients: cherries in Tumalo and pears in The Ages. Deschutes was kind enough to send a bottle of each my way. With extra time on my hands, I really got to enjoy both of these beers. Here are my thoughts. 

Read More

Loveland Aleworks | Death Wobble Imperial Coffee Porter

When the calendar turns to April, Colorado inevitably experiences lovely 70-plus degree days followed by the occasional two-day blizzard. This year followed that pattern, only to be accompanied with myriad COVID-19 issues. Thankfully, many breweries throughout the state of Colorado kept brewing beer, offering take-out and delivery options, all while continuing to release new beers. Loveland Aleworks is one such brewery. 

Read More

Boulder’s Ska Street Brewstillery Opens Today for To-Go Sales

Over the past thirty years, beer fans have become well-acquainted with Colorado’s storied craft beer legacy. Brands like New Belgium, Odell, Great Divide, Left Hand, Oskar Blues, and Avery have … Read More

Ultimate 6er | The Perfect Mother’s Day Beer

Mother’s Day may be well-known for mimosas, but here at PorchDrinking, we prefer something a little more hoppy. While Mother’s Day will be different than previous years, it doesn’t mean you can’t pick up some of your favorite local brews. If you can’t be with your mom, consider delivery as a nice surprise; and if you are a mom, stock up and know you have a day free of homeschooling. Need some inspiration? Check out our Ultimate 6er and you’ll be sure to find the perfect Mother’s Day beer for a video chat.

Read More

Dialed in with WeldWerks | Neil Fisher on Flights, Fan Questions and the Worst Beer Weldwerks Ever Made

Jake Goodman, the marketing and sales director at WeldWerks Brewing, was in the middle of answering a question about Juicy Bits when a loud thump thump thump reverberated through his Zoom audio. He paused and looked off-screen. “Hey, buddy, Daddy’s talking to his friends—can you please hold off on the drums until I’m done?” he asked his son. The camera cut back to a laughing Neil Fisher, the head brewer and co-founder of WeldWerks. A majestic pink dollhouse towered behind Neil; his children’s playroom had been repurposed into a makeshift interview corner. Welcome to “Dialed in with WeldWerks”.

Read More