PorchDrinking’s Weekly Denver Beer Beat | December 31, 2019

The Denver Beer Beat is a weekly roundup of brewery openings, special tappings, firkins and one-off batches, bottle releases, dinners, pairings, and more happening in the Front Range and beyond. Be sure to check in each Wednesday to discover anything and everything happening around Colorado’s beer scene. Now let’s get to this week’s can’t miss beer events. Read More

JDub’s Brewing Company | Passion Wheat

Christmas as a kid is a wonderland of gifts and anticipation for gifts; Christmas as an adult is travel and worrying about travel. The gift we receive is—once we’ve finally reached our destination—a whole new world of local beers at our fingertips. I went to the beautiful shores of Sarasota, FL where I spent most of my time in the pool sipping JDub’s Brewing Company’s Passion Wheat, pretending it wasn’t winter. The Passion Wheat definitely helped maintain my self-delusion.
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The 2019 Best of Utah Craft Beer

What would America be without its Purple Mountains Majesty? Utah sits amidst some of the most beautiful mountain ranges in the country — and what’s better than enjoying a mountain view than with a good beer? Utah may not be the most discussed beer location in the country, but the quality and diversity of its brewing scene can’t be ignored. And, like any region, the craft beer community continues to grow and evolve. We hope you enjoy our efforts to compile the 2019 Best of Utah Craft Beer; and we hope you get a chance to drink a few of our regional beers soon!

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The 2019 Best of Southwest Craft Brewing

Many of the beers produced in the Southwest region don’t make it too far out of the region for a variety of reasons; rarely do you see Texas craft beer anywhere but Texas. Regardless, some of the best craft beer scenes exist in this region, further evidenced by continual Great American Beer Festival wins. At the festival this year, New Mexico brought home seven medals, Arizona won eight and Texas brought home sixteen, including eight first time winners. The Southwest Regional team got together to decide on the best of the best — no easy task! So, here is The 2019 Best of Southwest Craft Brewing

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Lil Beaver Brewery | Citraic

Lil Beaver Brewery comes from Bloomington, Illinois—a town nearly smack dab in the middle of the state—and has been brewing up tasty treats since 2017.

They are fresh off their great performance at FoBAB, when we listed them as one of the best newcomers, and are finally starting to expand more and more throughout Illinois. The vast majority of their brews are Stouts but they have also made a name for themselves producing some tasty hazy Pale Ales and IPAs. Read More

The 2019 Best of Chicago Craft Brewing

As the Chicago-area craft scene inches its way towards 200 breweries, the annual task of summarizing the year’s best beer stories has grown ever so daunting — and exhilarating. To peer through one’s pictures of the beers, events, and interviews and re-discover the year in beer offers a reminder of how enriching the job of a beer writer can be. Indeed, the pick the minds of brewers and industry folks, and drink the fruits of their labor, is satisfying to no end.  Mike Zoller, Chicago and Midwest Editor and I, Chicago writer and National Content Editor, decided to provide some of our highlights this year. Without further ado, enjoy our 2019 Best of Chicago Craft Brewing

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Fair State Brewing Cooperative & 3 Floyds Brewing | Partying Past Burning Bridges

Christmas came early for Midwest craft beer enthusiasts this year as Minneapolis’ Fair State Brewing Cooperative and Munster, Indiana’s 3 Floyds Brewing gave us Partying Past Burning Bridges, a collaborative dip-hopped IPA.

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2 Days 2 Nights | Stockholm, Sweden

Sweden – a country whose northern tip breaches the Arctic Circle, making the summer days long and joyful and outdoor activities bountiful. Unfortunately, I decided to visit the capital of Stockholm in early November, and was greeted with 3pm sunsets and a Seattle-but-colder weather vibe. I didn’t mind, as it gave me ample excuse to visit the city’s numerous beer bars, leading to some enjoyable long, brisk, waterside stumbles. Swedes love their craft beer, and you will not find it hard to indulge yourself while taking in this extremely walk-able city.

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Level Crossing Brewing Company | Suss It Out

Happy holidays from our home to yours. We are hoping everyone’s had a memorable 2019 like we have. Furthermore, it’s been a fun year for craft beer in our good old home state of Utah. For example, five new breweries opened their doors to the public, including Level Crossing Brewing Company. Although it may not seem like much compared to other areas, multiple brand-new options in just one year pumped us up. So essentially that means over 10% of the Beehive state’s total breweries started in 2019. And not only have breweries popped up with increased frequency, but the quality being offered is world class. Read More

Russian River’s Pliny the Younger Going into Bottles For the First Time

Christmas has come early for fans of Russian River Brewing’s wildly hyped Pliny the Younger Triple IPA. Last night as beer fans around the world were hanging their stockings with … Read More

Christmas Classics | Brasserie Dupont Avec Les Bons Voeux

By far, my favorite holiday beer is Brasserie Dupont’s Avec Les Bons Voeux (translated as “with good wishes”). It’s made year-round, but only brought to the United States during winter. The beer began as a treat to brewery visitors during the holidays and, as it only makes its way to the United States around the holidays, it remains a special treat for us. Read More

Pairing Stem Ciders with Your Perfect Holiday Celebration

While putting out milk and cookies for Santa may have been enough to satisfy old Saint Nick back when we were kids, Santa of 2019 is likely looking for a … Read More

PorchDrinking’s Weekly Denver Beer Beat | December 23, 2019

The Denver Beer Beat is a weekly roundup of brewery openings, special tappings, firkins and one-off batches, bottle releases, dinners, pairings, and more happening in the Front Range and beyond. Be sure to check in each Wednesday to discover anything and everything happening around Colorado’s beer scene. Now let’s get to this week’s can’t miss beer events. Read More

David Nilsen’s Best Beer of 2019: Ohio & Midwest

2019 was a fun year for me in the beer world. I attended the Great American Beer Festival for the first time, published a lot of articles and drank a lot of great beer.

Here are my thoughts on the best beer of 2019, and the many happenings that occurred this past year in the world of craft beer.

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Christmas Classics | Triptych Brewing O Christmas Meme

It’s a well regarded fact that the best beer to make you recall fond memories of Christmases of yore is a terrifically dark, malty ale. Perhaps it’s spiced, like Great Lake Christmas Ale. Maybe it’s minty with deep chocolate notes. Or it could be barrel-aged, resulting in a boozy, syrupy confection that’s meant to inoculate you from the inevitable holiday hangover. But what if, just this one time, you wanted to enjoy a Christmas beer that embodies the current haze craze? Well, we’ve found the beer for you.

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The PorchCast Ep 66 | Bests of 2019 w/ Shawnee Adelson & Traci Wilcox

In episode 66 of the PorchCast, Tristan, Sami and Hunter sat down with Shawnee Adelson, Executive Director of the Colorado Brewers Guild and Traci Wilcox, CEO of OnTap Credit Union … Read More

Our Favorite Chicago and Midwestern Beers from 2019

As another year comes to a close, we’d like to look back at the past 12 months on some of our favorite beers we had that came out of Midwest breweries.

With the number of breweries increasing, it becomes harder and harder to narrow down a list, but we have a handful of Midwest writers who contributed their favorite beers of 2019.

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Christmas Classics | Spoetzl Brewery Shiner Holiday Cheer

Dear Santa,

I’ve done my best this year. Sure, I may have had a few bumps in the road on my way to the Nice List, but what can I say? I’m only human. Besides, a few parking tickets never hurt anyone! Look Santa, I want to reason with you. I don’t need anything too fancy, so you can save the diamond earrings and shiny new cars for the real heroes out there. There is really only one thing I want to find in my stocking this year, and it’s a shiny new bottle of Shiner Holiday Cheer from Spoetzl Brewery. Now, they probably don’t sell this one where you’re from up North, so I’ll give you a few pointers to make sure you know what you’re looking for. 

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Two Breweries in Denver Out to Prove Being Vegan is Cool and Inclusive

For two Denver breweries, the decision to brew vegan beer was as organic as their ingredients.

The vegan scene has exploded in the Colorado capital in recent years, but that popularity hasn’t always translated to beer, especially in the age of pastry stouts and milkshake IPAs. Little Machine Beer, a 10-barrel brewery perched just north of the Denver Broncos’ Mile High Stadium, noticed the dearth of options.

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Christmas Classics | Deschutes Brewing Jubelale

When the temperature drops below 50 degrees, our taste buds seem to sense the change in barometric pressure and start to crave those darker, roasted malts. There is a coziness that is associated with a stout by the fireside or watching rainfall while sipping on a malty winter mistress of a Cascadian dark ale. The winter seasonals start to hit the shelves just in time for the holidays and are invariably associated with happy, festive memories.

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