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WeldWerks Brewing Company | Fit Bits
October 22, 2019 | Karen Mills
Lighter, low-calorie, more health-conscious beers are becoming increasingly popular in the craft beer world. We shared six crushable options in an Ultimate 6er and talked about breweries such as Sufferfest Beer Company, (Sierra Nevada acquired them earlier this year) targeting a segment within craft beer that is constantly growing. WeldWerks Brewing Company, who wowed the craft beer world by creating more than 100 new SKUs in 2018, recently released their version of a low-calorie beer: Fit Bits.
2020 to See Expansion for Many Chicagoland Breweries
October 21, 2019 | Mike Zoller
Not only is Chicago’s craft beer scene seeing new breweries opening seemingly every month, but more than half a dozen breweries in the Chicagoland area have also announced expansion plans, setting the stage for a busy end of 2019 into 2020.
Breweries like Marz Brewing Co. and Ravinia Brewing Company will be opening second locations within the city of Chicago. While Noon Whistle Brewing and Pollyanna Brewing Company are expanding in the suburbs. Meanwhile, Forbidden Root Restaurant & Brewery is opening a second location in Columbus, Ohio.
Prairie Artisan Ales | Paradise
October 21, 2019 | Karen Mills
As the weather cools off, you may be left dreaming of those warm summer days when you’re lounging out and soaking up the sun. Although we’re not in the worst of the winter just yet, Prairie Artisan Ales‘ Paradise will keep you reminiscent of those summer days, despite being a Stout.
Inaugural Beer Culture Summit Aims to Educate Chicago Beer Fans
October 18, 2019 | Mike Zoller
It’s only fitting that the city with the most breweries would host a first of its kind conference exploring craft beer from the culture, history, diversity, and everything in-between. Chicago will be hosting the inaugural Beer Culture Summit on October 24-27, organized by The Chicago Brewseum.
Athletic Brewing Company | Run Wild IPA
October 18, 2019 | Chris & Sylvia Hollands
An interesting thing happened while prepping annual GABF coverage here at PorchDrinking this year. We noticed a growing trend of breweries bringing craft alcohol-free beer to the beer-lovers event. Now of course, alcohol-free beer isn’t new. Can you recall the times of “near beer” and O’Doul’s? And most recently Heineken introduced their version to the market. Out of curiosity we gave the latter a try, and to our surprise it tasted like a regular Heineken. Needless to say it was intriguing, so we did more research into the non-alcoholic craft craze. Read More
Latin-Inspired Casa Humilde Cervecería joins Chicago’s District Brew Yards
October 17, 2019 | Mathew Powers
The nation’s first all-in-one brewery collaborative, Chicago’s District Brew Yards, has added a forth member to its team of breweries. The Latin American-inspired Casa Humilde Cervecería will join Burnt City, Around the Bend and Bold Dog in the unique pour-your-own beer hall and retail shop on Chicago’s West Side. The announcement of the fourth brewery comes on the heals of the Brew Yards’ unique Kveik Fest and Bold Dog Brewing winning the 2020 Sam Adams “Brewing the American Dream” award, which was announced at the Great American Fest in early October. The four breweries will officially kick off their new partnership with a Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebration on November 1.
Market Evolution Drives Boulder Beer Company To Focus Locally
October 17, 2019 | Scott Grossman
Last week, Boulder Beer Company dropped a seismic announcement, that beginning in 2020, they will end outside distribution of their beer, and that the iconic brewery would subsequently layoff several members of their team. The surprising news immediately led to industry-wide discussions regarding the future of the brewery, as well as how this move reflects on other heritage brands that helped pioneer craft beer’s growth.
It also left beer lovers wondering how and where they’ll find their favorite brews. However a deeper analysis shows that the sky isn’t falling; this move simply reflects the evolving industry and is realistically just one of Boulder Beer’s many adaptations during their 40 years as an independent craft brewer. Read More
Previewing Epic Brewing’s 2019 Big Bad Baptist Variants
October 17, 2019 | Tristan Chan
From WeldWerks to Holy Mountain, Moksa to Prairie, many of today’s most hyped rising American breweries can attribute part of their rabid following to proficiency in producing barrel-aged Stouts and subsequent variant spinoffs.
Roughhouse Brewing | Ona
October 17, 2019 | Katie Kalk 1
Outside of Austin lies what many locals call the prettiest little part of Texas: Hill Country. Small rolling hills break up the endless blue sky and Texas scrub provides shade to white-tailed deer, armadillos, and the hordes of tubers leisurely floating down the San Marcos River. Many Austin based companies will provide tubes and transportation for easy access to San Marcos’ best-known attraction. Visitors shouldn’t stick to the water; getting out and exploring Hill Country charms is best done on dry land. Some of the best boozy attractions in the state are scattered around Hill Country from the elite Jester King Brewery to the only sotol distillery in the United States, Desert Door. With over twenty-five breweries in Hill Country, visitors will find plenty of delicious reasons to keep exploring the surrounding scrubland.
PorchDrinking’s Weekly Denver Beer Beat | October 16, 2019
October 16, 2019 | Jeremiah Cornelius
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
2019 Festival of Wood & Barrel-Aged Beer Announces FoBAB Brewery List
October 16, 2019 | Mathew Powers
The 17th Annual Festival of Wood & Barrel-Aged Beer (FoBAB), the world’s largest barrel-aged beer festival and competition, will occur in Chicago on Nov. 8-9 at the University of Illinois-Chicago. More than 200 craft breweries from across the United States will showcase innovative, rare and special barrel-aged brews, while also competing for top honors in The National Barrel-Aged Beer Competition.
“FoBAB continues to be a one-of-a-kind showcase of the creativity, innovation and passion that defines the craft beer industry,” said Danielle D’Alessandro, executive director for the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild, host of FoBAB for 17 years. “We’re thrilled to provide a venue for breweries across the nation to feature their barrel-aged beer to thousands of enthusiasts from all over the world.”
Where Do the Barrels Go After They’re Done Aging Beer?
October 16, 2019 | Taylor Laabs
It’s finally the season for barrel-aged beers. Chicago is spoiled with its options: Revolution’s Deep Wood series kicks off this weekend; Cruz Blanca also has standout offerings – oh, and Begyle won gold for their Barrel-Aged Imperial Pajamas at GABF this year. While the beers get all the glory, the barrels that produce them sometimes get lost in the fray. Ever the creative-types, breweries typically find alternative use cases for these barrels after their primary usage days are past them. To find out how these barrels find new life post-barrel-aging, we asked the breweries.
Event Preview | A Comprehensive Guide to Ohio’s Ale-O-Ween
October 15, 2019 | David Nilsen
Leaves are falling, Ohio evenings are getting crisp and jack o’ lanterns are smiling from porches across the Buckeye state. It’s time for the Ohio Craft Brewers Association’s Ale-O-Ween in downtown Dayton!
Firestone Walker’s Terroir Project | An Experimental Crossover
October 15, 2019 | Robert French
For many people, the expectation is that breweries must always be innovating to be relevant. While smaller breweries have the luxury of chasing a trend and nimbly playing the field, many larger and established breweries find this a challenging task. Firestone Walker, though one of the larger craft breweries, has continued to find a way to create their own space. Whether it’s through unique beer releases or highly curated events, they always seem to be up for the challenge. Read More
Hoppers Grill & Brewing | La Nymphe Bière de Garde
October 15, 2019 | Tim Haran
It’s not often Hoppers Grill & Brewing Co. bottles its beers so when it does, as the usually draft-only brewery did with La Nymphe, craft beer drinkers know they’re in for a treat.
Collabapalooza Beer Fest Returns to San Diego
October 14, 2019 | Jadon Flores
Collabapalooza is one of the top-rated beer festivals in southern California. On Saturday, October 19, more than 30 breweries will overtake the backlot of NorthPark Observatory to showcase a plethora … Read More
Southern Prohibition | Altered Beast IPA
October 14, 2019 | Eric Griffin
The beast has awoken, and this time it has emerged in the form of Southern Prohibition‘s newest core IPA offering. Teenagers of the 1980s, you’ll recognize the name and label art as a Grecian-based beat ’em up arcade game produced by Sega in 1988. Game on!
2019 Denver Rare Beer Tasting Brings Out the Elite During GABF Week
October 11, 2019 | David Nilsen
Utopias on Cherries. Coconut Brandy Medianoche. Millerzzzzz. 5 Candles.
If you’d thrown a dart at the pour list for Denver Rare Beer Tasting 11 at the McNichols Civic Center in … Read More
Turk’s Head Brewery | I-SOON REACH
October 11, 2019 | Dan Olds
Turks and Caicos Islands is a group of Islands located in the Atlantic Ocean southeast of the Bahamas. The first inhabitants of Turks and Caicos were the Arawakan-speaking Taino people, who arrived between 500 and 800 AD. In 1512, Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de Leόn’s arrival created slavery and depopulated the islands by European disease. In the centuries since, Turks and Caicos has been under several different European powers but gained independence in 1973. Since then they have remained a separate British Overseas Territory.
One Colorado Brewery Continues to Medal at Every GABF Since Opening
October 10, 2019 | Tristan Chan
When we speak about the 1990’s Chicago Bulls, John Wooden’s UCLA Bruins from the mid 60’s through 70’s, the 1950’s Yankees with Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, and Yogi Berra, or more contemporary examples like Geno Auriemma’s UConn Women’s Basketball teams from the mid 90’s to today, and from 2001 to today, the New England Patriots, we’re talking about iconic programs that have achieved greatness for such a sustained period of time and consistency, that they transcend normal recognition. They become spoken about in rarified air, as dynasties.
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