Southwest
Vista Brewing | Desert Skies
January 6, 2020 | Katie Kalk
When was the last time you drank something completely new? Was it the first time you braved a beer with “milkshake” on the can? The first time you confused an IPA for a glass of juice? A beer-infused with CBD and smelling like a college dorm room? Vista Brewing in Driftwood, Texas, has achieved the rare privilege of making a beer that has a unique spin on an established method. The first-ever beer aged in sotol barrels.
The 2019 Best of Southwest Craft Brewing
December 30, 2019 | Pam Catoe
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
What We’re Drinking | December 13, 2019
December 13, 2019 | Pam Catoe
The year is quickly coming to an end, which means it’s time for all the holiday celebrations. Naturally, you’ll need a list of great beers to take with you to all the festivities. Luckily your PorchDrinking team has you covered. Here is a list of the perfect holiday beers to help you celebrate the season.
Christmas Classics | Rahr & Sons Winter Warmer
December 11, 2019 | Pam Catoe
Winter is here and it’s time to enjoy the best seasonal style around (in my opinion), the Winter Warmer. For this year’s Christmas Classics, I reached out to my Texas beer community via the internet for advice on a great Texas seasonal and I got an overwhelming response to try Rahr & Sons Winter Warmer. Read More
TUPPS Brewery | Day of the Dead
November 22, 2019 | Pam Catoe
Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead celebrations are vibrant, unique events that inspired TUPPS Brewery out of McKinney, Texas to release a beer in honor of the holiday. Day of the Dead is a juicy, hazy Pale Ale dry-hopped with Galaxy, Citra and Mosaic, resulting in a citrus aroma and stone fruit flavors. At only 5.5% ABV, it’s compared to a crushable version of their wildly popular TUPPS DDH series. To capture the spirit of the holiday, all of the cans were designed by local artists. I caught up with Head Brewer Chris Lewis to talk more about the beer and what’s on the horizon for TUPPS.
The End of San Diego Beer Week 2019
November 18, 2019 | Jadon Flores
Sunday November 10th’s festivities at Arroyo Terrace of the Lodge at Torrey Pines were the close of this year’s San Diego Beer Week. There were a variety of events at breweries across San Diego to celebrate this year’s event, as well.
The beer scene has changed in San Diego, but the local guild tries to make sure to maintain a “we’re all in this together” community. I discussed some of the reasons why guilds are important to the local brewing scene with San Diego Guild President Matthew Zirpolo.
What We’re Drinking | November 15, 2019
November 15, 2019 | Pam Catoe
Most of us were hit with an Arctic blast this week, dropping temperatures in Texas by 30 degrees within an hour. Although a welcome change from the oppressive heat, things turned wintery quick! Here are a few ideas to keep you warm this week from your PorchDrinking staffers. Read More
Yakima Chief Hops Announces the 2020 Pink Boots Blend
November 12, 2019 | Pam Catoe
Starting in 2017, Yakima Chief Hops (YCH) and members of the Pink Boots Society (PBS) meet up at the Great American Beer Festival for a unique event, aptly named the Annual Hop Rub. YCH brings the best of their hop harvest, carefully laid out on tables for attendees to smell, touch and taste, with the goal of selecting the annual Pink Boots Society hop blend. Read More
Jester King + Other Half | Urban Mutation
November 12, 2019 | Karl Kalinkewicz
Collaboration beer often presents a mixed bag: Excitement races through your beard when you hear that two of your favorite breweries have Voltron-ed, but then the results follow a predictable pattern. Either you get a middling compromise between the two parties, resulting in a solid and forgettable “eh,” or one brewery’s profile dominates the other and the beer is like a Paul Simon album after Garfunkel left town in which the expected quality makes you forget that there’s supposed another element in this equation.
A friend recently Santa Claused me a suitcase full of Jester King and I’ve been doing my best to explore these recent offerings at a responsible pace. Jester King beers always have that incredible lightness and drinkability. A 750ml is never quite enough and a 375ml is just plain disrespectful. Moderne Dansk, included in this bounty, was one of the best beers I’ve had in quite some time. Schopenhauer himself would have impressed at the dour mood that enveloped me, realizing life would be a long struggle with little possibility of another drop. But one that caught my eye in this 20 bottle porch bomb was the collaboration beer with Other Half: Urban Mutation.
SDBW Event | Ladies Arm Wrestling at Kairoa Brewing
November 11, 2019 | Jadon Flores
Entering Kairoa Brewing a bit early, there is a full stage and decorations for the special Pink Boot Society fundraising event. Brewer still on deck from a long BrewDay the ladies start to line up for the main event, arm … Read More
Independence Brewing Company | Stash IPA
November 11, 2019 | Dustin Wenger
Many of you know the secret joy that comes from having something special, almost sinful, tucked away in a hiding place so cleverly disguised that nobody will ever discover. Whether it’s a cache of nostalgic trinkets, a hoard of candy or even a small collection of something not so innocent, at some point we’ve all had a stash that we kept all to ourselves. Luckily for Texas, Independence Brewing Company is more than happy to share their Stash with the rest of us.
GABF Small Brewpub Brewer of the Year 2019 | Rowley Farmhouse Ale
October 29, 2019 | Asa Stone
Rowley Farmhouse Ales in Santa Fe, New Mexico, won the Small Brewpub Brewer of the Year at 2019 Great American Beer Festival by winning the Bronze medal for their Côte d’Or in the Mixed-Culture Brett Beer category (94 entries), the Silver medal for their Agent Orange in the Wood and Barrel-Aged Sour Beer (82 entries), and the Gold medal for their Meier in the German-Style Sour Ale category (63 entries). Rowley Farmhouse Ales brewmaster and co-owner John Rowley talked about their medal-winning beers and his perspective on beer and food pairings.
9 Best New Mexico Breweries to Import After Trump’s Wall in Colorado
October 25, 2019 | Tristan Chan
Two days ago, President Trump announced that he would be building a wall in Colorado to presumably keep out the New Mexicans for whatever offense they may have committed against him. One could surmise that their green chile was too spicy and flavorful for his bland palate, or perhaps saw tweets from their visitor’s bureau of Meow Wolf and thought we were being attacked from another dimension by another planet’s space force.
Regardless, Trump’s alleged wall in Colorado will surely have dire repercussions for the rest of the country including the fact that we’ll no longer have easy access to a number of the state’s prolific breweries. Here’s a list of the nine best breweries out of New Mexico, which we’ll have to import once Trump’s Colorado wall is built.
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.
Ultimate 6er | Partners in Craft
September 26, 2019 | Pam Catoe
The opening night event for the Texas Craft Brewers Festival on September 28, Partners in Craft, is in its third year and has quickly become a favorite among festival-goers. This unique event focuses on the spirit of collaboration among Texas breweries and their community in an intimate setting featuring an equally unique line up of beers, food, live music, specialty vendors curated by the Austin Flea, and a glimpse into beer history courtesy of the popular Beer Museum pop-up. Tickets for this event are almost sold out, so get yours today. Read More
Saint Arnold Brewing Company | Art Car IPA
September 26, 2019 | Dustin Wenger
The phenomenon of the art car has intrigued me for some time. Have you ever seen these things? Cars covered from bumper to bumper with colorful paint jobs and anything from mosaic tile to plastic figurines. Sure, some look like a hoarder hoarked on a hooptie, but there are certainly some examples that truly are mobile art. The layers of detail and creativity are impressive, and it’s that creative spirit that inspired Saint Arnold’s Art Car IPA.
2019 Texas Craft Brewers Festival Beer List Announced
September 24, 2019 | Pam Catoe
The Texas Craft Brewers Festival, featuring more than 75 craft breweries, returns September 28, 2019, to Fiesta Gardens in Austin, TX. The event, which is organized by the Texas Craft Brewers Guild and co-presented by Craft Pride, is the state’s largest beer event focused exclusively on Texas-brewed craft beer.
Mystic Rye | Toltec Brewing Co.
September 23, 2019 | Asa Stone
An Albuquerque, New Mexico, native, Kaylynn Krosche still recalls the scent of hops hitting the boiling kettle as her father homebrewed. Her passion for beer and brewing developed early. And it has evolved into her life-long pursuit. Krosche is now the founding brewmaster of Toltec Brewing Co. in Albuquerque. Her presence is well recognized through her active involvement in the community and through medals and awards.
What We’re Drinking | September 19, 2019
September 20, 2019 | Pam Catoe
Fall is officially upon us, but it’s still hot as heck here in the South. Luckily, I was able to spend the last week in the Netherlands and enjoy fall-like weather. How are you celebrating the start of the fall season? Here are some delicious beers to help you enjoy the changing of seasons in this week’s What We’re Drinking.
Texas Craft Brewers Celebrate Beer-To-Go Day
August 31, 2019 | Pam Catoe
On Sunday, September 1, Texans will finally have the opportunity to take beer home from their favorite craft brewery, which makes Texas the final state to allow take-home sales from a manufacturing brewery.
A brief history: Texas brewers have been fighting for reforms for more than a decade that would allow them the same benefits a winery, brewpub, or distillery enjoys — allowing visitors the ability to take home their product. Finally, during the 86th Legislative session, the law passed with a tremendous effort from the Texas Craft Brewers Guild, brewers and thousands of supporters.
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