Off Color Brewing | Beer for Lounging Pale Ale

The release of a pale ale usually wouldn’t raise many eyebrows. It’s a staple of nearly any brewery. But when Off Color Brewing released a new pale ale, it was a startling surprise for many of its fans.

While other breweries make an endless supply of IPAs, pale ales and other hoppy beers, Off Color has steadfastly refused to ever make one. Off Color started in 2013 with an initial lineup of a saison, a gose and a kotbusser — instead of an IPA, pale ale and a double IPA.

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DC Brau Leads Collaboration Effort to Honor Ben Tolkan

One of the greatest things about the craft beer community is the community itself. Without a large group of like-minded individuals drinking it and bonding over it, craft beer would simply be a liquid with a curious chemical composition. And when tragedy strikes, breweries are often among the first to rally support, most often with a collaboration release.

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Neshaminy Creek Brewing Company | JAWN Pale Ale

Jawn – /jôn/ – (noun)

“Eastern Pennsylvania slang used to refer to a person, place, thing or event that one need not or can not give specific name to.”

Not as in I jawn, you jawn, he… she… we… jawn. That usage would be incorrect. The proper usage of “jawn” is for any and all nouns. Including Neshaminy Creek JAWN Pale Ale.

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The Classic Pale Ale in a Modern Craft Beer World

You remember the Pale Ale, don’t you? Sure you do. It’s a beer style born in England during the early 1700s. It was then resurrected and reinvented in the U.S. when Fritz Maytag introduced the lovely Cascade hop into his Anchor Brewing Liberty (Pale) Ale in 1975. He was followed by Jack McAuliffe of New Albion Brewing Company, and then most famously by Ken Grossman and Paul Camusi with Sierra Nevada Pale Ale in 1981. Early American Pale Ales profoundly altered the modern craft beer scene. Even the first canned beer to emerge in modern craft beer was Oskar Blues Dale’s Pale Ale in 2002. Its place in craft beer history is forever cemented, but is still relevant as we approach 2020?

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Maplewood Brewery | Charlatan Pale Ale

For my first piece for PorchDrinking, I decided to revisit a beer that kicked off my love of craft beers.

I still remember the first time I tried The Charlatan…back before it was canned. Before it received its new look. Hell, even before Maplewood came to be known as Maplewood.

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Avery Brewing Company | Ale to the Chief

8.1% ABV | 19.1 degrees Plato (OG)

Avery Brewing Company Ale to the Chief is around for a third term. Don’t worry, there’s no dictatorship here — it’s all about democracy. In that spirit, this isn’t the first time we’ve written about Ale to the Chief. Four years ago, PorchDrinking’s own chief wrote a blurb about Avery’s Ale to the Chief, but there’s a new political and beer climate around, it’s time for a new voice. It’s time for my voice. It’s time for change!

[Balloon Drop]

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Joseph James Brewing Co. | Citra Rye American Pale Ale

ABV: 5.4% | IBU: 55

When I think about amazing craft beer, Nevada never really came to mind until a couple years ago when I found two amazing breweries out of the state mainly known for Vegas and deserts. During the 2014 Great American Beer Festival, I stumbled (figuratively, not literally) across both Brasserie Saint James and Joseph James Brewing. Joseph James Brewing’s Citra Rye APA has got quite a bit of praise, including a GABF medal in 2013, Men’s Journal Best Beers in America, and from craft beer drinkers like me.

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The Six Best Beers for Summer Backpacking

You have finally reached your campsite after hiking 20 miles over rugged terrain with all of your gear on your back. A heavy band of sweat clings to your head as you finally drop your pack and begin to set up your shelter. Once you’ve eaten and settled in for the night, you reach into your pack and pull out a beer. Beer might not be as essential as food, water, shelter or clothing, but, in your modest camp, it’s nothing short of a luxury.

Since the most important criterion of a backpacking beer is portability, every beer on this list will be canned. Cans are much lighter than glass and don’t require you to pack a bottle-opener. You also do not run the risk of a can breaking and leaving dangerous shards all over the campsite. Last but not least, aluminum conducts heat faster than glass, which means they’ll get cold faster when you stick them in a creek. There are many to choose from, but, if you ask me, these are the best summer backpacking beers. Read More

Odell Brewing Co. | Drumroll American Pale Ale

ABV: 5.3% | IBU: 42

It’s been more than two years since Odell Brewing Co. has released a new year-round beer. I assume that’s because the brewery prefers to achieve near-perfection with a beer before putting it in customers’ hands. Having just tried their newest release, Drumroll American Pale Ale, I’m 100% on board with that strategy. Read More

CitruSinensis | Lagunitas Brewing Company

ABV: 7.9%

One of my favorite spring beers was Waldo’s Special from the Lagunitas Brewing Company One Hitter Series. Lagunitas has another homerun with their citrus pale ale, a perfect summer beer called CitruSinensis. CitruSinensis was created using “Fresh Sanguinello Blood Oranges inside a Wheatier version of Dogtown Pale(ish) Ale.” Jeremy Marshall, head brewer, stated “we add blood orange juice to the secondary that is just juice so no extract or flavoring. We also let the juice ferment.” This beer was first introduced June 2015 and remains available on tap and 12oz 6 packs. Being part of the One Hitter Series, this is a limited beer that will not last long.

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High Hops Brewery | The Power of Zeus APA

High Hops Brewery | The Power of Zeus APA

ABV: 7%
IBUs: 69

High Hops use Zeus hops from their field to create this powerful pale ale. The hop is named after Zeus the Toad, who greeted the High Hops folks after they planted their very first Zeus plant! An American Pale Ale, the Power of Zeus is drinking so well right now on the proverbial porch. If you like dark caramel, grilled bread, pine and spruce resin, white flowers, big citrus peel flavors and a honeyed finish, then you need to get this pale ale in your face!

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Portside Distillery and Brewery | 216

ABV: 5.7%

For many readers and imbibers, Cleveland may not be the city that first pops up in a conversation about craft beer. Granted, it is not of Denver’s or Portland’s magnitude when it comes to the industry. Despite that, Cleveland and its surrounding environs have blossomed over the past decade when it comes to the quantity and quality of the beer the region produces. You have Great Lakes Brewing Company in greater Cleveland, Thirsty Dog in Akron, and I have also name-dropped a few other places on this wonderful website. Today, I shall provide you with another more recent addition to the beer scene in this fair city: Portside Distillery and Brewery. Their main beer is aptly labeled 216, after the area code familiar to those living in Cleveland.

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