Halloween Beer Treat | Spiteful Brewing Mrs. O’Leary’s Chocolate Stout

The famous Chicago Fire began on October 8, 1871, in a barn owned by Catherine and Patrick O’Leary. The city went ablaze for 36 hours, destroying 18,000 buildings and leaving 100,000 Chicagoans homeless. A frightful October story, to say the least! But, Spiteful Brewing has taken that story, mixed it with some cow-blaming folklore and turned into a sweet Halloween treat: Mrs. O’Leary’s Chocolate Stout.

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Examining the Oskar Blues Can-O-Bliss Series

In this new COVID19-driven world, to-go options and canning have taken center stage in the craft beer industry. So it’s no surprise that the first brewery to put craft beer in cans, Oskar Blues, is still producing and distributing a variety of beer styles. One such collection is the Oskar Blues Can-O-Bliss IPA series, a rotating release of IPAs the brewery unveiled in 2019. The idea behind the project is to “showcase unconventional combinations of exceptional hops.” The result for beer drinkers is a series that celebrates the diversity of hop flavors and aromas.

The brewery sent PorchDrinking a few samples to try: Tropical IPA, Hazy IPA and Citra DIPA. The Tropical will return next spring, but the seasonal Hazy IPA is available now and the DIPA is a year-round treat. Oskar Blues will also release a new Citrus IPA in September 2020.

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Wildfire Series | An Example of a Brewery with the Wind at its Back

Maybe you haven’t noticed, but Chicago’s Burnt City Brewing is making waves. The brewery already boasts of a chic brewpub and bowling alley on the always-hip Lincoln Avenue, a brewhouse located in the locally-famous, former Jay’s plant, eye-catching label artwork and a recent collaboration with Chicago’s illustrious Art Institute. But now it’s also churning out a diverse, impressive collection of beers including its Brett and Yeast friendly “Wildfire Series.”

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Paying Homage to the Pioneers, PorchDrinking.com Explores the OGs of Craft Beer

We at PorchDrinking.com thoroughly enjoy covering craft beer trends and showcasing the newest beers. But, before terms like Brut, Milkshake, New England and even BBA entered the brewing-industry lexicon, beer fans were thrilled to taste Ambers, Pale Ales and some mysterious beer that may or may not have arrived from India. So, for one month, we are going to take time to remember some of those OGs of Craft Beer — the brews that made it all possible.

An OG beer showcase will publish each day for the next several weeks. It would be a daunting task to cover them all (we are discussing less than one-half of the beers on our list), but our writers selected beers near and dear to their heart, ones that were often gateway beers that lead to our love of craft. We hope you enjoy our homage to the abridged list of classics.

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