Red Hare Brewing Company | Berry Belgian Waffle

Berry Belgian Waffle is a truly unique beer that pushes forward the possibilities of beer and brewing style. We can all appreciate breweries that focus on hitting style profiles to the letter. These breweries strive to make classic examples of beer – those efforts often resulting in successful campaigns at the Great American Beer Festival. Berry Belgian Waffle may not be the next GABF medal winning beer out of the booming Georgia brewing scene; What it is, instead, is a fun example of a small brewery, Red Hare Brewing Company, having fun and pushing what is acceptable and expected from American beer.

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Black Hammer Brewing | Sparkle Pony

ABV: 6.9% | IBU: 24

Jim Furman used to work at a nuclear safety test facility for the Nuclear Power Institute of China (NPIC) in Chengdu in the Szechuan Province. Now Jim is the proud owner and head brewer of Black Hammer Brewing (BHB). True story. While Jim is brewing, you will often find Growler, Jim’s dog, hanging out in the tap room greeting customers. BHB opened just over a year ago in the SOMA neighborhood of San Francisco and is having great success. Their mission is twofold: Lager without limits! and Malt Forward! Sparkle Pony is one beer so popular that it pays the rent.

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Brewery Preview | Dovetail Brewery

Days before the craziness of Chicago Craft Beer Week (CCBW), I was offered the opportunity to tour soon-to-open Dovetail Brewery, which is co-owned, operated and run by Bill Wesselink and Hagen Dost. What better way to begin the beer week, than with a preview of the next chapter of Chicago’s burgeoning beer scene.

Dovetail is a reference to the carpenter’s joint of interlocking boards, it is famed for its resistance to being pulled apart. As Bill so elegantly expressed, “It’s coming together to make a stronger brewery. A mix of old and new, American and European to create what we feel is our interpretation.”
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19th Anniversary Ale | SweetWater Brewing Co.

ABV: 7.0%

There’s a lot love about craft beer: the people, the stories, the creativity, and those senses of freedom and abandon from the monotony of big domestics… Oh yeah, and the beer of course. The incredible vastness of the array of flavors and choices mixed with the never-ending search for newer and better makes this craft beer bubble so unique and so fun. Yet in the midst of all this, there seems to be one aspect of it that tends to get overlooked:

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Wild Wolf Brewing | Blonde Hunny

ABV: 6.8% | IBU: 21

Feature photo courtesy of Wild Wolf Beer.

Yes, it was the can’s design that first drew me to order this beer. A Chicago-themed sports bar … Read More

Port City Brewing Company | Optimal Wit

ABV: 4.9 % | IBU: 15

Availability: Year-Round

How many people have the luxury of drinking a local witbier? Scratch that. How many people have the chance to drink a two-time GABF award-winning local witbier? Port City Brewing Company’s catalog is always quaffable, but none is more exemplary than their flagship beer: Optimal Wit. Many of us can sip enduring classics like Allagash White or Bell’s Winter White Ale, but Optimal Wit brings a unique flavor profile to satisfy all wheat fans in the heart of NoVA. Read More

Event Recap | 2016 Vail Big Beers, Belgians & Barleywines

This piece was written and composed by PorchDrinking.com staff Tristan Chan, Cory Pelc, Kelissa Heiber, Kara Loo, Phil Joyce, Will Dozier, and Desiree Duzich with special contribution from Brittany Werges of 303 Magazine.

In a lot of ways, looking back on the 2016 Vail Big Beers Belgians and Barleywines festival is fairly cut and dry. Everything was amazing. It really is that simple. And yet, I’d be disappointing not only myself, but more importantly organizer Laura Lodge, by leaving you with merely a singular over-the-top statement about the fest. I dare not use the word hyperbole because while my descriptions may seem gratuitous, they are one hundred percent truthful.
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Vail Big Beers Pour List & Must Tries

Cover image courtesy of vaildaily.com

AC Golden – Kriek Noir

The base sour beer was then allowed to ferment on 800lbs of Colorado grown sweet and sour … Read More

Fat Head’s Brewery | Pimp My Sleigh

ABV: 10.5% | IBU: 30

We’re still getting into the holiday spirit; almost two weeks until the 25th arrives! Once again, I have a Belgian Ale for your enjoyment, this time from Fat Head’s Brewery brewed in the sunny Cleveland area. I’m not joking this time around; we’ve actually had a mild and somewhat sunny late fall with little snow. Hopefully that will change soon. As we wait for the wintry weather, I would advise you all to stock up on your heavy ales, and Fat Head Brewery’s Pimp My Sleigh is a perfect choice for your evenings around the Yule Log this holiday season.

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Platform Beer Co. | Esther Belgian Christmas Ale

ABV — 9.5%

IBU — approximately 20

It’s that time of year. Yes, Christmas is coming up, quickly, and this year the amount of early Christmas seems to have reached an even higher level! Hints of the season have already begun popping up all over the place: in department stores, specialty shops, on your friends’ Facebook feeds. Truth be told, you don’t have to go to Bronner’s in Michigan to get your taste of the holidays early anymore. Additionally, Christmas ale releases have already happened, much to many people’s delight. Even though one the biggest cult beer followings in Cleveland is the Christmas Ale from Great Lakes Brewing Company—which is awesome this year, by the way, better than the last couple of years—Platform Beer Company has released a very nice, very different style of ale for your holiday imbibing needs: Esther Belgian Christmas Ale.

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The Burnt Hickory Brewery | The Fighting Bishop

ABV 8.5% | IBU 23

The Burnt Hickory Brewery is a sleeping giant that is awakening in Kennesaw, Georgia. It has been in business for only 3 years, as of … Read More

Vail Big Beers, Belgians & Barleywines Craft Beer’s Best Kept Secret

*This post has been updated to reflect the 2016 Vail Big Beers Event*

Laura Lodge is a pro. Checking in at a slender 5’4”, with conservative short locks, a … Read More

Deschutes Brewery | Not the Stoic

ABV: 12.1%

IBU: 15

I first encountered Not the Stoic at a food and beer pairing hosted by Deschutes Brewery’s executive chef during Seattle Beer Week. I must admit that I immediately swooned over this perfectly balanced Belgian quad that was served with the first of five courses, a trio of local cheeses. However, its stoicism (if you will) was proven when, even after weaving our way through three hours of gastronomic and fermented bliss, Not the Stoic endured as the brew that left its boozy mark on me and my date for the tasting, my dad. We each bought a bottle and, likely due to our palpable excitement, were interviewed shortly thereafter for a Deschutes promotional video. Needless to say, we left the event giddy with delight, each clutching a 650ml bottle of satisfaction. Read More

Great Lakes Brewing | Spacewalker American Belgo

ABV: 8.2%

IBU: 65

If you explore the brief description on Spacewalker’s carrier, it reads:

“Perhaps one of space’s great mysteries is why so many of its explorers hail from Ohio. In honor of the 25 courageous astronauts who have called Ohio their terrestrial home, and the nine Ohio men and women who’ve logged hours walking in space, we present this adventurous brew.”  Read More

Brewery Ommegang | Gnomegang

ABV: 9.5%

IBU: 26

Everyone’s journey into craft beer begins differently. Perhaps you favored light beers and then one day stumbled upon a particularly refreshing Kölsch that made you look towards beers not readily available in the supermarket coolers. Or maybe it was a break you took from Blue Moon to try that German hefeweizen. For me, the turning point came with my first taste of La Chouffe. There was just something about that gnome that changed me. So when I learned that Brewery Ommegang teamed up with my favorite little gnome to brew the adorably named Gnomegang Belgian Blonde Ale, I knew great things were ahead.

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De Struise Brouwers | Pannepot

De Struise Brouwers

ABV:  10%

IBU:  27

Style:  Belgian Quadrupel

Belgium-based De Struise Brouwers produced this beautiful baby gem known as the “Pannepot.” Since 2003, this beer has been their signature brew among other delightful beers such as the Struisse Rosse and Red Haired Jeanne. I was told by a friend that it was “the best beer the world has to offer,” and after that, I could not refuse. (I mean, how could I?)

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The Brewer’s Art – Ozzy Belgian Strong Pale Ale

ABV: 7.25%

IBU: Unavailable

I have been on a serious Belgian kick recently. Perhaps it is the winter months drawing me away from the ultra-hoppy double and imperial IPAs I usually drink, or maybe it’s my palate craving something a bit different. Incidentally, Belgians were what drew me into craft beer in the first place. Something about their very approachable yet very different flavor is what reigned me in, and well, now I’m here at PorchDrinking.  Read More

Deschutes and Goose Island – Class of 88

Belgian Style Ale

IBU: 7 / 17

ABV: 10.9% / 11.2%

Beer brings people together. That was true 25 years ago, when Gary Fish (Deschutes) and John Hall (Goose Island) were starting their breweries and that was certainly true last week at the Pintley release party for the new Deschutes/Goose collaboration, Class of 88 Belgian Style Ale. I’m new to both Los Angeles and PorchDrinking, so an opportunity to meet some fellow craft beer enthusiasts and to try a brand new beer was too much to pass up. Read More

Revolution Brewing – A Little Crazy

ABV: 6.8%

I checked two bags on my flight back to LA from Chicago, and thanks to the absurd amount of beer I was transporting, the baggage weight limit was a real issue. Walking up to the counter I knew it was going to be close, but I was prepared to jettison anything and everything to keep my precious stock of Chicago beer. Read More

The magical, mystical brewery tour: Cantillon

Cantillon’s cheery yellow façade looks out over a vacant lot in an industrial part of Brussels. If you stand quietly on the sidewalk outside and breathe deeply, you can hear the clinking of bottles and smell the pleasant sourness of yeast at work. You might even feel that sharp pleasant sting of anticipation as you imagine taking a sip of a pale-gold gueuze. Read More