The A(i)les of Being a Craft Beer Lover in College

How about this scene:  You swing open the back door to a house that leads into a dark basement.  A cloud of body heat, and body sweat greets you at the door.  Each step taken down the stairs (that surely don’t meet building code) enters you into another level of this nimbus dense, wet heat cluster.  Finally on the basement floor you immediately identify the source—a hundred sweat dripping college kids standing shoulder-to-shoulder yelling to one another over the boom of the music.   As thirteen dollar handles of vodka are being passed over your head you scale across the side of the basement to make your way around the crowd.  There are solo cups filled with last weekend’s beer that were placed and forgotten on the shelves beside you.  And is that something growing in the beer?   Hard to see, but you can sure smell a festering sourness woft out of the cup.  Buddy, that ain’t no lambic.  Human traffic is backed up at an unchilled keg.  Pour yourself a cup.  Oh great, a nice head to this one.  The whole cup is foam but it quickly dissipates into a lukewarm puddle.  Take a gulp.  Gotta’ love Natural Light.  Then take a look over to the beer pong table.  There’s a guy, ping-pong ball in one hand, snifter glass of Dogfish Head 90 Minute in the other.  That’s me.   I love craft beer and I’m in college.  That guy is me.

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Dragoon Brewing Company – The DOS

Dragoon Brewing Company – The DOS Russian Imperial Stout

ABV: 10.4%

While sampling the offerings at Dragoon Brewing Company in Tucson Arizona, I was absolutely blown away by the DOS … Read More

Fat Head’s Oompa Loompa Chocolate Cream Stout

ABV: 6.5% | IBU: 33

Stout brewed with dark chocolate and vanilla beans added.

Fat Head’s story began in Pittsburgh, PA, circa 1992, with the founding of Fat Head’s Saloon. In 2009 Fat Head’s expanded to North Olmsted, Ohio, teaming up with Matt Cole (an award winning brewer) to open Fat Head’s Brewery & Saloon. Success came quickly, with the brewery producing over 5000 barrels over its first three years and Fat Head’s beers winning many awards. They expanded to a full-scale producing brewery in 2012, located in Middleburg Heights, Ohio.

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American Craft Beer Week in Colorado

Today starts the 8th annual American Craft Beer Week which runs from May 13 to May 19th. Put on by the Brewers Association, the week long national celebration is meant … Read More

Anderson Valley Brewing Wild Turkey Bourbon Barrel Stout

ABV: 6.9%

IBU: 14

I grew up on a farm in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. Every day to and from school, we would pass one of Anderson County’s two distilleries. The smell of mash in the morning still brings back a flood of childhood memories. So when I heard that Anderson Valley produced a beer aged in an Anderson County batch of Bourbon barrels, I was naturally rather intrigued. I am a serious Bourbon drinker and, quite honestly, know more about Bourbon than I do beer. You grow up with it, you tend to learn a few things.

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2013 Craft Brewer’s Conference: Take Two

A pair of us from PorchDrinking.com were fortunate enough to attend the 2013 Craft Brewer’s Conference in Washington, DC in March. Considering Erin and  I hold very different beer backgrounds (but are both beer enthusiasts nonetheless), here is my take (as someone who spends his 9-5 in the industry) on CBC:

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Craft Beer Takes on the Capital: Brewers Association Craft Beer Conference and BrewExpo America

Last week, everyone from brewers and cicerones, to keg manufacturers and beer academics – over 6,400 of them – descended upon Washington, DC to engage in the annual Brewers Association Craft Beer Conference and BrewExpo America for a week of hard work and industry networking infused with a heavy dose of beer drinking and occasional mischief. This gathering differs greatly from the Great American Beer Festival, which is much more focused on the actual brews themselves, rather than the industry. The entire event hosts two main components: the Craft Beer Conference (seminar-based) and BrewExpo America (an industry trade show).

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New Kids on the Block 80’s Party

We are extremely excited to announce a pair of radical parties coming up celebrating Colorado Craft Beer Week! The week of festivities put on by the Colorado Brewers Guild aims to celebrate Colorado breweries, their beer and the people who brew them.  CCBW will also feature special tappings, food and beer pairings, educational events and more including the Legends and Rarities event and the New Kids on the Block 80’s Party.

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Mountain Sun Brewing’s Stout Month

Mountain Sun Brewing’s Stout Month is coming. And as the immortal Samuel L. Jackson once said, “Hold on to your butts.” Every year, amidst the cold bitter winter months shines a beacon of hope and happiness. This year marks the 20th anniversary of Stout Month for the Mountain Sun family and it promises to be bigger, bolder and more stout than ever (see what I did there?)

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New Beers Resolutions

Drink more craft beer!

So much amazing beer… so little time.

Don’t become a snob.

Yes we love to promote Craft, but really it all starts with beer to begin with. When talking to our friend in Kentucky they mentioned that right now it’s all about getting people to enjoy beer first, then expanding their horizons. So drink beer. Whether it’s Coors or Westy 12.

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My Ultimate Brewpub

After some careful consideration, I’ve decided that my ultimate brewery would actually be the best brewpub you’ve ever been to.  Yes, I do love a lot of big name breweries for their awesome and usually well-distributed beers (thanks, Deschutes), but the neighborhood hangouts are the ones that stick with me. My ultimate brewpub would be a hybrid of all of my favorite places in Colorado to drink quality craft beer. Read More

Elevation Beer Co. – Signal De Botrange

ABV: 7.5%

IBU: 26

Distribution: Colorado

I’m a sucker for anything barrel-aged and I’m an even bigger sucker for trying beers from young breweries. There is nothing more fun than discovering a brewery in their fledgling stages and tasting their beers as they grow and improve. Its like following the way an artist, musician or author develops their style throughout their career. With both boxes checked, picking up Signal De Botrange on the shelf of my local liquor store was as natural for me as breathing. Read More

1 Minute Beer Review: Black Jack Porter

Black Jack Porter – Left Hand Brewing Company, Longmont, CO

ABV: 6.8%

IBUs: 35

I stumbled on this beer after all of the Avery Brewing Company Tap Room staff … Read More

Unibroue Brewery | Maudite

ABV: 8% | IBU: 22

Unibroue beers are juxtaposed with history and mythology. In an important way, the juxtaposition is quite literal; the bottom refermentation process that most of its French Canadian beers undergo produces a look and style that defies modernity. These unfiltered beers are a refreshing alternative to both the sterility and uninteresting nature of your local Safeway favorites, and one note style-box beers. Maudite is no different. It’s murky look and yeasty odor inspires curiosity. Part of it, I’ll admit, is bias. Its compatriot, La Fin du Monde, is one of my personal go-tos. And with a name that translates literally as “the Damned,” there are plenty of reasons why this beer deserves a pour. Read More