Cooking with Beer | Pig Out Sliders

What is the one thing everyone does on NFL Sunday? Pig out, of course. No matter what team you’re rooting for, I’m sure you’ll be shoveling food and beer into your pie hole while your eyes are glued to the TV. To honor this feast of snacks, I’m bringing you a recipe for some epic sliders. First, you will make a hoppy orange pulled pork with Rebel IPA to properly perfume your house before the party. Next, you will make a creamy peanut coleslaw so the pulled pork can have a crunchy friend in this tiny sandwich. Then… sausage. Because a ‘pig out’ slider clearly needs extreme amounts of pork. Finally, you will pile it all up on a Hawaiian sweet roll because they are the best and the only real way to properly transport this much pork into your gullet. Good luck to all the teams and may the pork be with you.

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Cooking with Beer | Beer Sriracha aka Beeracha

After Christmas, I spent a lovely twelve hours in the car driving from Missouri back to Denver. To keep me sane, I brought my friend and amazing photographer, Nate Polta, along for ride. As we made our way through the incredibly exciting plains of Kansas, I convinced him to help me brainstorm recipe ideas. Nate kept proposing I make stir-fries and beef dishes, mostly likely due to his recent return from Asia. Three or four suggestions later he said, “You should make beer sriracha!” … and so I did.

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Noble Ale Works | I Love It!

Last weekend, I attended the second annual Los Angeles IPA Festival held at Mohawk Bend in Silver Lake, Ca. The event brought over 60 IPAs from all over the state of California for friendly competition and, of course, drinking and merriment. Read More

4 Hands Brewing | Alter Ego

ABV: 5.5%

On my personal hoppy vs. malty beer scale, the malty side is always sitting lower. I’ve learned to appreciate hops and all the bitter nuance that comes with them, but generally I’ll go for a stout or porter when given the option. So, when I see a beer labeled “Black IPA” like Alter Ego from 4 Hands Brewing, I’m more inclined to give it a shot. Plus the can art reminds me of Tommy Lee Jones in the incredibly terrible Batman Forever. Thankfully, this brew is anything but that. Read More

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co | 2014 Harvest Wild Hop IPA

ABV 6.5% IBU 55

For those of you keeping up with Sierra Nevada’s Harvest Series, you’ll know that they’ve gifted us with two single hop IPAs, a wet hop IPA, a … Read More

Green Flash Brewing Co. | Jibe Session IPA and Soul Style IPA

American craft beer fans are regularly maligned by lupulin-adverse detractors for being addicted to hops. They say we value intense bitterness above all while ignoring the subtle and nuanced flavors malt and yeast bring to the table. Well, I suppose I’m about to give the hop-haters another log to throw on that roaring fire they’ve built under a crude effigy of Sam Calagione loading a hop cannon, because I love hoppy beer. Don’t get me wrong. I appreciate a syrupy barleywine or mouth-puckering gueuze as much as the next guy, but most of the time, a clean, dry IPA is what I crave. That wasn’t always the case, mind you. The IPAs I encountered a decade ago on the East Coast didn’t really do it for me. Perhaps I chose poorly, but they were usually cloyingly sweet with a flat, one-dimensionally bitterness. My love affair with hops didn’t begin in earnest until I moved to Colorado.

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Ultimate 6er | Essential Indiana Beers

The holidays are a great time to spend with friends and family. For a Colorado transplant like myself, that means a lot of travel. When I left Indiana for the bright lights of Colorado eight and a half years ago, the craft beer scene in Indiana had its bright spots but left a lot to be desired. Whenever I would head back for a visit to Indiana, I felt like a beer sherpa with the crazy amount of Colorado craft beers in my bags for family members. But every year at Great American Beer Fest, I found more and more Hoosier breweries in attendance (and more of them getting great buzz). Read More

Midnight Sun Brewing Co. | Sockeye Red IPA

ABV: 5.7%

IBU: 70

Being born a water sign, I have an affinity for things that remind me of my oceanic roots. So, it is only fitting that I was drawn to Midnight Sun Brewing Company‘s Sockeye Red IPA: The Last Frontier’s characterful brewery serving New York as it’s only East Coast distributor. As I was sipping a snifter full of this calming and fresh ale this past weekend, I felt it only right to share my flow of joy with the craft beer community

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Russian River Brewing | Blind Pig IPA

ABV: 6.1%
IBU: 70

Bear with me, folks. I’m going to take the scenic route to my beer showcase today. And the route goes through bourbon country.

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Flying Dog Brewery | Snake Dog IPA

ABV: 7.1%

IBU: 60

It snakes down the throat like a faithful friend. – Anna Steadman (Snake Dog IPA label) Read More

St. John Brewers | VI Massive Series Double IPA

ABV: 8.8%
IBU: 80

Weddings are usually a fun-filled weekend followed by a week-long hangover. Family weddings, on the other hand, are a whole different animal, especially when the man your sister is marrying decides he is going to brew the beer for it. Pretty challenging in and of itself, but then throw in the extra challenge of bottling and labeling, and you begin to get a scope of this endeavor. Now here comes the whammy: Eight styles. Eight different brews dispersed into 650 bottles and voila, you may kiss the bride. That said, it is safe to say that beer has a warm place in the hearts of most my family- 10 siblings/spouses and counting!

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Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. | Flipside Red IPA

ABV: 6.2%
IBU: 60

You can call Labor Day the end of summer all you like, but it certainly doesn’t feel like fall. The trees will still be green for a few weeks, sweaters and jackets aren’t necessary, and sunburns are still a reality for anyone standing 4 hours in an open air stadium. However, it’s very clearly time to retire the sunny beers of summer. This week I attempted to make the switch to heavier seasonal beers and within minutes of sipping my first pumpkin ale of the year, my phone buzzed. At that precise moment the Porchdrinking.com staff decided we needed to discuss drinking pumpkin beers out of season. I looked around the bar, positive someone also in search of a big beer list and 20 cent wings was ratting me out for moving to fast into Fall. Read More

Westbrook Brewing Co. | India Pale Ale

ABV: 6.8% IBUs: 65

Making the trip to Kiawah Island, South Carolina is not something I’m new to. Whether it’s packed in a car with my family or squeezed on a plane from Denver, I’ve been there and done that. But, as a craft beer-drinking woman in my mid-20’s, I realize that there was something missing from my trips—and that something was Westbrook Brewing Co.’s India Pale Ale. Read More

The Brew Kettle | White Rajah IPA

ABV: 6.8%

IBU: 70

The craft beer industry, at least from what I have seen and experienced, has embraced the average beer imbiber’s attempt at brewing a beer that one might enjoy from home. Though this write-up will not be exclusively about a brewery, I must provide some background before delving too deep into the specific beer I am showcasing. So, without further delay, let me provide you with one more summertime bevvy for your enjoyment: White Rajah IPA. This beer is one of the Brew Kettle’s best, and it is the perfect option for those who revel in hops, citrus in smell and flavor and a relaxing afternoon lounging at the pool: my place of choice for this sunny beverage.  Read More

Comrade Brewing Company | Superpower IPA

ABV: 7.9%

It’s pretty well-known that Colorado is currently the home to many a brewery. In fact, some people have gone as far as calling Denver’s craft beer market “over-saturated.” Sure, there are tons of breweries, and, sure, some of them don’t quite make the cut, but I always like to give new breweries the benefit of the doubt. When it comes to brand new breweries, I tend to give them at least three periodic visits throughout the year to see how their taste is (or isn’t) improving. Fortunately for these brewers, my first visit to Comrade Brewing Company was a (communist) party (in my mouth). Read More

Hoppin’ Frog Brewery | Gangster Frog I.P.A.

Hoppin’ Frog Brewery  – Gangster Frog I.P.A.

American IPA

7.5%  ABV

55 IBU

Being native to the northeast Ohio region, I have come to realize that there is not always a lot to do. Because of that, I find it almost shameful to say that I have never been to Hoppin’ Frog Brewery. I love going to small breweries (of course drinking the beer is a perk), but I cannot understand how I have passed this place up some many times. Just the other day, all of this was going through my tiny little brain, and then it hit me…..James Taylor concert at Blossom Theater + needing something to eat and drink prior to the concert = Hoppin’ Frog Brewery. Read More

Flying Bison Brewing Company | Buffalo IPA

As a PorchDrinker based out of NYC, I am happy to regale you, dear readers, with tales of daring innovation that spring from the sometimes excessive effort to be the leader of the pack in the NYC-area beer world. But what about those cities that don’t get a lot of play in beer media? Places where craft beer is only just beginning to flourish? Well today folks, I am taking you to that great American stalwart, Buffalo, New York. In particular, we are talking about the Buffalo IPA from Flying Bison Brewing Company, a sweet little operation that, according to its website, professes to be the city’s first stand alone brewery since 1972. Before we get to the actual beer, let me just first tip my hat to the brewery for having the good sense to draw some wings on a bison and turn it into their logo. Excellent decision making there.  Read More

Odell Brewing Company | Perle White IPA

ABV: 5.5%

Do you remember the first time you tasted a white IPA? While enjoying a Chainbreaker a few years ago, I wondered if these wheaty-hoppy hybrids would ever catch on. Little did I know it would soon find a home on seemingly every taplist in Denver. While albino IPAs have become increasingly popular nationwide, we’ve only seen a few examples of the style from Colorado brewers. When I heard that Odell Brewing, the Ft. Collins brewery responsible for perhaps my favorite Colorado IPA, were releasing their Perle White IPA this summer, my tastebuds stood at rapt attention. Read More

People’s Brewing Company | Mound Builder IPA

ABV: 6.50%
IBU: 88

I am proud of my home town. Being from a small, tight-knit community, in rural Indiana, it is difficult to share the greatness with people in Denver. For such a small place, I am very impressed with the local breweries. Both Lafayette Brewing Company and People’s Brewing Company make quality and tasty beer, but I was never able to bring it back to Denver with me … until now.

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Columbus Brewing Company | IPA

CBC IPA     6.5% ABV

As much as I love trying and exploring all the craft beer that is out there, I know no matter what there will be one beer that stands above the rest. One that will always have a special place for in my heart, and in my refrigerator.  To me, that is Columbus Brewing Company IPA.  I always feel a nice sense of pride for Columbus and all the great local breweries, and CBC is among the best, especially when it comes to making a great IPA. The brewery itself is located in the historical brewery district in downtown Columbus, and you can find their beers on tap almost anywhere in this fine city. Read More