Hop Butcher For The World | Blazed Orange Milkshake IPA

Even in uncertain times, craft breweries and American ingenuity continue to create unique new ways to drink and enjoy craft beer. In Chicago, finding an establishment to sit outside and enjoy a cold one can still be hard to come by. Outdoor dining is limited, and people are lining up at the door to get a small dose of what feels like normalcy. However, with ample green space in and around the city, there is no shortage of places that provide some shade and plenty of space to spread out if relaxation and quiet are what you crave.

Just in time for the dog days of summer, Hop Butcher For The World released their highly sought after Blazed Orange Milkshake IPA, giving Chicagoland craft beer drinkers an IPA reminiscent of childhood summers and simpler times. Inspired by the classic frozen treat, Hop Butcher used their American ingenuity to bring you a Creamsicle in a glass.

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Orono Brewing | Fruit Pie (Key Lime)

Youth is a fleeting moment in the story of a lifetime. Yet the memories created in those formative years often carry the most weight. The smallest moments become landmarks in a life story and shape the realities of the future. Recognizing this can be momentous for some and commonplace for others. Brewery tag team Asa Marsh-Sachs and Abe Furth of Orono Brewing bring both of their childhood experiences into the imaginative and creative beers they craft. Their newest series of releases are a variety of Fruit Pie Pastry Berliner Weisse Ales perfect for a hot, sunny summer day.
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Monday Night Brewing | Lay Low

The weather is warming up and whether you are now adventuring outdoors to hike or kayak or just drinking on the porch, it feels like summer.

There’s no shortage of IPAs available to craft beer drinkers, but one IPA to keep an eye out for is Monday Night Brewing Lay Low. Even though Lay Low is a low-calorie IPA, at just 90 calories, there is a heavy presence of big hop flavor.

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Bootlegger’s Brewery | What the Huck! Huckleberry Cream Ale

A fruited cream ale might not be the first thing you think of when you hear the words “huckleberry” and “beer.”

Bootlegger’s Brewery, based in Fullerton, California, is working to change that. The brewery’s Huckleberry Cream Ale, What the Huck!, made its debut in late January, 2020, and has gained many a fan since. Brewed with Cascade hops, 2-Row barley, flaked corn and, of course, loads of huckleberries, What the Huck! was the brainchild of Bootlegger’s Regional Manager, Kristyn Biggerstaff.   Read More

Downey Brewing Company | The Razz Raspberry Radler

Michigan seemed to have missed the memo on Spring. From late April snow to consistent summer heat in June, Michigan seemed to have missed the memo on Spring. As Michiganders emerge from drinking beer locked inside from COVID-19, to drinking beer on their porches outside, Downey Brewing’s The Razz is here for your cool-down beverage needs.

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Ultimate 6er | Sub-6% ABV Chicago Beers Built for Summer

The passing of Memorial Day signals the start of yet another summer and another period of delicious seasonal craft beer offerings. While canned lagers, mostly in the Macro-format, still reign supreme in any cooler or patio session for many, craft breweries across the nation continue to churn out a bevy of light, easy-drinking and flavor-forward sessionable offerings that appeal to any summertime day-drinking session. Chicago’s passion for beer is equally matched by its passion to get the most out of the few warm summer months that make the onslaught of freezing temperatures and cold worthwhile. As the city cautiously reopens its parks and outdoor spaces in the coming days, here are six Chicago sippers available in cans that you can comfortably drink from your home or from an appropriate social distance outside on a nice summer’s day. 

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Creature Comforts Brewing Co | Automatic

Pure excitement. That’s one of the many emotions that Athens, Georgia, beer lovers are feeling as Creature Comforts announced Automatic, their seasonal Pale Ale, was finally joining the ranks of their year-round offerings. Creature Comforts chose Automatic as their sixth year-round beer as part of their six-year anniversary celebration. 

Automatic has been a staple of summer since its first splash onto the Georgia craft beer scene more than four years ago. Now, summer never has to stop. Read More

Five Chicagoland Patios for Craft Beer We Can’t Wait to Visit Again

Chicagoans cherish their patios as much as their tavern-style pizza or beef sandwiches. While we’re all staying inside to help flatten the curve and get through this pandemic as safely as possible, I couldn’t help but make a list of the patios I want to visit as soon as it’s safe to do so.

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Learn to Homebrew Day is November 2

In 1999, Learn To Homebrew Day was established by the American Homebrewers Association to promote the most rewarding, and delicious activity of all time — homebrewing. This is what is written on the AHA’s website about this event. It is a day that many homebrewers the world around have come to their local homebrew stores or friends or even the internet to learn the hobby that you can literally drink to! 

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Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery | Coconut Quad

Compared to every other season, autumn always conjures up particular styles of beer. Pumpkin beers, Märzens, and Ambers match drinkers’ palates like the changing shades of leaves. As the summer winds down during peaks of sweltering humidity, you wouldn’t think there could be a beer over 10% fitting for the season. Thankfully, us Virginians have access to a beer that perfectly represents the twilight of summer with Lickinghole Creek’s Coconut Quad.

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Austin Street Brewery | Obsolete Vernacular

This story begins as many brewery stories start, with a friendship and a passion for home brewing. Austin Street Brewery, co-owned by friends Jake Austin and Will Fisher, opened in 2014 on Industrial Way in outer Portland, Maine. Together they spent years on Austin Street in Westbrook, Maine, creating beers on their homebrew system that they wanted to drink. In 2013, as the craft beer boom commenced, they took a chance and opened their brewery with a one-barrel system. When speaking with Jake Austin, he made it clear that their focus is to create “highly drinkable beer, not to chase trends.” It would seem that mission is working well for them as they recently opened a second, larger location in Portland’s East Bayside neighborhood.
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Roundtable Discussion | Best Beers of Summer 2019

Everyone has their own idea of the perfect summer beer. Breweries are happy to oblige with crisp, refreshing beers to help deal with the high temperatures. I reached out to some craft beer enthusiasts to find out what’s been their absolute standout beer of the summer thus far.

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Ultimate 6er | Fruit Beer Salad

It’s a weird observation, but summer is one of the best smelling seasons. Burgers on the grill, the saltwater from the ocean, flowers in bloom and the sweet, decadent fruit tray being passed around at the summer picnic. The fruit salad is one of the most underrated, but highly appreciated item at every summer party. There’s nothing better than taking a bite into a slice of watermelon on a 90-degree, humid day. And in the summer months, fruit is the second-most refreshing summer snack (after beer, of course). So, why not have some fruit beer salad?

While fruit beers are present all year round by a lot of breweries, you can’t get enough of their endless refreshment during the sweltering months. They give you an opportunity to deviate from your traditional style to enjoy a fruity, thirst-quenching beverage. Bearing that in mind, this Ultimate 6er focuses on fruit forward beers that are perfect for all summer activities.

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Founders Brewing Co. | Green Zebra

Michigan basically jumped from winter to summer and everyone is slowly emerging from their igloos. In my neighborhood that means the first beautiful evening of the year smells like death as everyone burns off all the grit and winter rust on their grills. While good weather has arrived, it’s about a month late and everyone is geeked to make up for the lost time.  For me,  that means diving headfirst into arguably the best gose Michigan has to offer, Founder Brewing‘s Green Zebra.

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Firestone Walker Brewing | Easy Jack IPA

Whether you’re critiquing someone’s beer selection at the local store or researching overall beer sales, you will quickly notice lighter beers lead the pack in sales. The top 10 beers in overall sales are littered with light beers. Beers that are lower in alcohol and calories are not new, but now craft beer is starting to taking notice and looking to capture some of that market share.

So, why can’t hoppy beers be light? Low-calorie beers have been traditionally Lagers and Pilsners. It’s great to see hop forward beers now starting to enter this space. After all, it’s not the hops that are adding calories to your beer. You don’t even want to know how many calories are in that pastry Stout.

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Locavore Beer Works | Split The Baby

Have you ever heard the phrase “splitting the baby”? Apparently it comes from the Old Testament, when two bickering women both claimed to be a baby’s mother. King Solomon, who sounds like he had a few beers under his own belt that day, offered to split the baby in half so both sides could win. His suggestion was meant to flush out the truth, as he suspected that the real mother would never agree to such a clearly terrible plan.

It may have been a dubious method for figuring out the truth, but centuries later, this phrase gave birth to one majestic beer: Locavore Beer Works’ Split The Baby, a blueberry lemon wheat ale made with real blueberries and lemon zest, brewed with Sorachi Ace and Citra hops. Read More

Kings County Brewers Collective | Beach Zombie

I love KCBC. Not only because their taproom is dog friendly, but also because they make one of my favorite summer crushers: Beach Zombie.

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Pipeworks Brewing | Jones Dog Sundae: A Stout for Summer

Jones Dog Sundae from Chicago’s Pipeworks Brewing Company is a stout made for summer drinking. This sweet milk stout with natural flavors comprised of chocolate, vanilla and strawberry was brewed to be the boozy, liquid version of Neapolitan ice cream — the perfect warm weather treat!

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What We’re Drinking | June 29, 2018

Summer is in full swing and the PorchDrinking staff is soaking up those late evening rays of sunshine with, you guessed it, some awesome beers in hand. From beach hangs to visiting breweries, our staff is making the most of their summer time so far. Here is What We’re Drinking.

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Ultimate 6er | The Annual Family Camping Trip

Ahh, summer! It brings the promise of fun moments in the sun and exciting new adventures. Embedded in every season are holidays we love to celebrate and traditions that will never die. Some folks schedule a week-long beach trip, others like to go lodging at the lake. But, there is one tradition I have entered into sheerly by association and that is the annual family camping trip To Knoebel’s. Read More