About- Tristan Chan
Tristan Chan
Tristan is a craft beer fanatic who originally hails from Kentucky, which used to be a veritable wasteland for craft beer. Since moving to Colorado, he discovered a passion for hops, malts, brett strains, tinctures, nitros, and all things craft brew. He created this blog as a means for his friends across the country to a virtual porch drink and he hopes that you’ll join the revolution.Top Finds From the 2022 Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Festival
June 8, 2022 | Tristan Chan
Over the past decade, it has become a little easy to take certain elements of the craft beer industry for granted. During that time, the country’s craft brewery count has swelled from just under 2,000 to over 9,000. Similarly, beer festivals, which were once more thoughtfully curated, intimate opportunities to interact with brewers while exploring an exciting array of newly released beers, have grown to become commodities and in many cases, a cash cow for event production companies that rarely have any actual ties to the industry.
Can’t-Miss Beers to Try at the Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Festival
June 3, 2022 | Tristan Chan
This weekend’s Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Festival will once again boast one of the more impressive lineups of beer producers from across the globe. But despite being such a great problem to have, being presented with such a formidable lineup of all-star beers, can sometimes feel a bit daunting. So we decided to help sift through the sea of phenomenal beers to highlight a few that have particularly piqued our interest. More selfishly, while we could easily just stick to the incredible lineup of Lagers available at the FWIBF, this was more an exercise in helping us to plan our own routes so we’re not scrambling the day of the festival.
Colorado Beer Festival Tracker | 2022 Summer Edition
June 3, 2022 | Tristan Chan
While Colorado beer festival season has technically already well underway, this past weekend officially marked the grand return to summer beer fest season in the Centennial State with a pair of heavy hitters in Odell’s Small Batch Fest and the Creekside Beer Fest.
2022 Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Festival Pour List Announced
May 25, 2022 | Tristan Chan
We are just a week and a half away from the grand return of the 2022 Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Festival taking place in Paso Robles, CA on Saturday, June 4. Having built a reputation as one of the most celebrated festivals within the craft beer industry the FWIBF returns after a COVID-induced hiatus with another all-star cast of breweries.
Not only are some of the best of the best breweries represented from around the globe, but a festival of this caliber always brings out the rarest beers as well. In addition to the usual hyped barrel-aged styles typically found at destination festivals, it’s refreshing to see a wider representation of world-class lagers as well.
Be sure to check back as we break down some of the can’t-miss beers to try at this year’s Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Festival, but for now, enjoy a look at the initial pour list. Tickets are SOLD OUT for this year’s festival as last year’s ticket holders were offered first right of refusal. Keep in mind, as with all beer festivals, pour lists are subject to change, but this serves as a nice preview of what’s anticipated from each brewery.
Kick Off Summer with the Creekside Beer Fest at the Boulder Creek Fest
May 25, 2022 | Tristan Chan 1
Despite an unusually late snowfall at the end of last week, this Memorial Day weekend marks the official beginning of the Summer beer festival season. Luckily Coloradans will be treated to warmer temps and a welcome kickoff to this year’s beer fest season with the Creekside Beer Fest as part of the Boulder Creek Fest.
CanSource Provides Canning Solutions Amid Minimum Increases
May 16, 2022 | Tristan Chan
At the onset of the pandemic, the ability to pivot quickly after tasting rooms were closed for on-site consumption led a majority of breweries to focus their attention on packaging beer to-go. It was at that moment that aluminum cans became one of the hottest commodities in the industry.
But just as canning beer became a major relief for breweries who desperately needed a way to get beer in the hands of consumers, it also became a major pain point. Ball Corp, which has long been the dominant supplier of aluminum cans, announced that it would increase minimum orders for a single SKU of printed cans from one truckload to five truck loads. This meant that a brewery that could previously order 200,000 printed cans of a single brand would now be forced to order approximately 1 million cans, essentially eliminating a primary supplier of printed cans for a majority of breweries in the market today.
Colorado Breweries Win Big at 2022 World Beer Cup Awards
May 5, 2022 | Tristan Chan 1
Colorado breweries once again had an impressive showing at this year’s 2022 World Beer Cup. Often referred to as the Olympics of Beer Competitions, the World Beer Cup features breweries … Read More
The PorchCast Ep 92 | Andrew Coplon – Secret Hopper & Craft Beer Professionals
April 29, 2022 | Tristan Chan
In episode 92 of The PorchCast, we welcomed Andrew Coplon, founder of Secret Hopper and Craft Beer Professionals to talk about his rise in craft beer and all of the incredible industry resources he’s created through both of his endeavors.
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Join PorchDrinking for Three Days of Special CBC Events in Minneapolis
April 28, 2022 | Tristan Chan
The PorchDrinking team is taking the Twin Cities by storm during next week’s Craft Brewers Conference by partnering with First Draft Taproom & Kitchen’s Minneapolis location for three special afternoons of special tappings and programming.
We invite all CBC attendees to join us for three days of special tappings beginning Monday, May 2 with a Lager All-Stars takeover presented by our friends at Hopsonomy, followed by a WeldWerks + Forager & Friends Rarities Takeover on Tuesday, May 3, and wrapping with a Hop All-Stars night on Wednesday, May 4.
Colorado’s Best Non-Adjunct Barrel-Aged Stout Blind Tasting Presented by On Tap Credit Union
April 26, 2022 | Tristan Chan 4
It may seem odd to conduct a Barrel-Aged Stout blind tasting in the middle of April, but let’s be real, it’s always Stout season. The truth is that we fully intended for this to take place in December, but as it often goes, life got in the way and we were forced to postpone. Nevertheless, we still put the call out to all Colorado breweries to submit their best non-adjunct Barrel-Aged Stouts to be judged by our panel of experts, and we were able to field 32 entries for our second installment of the Colorado Blind Tasting series. Special thanks to our friends at On Tap Credit Union for helping to make this Blind Tasting Series possible!
Can’t-Miss Beers to Try at the 2022 Collaboration Fest
April 1, 2022 | Tristan Chan
Over the years, Collaboration Fest not only serves as an exciting opportunity for like-minded breweries to team up on one-of-a-kind beers, but the fleeting low-stakes nature of the event also allows more freedom for exploration, creativity and fun.
This year’s return of Collab Fest picks up exactly where the event left off three years ago with a several breweries trying out Cold IPAs for the first time, a slew of culinary inspired beers like a Ramen Beer, Ice Cream Stout and event a Nashville Hot Chicken beer.
The PorchCast Ep 91 | Craft Beer Is Dead Podcast + Collaboration Fest
March 31, 2022 | Tristan Chan
In episode 91 of The PorchCast, we welcomed Brie Bernstel and Kreis Holland from the Craft Beer is Dead Podcast to formally announce that their podcast has joined the PorchDrinking.com Podcast Network!
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2022 Collaboration Fest Full Pour List + PorchDrinking Secret Tappings
March 30, 2022 | Tristan Chan
Just over two years ago, on March 12, members of the Colorado Brewers Guild gathered to make the difficult decision to cancel one of their most lucrative fundraising events of the year at the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic. Over the course of the previous seven years, Collaboration Fest, had grown to become one of the country’s most inventive festivals by featuring beers produced exclusively for the event by collaborating breweries. In hindsight, the decision to cancel the festival in 2020 was the right call, serving as the first of a flood of cancellations and postponements that have spanned the past 24 months.
WeldWerks Brewing Permanently Halts Colorado Springs Location
March 22, 2022 | Tristan Chan
Despite a steady period of explosive growth for one Colorado’s most successful rising breweries, WeldWerks Brewing announced a significant setback today after making the difficult decision to permanently end construction … Read More
2022 WeldWerks Invitational Announces Return and Brewery Lineup
March 9, 2022 | Tristan Chan
The best things come to those who wait, and unfortunately for beer festival-goers, the past two years have been excruciating. However, as COVID rates begin leveling out, most of society has slowly begun inching toward some sense of normalcy, and with that shift, we’re seeing more beer festivals re-emerging as well. Today WeldWerks Brewing announced its intent to revive the WeldWerks Invitational. This marquee event, which first made its debut in 2018, has in just two years of operation, skyrocketed to become a can’t miss on the national beer festival circuit.
2022 Collaboration Fest Announces List of Collaborating Breweries
March 2, 2022 | Tristan Chan
As temperatures in Colorado climbed back into the 70’s for the first time in the new year, it feels like a fitting representation of the proverbial thaw that’s beginning to take place across American society as a whole from the past two years.
5 Questions | River North Brewery Talks Barrel-Aging & 10th Anniversary
February 17, 2022 | Tristan Chan
Over the past decade, clean barrel-aged beers (non-sours) at American craft breweries have gone from niche occurrences to common specialty releases. However, while barrel-aged Stouts, Porters, Trippels, have grown in popularity and availability nationwide, there are still only a handful of breweries who have risen to the top for truly doing those styles exceptionally well.
Downloadable 2022 Super Bowl LVI Bingo Boards
February 11, 2022 | Tristan Chan 1
Aside from the glorious return of PorchDrinking’s 2022 Super Bowl LVI Bingo Boards, there’s quite a lot to celebrate during this Super Bowl Sunday. Firstly, we’re finally free of a Patriots / Buccaneers / Tom Brady Super Bowl. And this marks the first time in over 30 years that the Bengals will be making an appearance in the big game.
The PorchCast | Ep 90 Country Boy Brewing’s 10th Anniversary
February 10, 2022 | Tristan Chan
In episode 90 of The PorchCast we had a chance to catch up with Daniel Harrison “DH” one of the co-founders of Country Boy Brewing in Lexington, KY, as well as their Marketing Director, Pete Weiss. On the eve of their 10th anniversary celebration, taking place this weekend, we spoke with Pete and DH about how they were able to grow to approximately 20,000 barrels, open up a massive production facility and taproom in Georgetown, KY, and expand distribution across six states in just 10 years!
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Where to Find 2022 Pliny the Younger Tappings in Colorado
February 9, 2022 | Tristan Chan 2
Pliny the Younger is BACK in Colorado! Despite Russian River Brewing announcing earlier this year that it would be delaying the release at their Santa Rosa and Windsor locations until March 25 as a result of COVID, it seems Colorado’s tappings are moving ahead as scheduled.
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