Ultimate 6er | Dry January Yearnings

For January, my husband and I decided to take part in Dry January, a month of staying away from all alcohol. For many, this month is meant to kick start better habits and possibly pinpoint problems with drinking, but we are doing it to see what sort of impact it might have on our weight (and possibly our pocketbook). I have certainly appreciated the lack of accidental hangovers as well. Read More

Saugatuck Brewing Company | BBA Imperial Neapolitan Milk Stout

Living in Michigan as a beer lover is pretty much the best. You can’t throw a beer bottle without hitting a brewery, particularly in West Michigan. Because of this, our standards are quite high, and we do not suffer bad beer to live. In the same note, to stand out, breweries must be more than above average at something. Saugatuck Brewing Company is one such brewery, and what they excel at is making layered, complex and all around tasty beers. One of their mainstays is Neapolitan Milk Stout, a beer I particularly like, and have said so on this website. Because of my nice profile, Saugatuck contacted PorchDrinking.com and asked if we’d like to profile the barrel aged version of Neapolitan, their Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Neapolitian MIlk Stout, to which I immediately said hell yes. Read More

PorchDrinking’s 2018 Christmas Cookies & Beer Pairings

Christmas time is a time of year filled with tradition, from holiday parties, to caroling, to big, hearty, meals filled with comfort food. For many families, traditions also include baking all the cookies. All these cookies are given out during cookie exchanges, to the mail carriers, to uncles, aunts and cousins, and certainly, they will also end up in gifts to you from others as well. With all these cookies, it doesn’t take long before you are sick of all that sugar. That’s when it’s time to break open some less-than-obvious beer pairings to make those cookies seem new again.

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Keweenaw Brewing Company | Widow Maker

This fall and winter, if you’re looking for a dark beer without the thick texture of a stout or porter, look no further than Keweenaw Brewing Company Widow Maker Black Ale.

Located in Houghton, Michigan at the base of the Keweenaw Peninsula, Keweenaw Brewing Company was an early entry in the craft beer boom of the 2000s. This is unsurprising, given that Houghton is not only a college town (home to Michigan Technological University), but a cold and snowy one, with little to do in the winters but ski, snowmobile and drink. Founders Dick Gray and Paul Boissevain opened up their tap room in the heart of downtown Houghton, and it was an immediate hit with students and staff alike. Widow Maker is one of their “core ales, ” alongside Pick Axe Blonde Ale, Red Jacket Amber Ale and November Gale Pale Ale.

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The OGs of Craft Beer | Bell’s Brewery Oberon Ale

Once upon a time, I was a young person who only drank Bud Light. You couldn’t get me in the same room with a craft beer. My (now) husband could not stand it, but he mostly just gave me a little hell while he drank his microbrews. However, his frustration got the better of him one day and he proclaimed, “That’s it! We need to find you something that isn’t Bud Light. Anything.”

I hesitantly agreed and he went to his fridge, coming back with a beer he had already picked specifically for me. I drank it. I didn’t just like it, I loved it. Little did I know that this beer would lead me to a career and to a passion that I would hold for the rest of my life. That beer was Oberon Ale from Bell’s Brewery.

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Ultimate 6er | Charitable Michigan Breweries

No one can deny that the influx of local breweries throughout the United States has been a major boon for local economies. Breweries drive beer and food tourism, create jobs, and encourage new business opportunities. In fact, this is often a factor for brewers when choosing where to open their business — they want to make the community better. This is even more clear when breweries make philanthropy a priority, no matter how small. This week for the Ultimate 6er, we’ll be featuring six charitable Michigan breweries who are doing just that — improving their communities in multiple ways.
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The OGs of Craft Beer | New Glarus Brewing Co. – Spotted Cow

In 2001, I was a bartender at a joint in Wausau, Wisconsin called Loppnow’s Sports Bar. Our main fare was tap and bottled Bud Light and Miller Lite, but occasionally we sold some Mike’s Hard Lemonade, Smirnoff Ice and Blue Moon. I don’t remember how many taps we had, but I recall that only one rotated: usually with Point Lager or a stout that wasn’t Guinness (we had no nitro). These barrels often took a couple of weeks to cash, with one exception – New Glarus Brewing Co.‘s Spotted Cow Farmhouse Ale.

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Ultimate 6er | How I Met Your Mother

How I Met Your Mother did for my generation what Friends did for the one before. As a sitcom, it was never going to be subversive or show the realities of every day New Yorkers, but it certainly gave a better sense of what 20 and 30 somethings in the 2000s were really doing, and it wasn’t sitting in coffee shops. Sitting down with your friends for a few drinks at your local watering hole has been a part of American culture for generations, and HIMYM made it look great. Each of the main characters embodied a certain personality type, but with a level of complexity and fun that makes them perfect for an Ultimate 6er.

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Bell’s Brewery | Hopsoulution Ale

Springtime is here and, for me, that can only mean one thing: sitting on my sunporch and drinking some fantastic IPAs. Thankfully, I live in Grand Rapids, Michigan (AKA Beer City, USA), which means I’m generally near the birthplace of some of the best made IPAs in the world. Michigan breweries know their IPAs, and Bell’s Brewery has blessed us with one helluva new brew in their recently released double IPA, Hopsoulution Ale.
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Founders Brewing Company | Solid Gold Premium Lager

Trends and tastes are cyclical. And as we’ve detailed on this site before, such is the case with beer. Sure hazy IPAs and pastry stouts are all the rave right now, but it certainly won’t always be the case. And just as American craft beer lovers currently crave innovative over-the-top ingredients, it’s likely the trend will eventually shift back toward sessionable, traditional styles.

That said, for the past several decades, what most American beer consumers think of when they hear the word lager, typically drifts to the watered down macro lagers that have dominated sales for so long. For years American Lagers have been associated with the blue collar, no-nonsense, no taste domestics that rule the beer industry. Founders Brewing is seeking to change that with their latest release of Solid Gold Premium Lager.
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The Mitten Brewing Company | Country Strong American IPA

I love a good IPA. I know I’m not alone in this, and I do not mind. Because when people love good IPAs, they make good IPAs, and that means more for me. In Michigan, it’s not hard to find good IPAs, which is why when one stands out to me, it’s for good reason. The Mitten Brewing Company’s Country Strong American IPA is just one of those standouts, and it has become my new go-to brew.

7.2% ABV | 58 IBU

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Mitten Beer Quest | Michigan Woman Visits All 323 Michigan Breweries in 2017

As beer enthusiasts, we’ve all thought about it. Some of us may have even looked into the logistics of trying it, but very few of us could ever truly find the time, the money or the energy to visit every brewery in our home state over the course of one year. But that’s exactly what Emily Bennett accomplished in 2017 when she embarked on the Mitten Beer Quest, visiting every brewery in her home state of Michigan. Read More

Harmony Brewing Company | Los Conejos

When a beer stands out to me, it is usually because the brewer has taken the time to think about how that beer will be received by his or her customers. Too often, brewers, in a bid to stay on trend or create a beer that shocks or hits the scene running, don’t consider whether or not the end product will be something their customers will enjoy. Seldom does Harmony Brewing Company in Grand Rapids, Michigan fall into that trap. Of all our local breweries (and there are more than 50), their beers are the most complex, thoughtful and well-constructed. This is never more apparent than with their winter warmer Los Conejos, a nitro sweet stout designed around Mexican hot chocolate with a little extra heat.

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Saugatuck Brewing Co. | Oak Wizard Oak Aged Imperial Brown Ale

Winter time used to be a bit problematic for this outside-day-drinking, IPA-loving, oak-aged-avoiding lady. I could never “find” something I liked. For a long time, I thought it was the beer’s fault. The truth is, I wasn’t so much searching for beers as I was avoiding styles that had failed me in the past. I hadn’t realized that times had changed and that brewers were getting savvy to the ins and outs of wood aging and making some stellar concoctions. Once I made that realization, I decided to give wood-aged brews another chance. Happily, I found plenty of good ones out there, including Saugatuck Brewing Company’s Oak Wizard, an oak aged imperial brown ale.

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New Holland Brewing Company | Dragon’s Milk Reserve Mocha Mint

Just in time for the holidays, New Holland Brewing has given us another in their Dragon’s Milk Reserve line, Dragon’s Milk Reserve Mocha Mint. This bourbon barrel-aged Stout sits at 11% ABV and is just as delicious as it sounds.
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Perrin Brewing Co. | Malted Milk Ball Imperial Porter

As a kid, I absolutely loved Whoppers. I’d beg my parents to let me get them every chance I could, and if they gave in, I’d have a small box gone in about 10 minutes. I can still remember the way they melt in your mouth, and am now pretty sure I’m going to the store to get a box. Wait. It turns out, there’s something even better.

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Brewery Showcase | Schmohz Brewing Company

Schmohz Brewing Company is one of the lesser known breweries in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In a field of highly recognizable names, it’s not surprising, but it is unfortunate because the beers are stellar and the people are good fun. It is possible that part of the reason for their lack of publicity is that the atmosphere at 2600 Patterson SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan is a little different from what you might expect at a modern microbrewery. Read More

Founders Brewing Releases Mosaic Promise in 15-packs

When a brewery uses one malt and one hop to brew a beer, it is commonly referred to as a SMASH. This Single Malt And Single Hop style showcases the basics and purity of brewing. There are no tricks, but often the result offers plenty of treats. Founders Brewing Company’s Mosaic Promise is just that, a treat for the fall season the breaks away from the more complex and popular Märzens, pumpkin spice and harvest ales.

Added officially as Founder’s fall seasonal in 2016, Mosaic Promise is available from August to November in six-pack bottles and now, in 15-pack cans.

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Founders Brewing Company | PC Pils

Founders Brewing Company’s PC Pils has become my summer go-to beer. I’m not certain how that came to be–I didn’t search it out. I simply picked it out one day when looking for an easy drinking brew, and was pleasantly surprised with the light, refreshing style. Before long it became the natural beer to pick up when we were looking to drink something reliable and quenching.

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Grand Rapids Beers Made With Tea

Tea and beer have an awful lot in common. They’re both brewed, they each have options for everyone, and often they act as an alternative to coffee.

For years, brewers have been using tea during the brewing process, and it’s proven a success. Here in West Michigan, a few breweries have come up with some lovely beers that celebrate proper relaxation. Read More