PorchDrinking Playlist – Labor Free Labor Day Playlist

Kick back and enjoy the last holiday of summer. It’s been a fantastic summer for music and I’ve compiled a labor day playlist for your day off. You’ve worked hard so don’t stress, kick back, relax and crank up the tunes.  But hey don’t get ahead of yourself either, we have a while before the next 3 day weekend.

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New Holland Brewing Co. | Dragon’s Milk

Like many of my friends, I have hit a wall when trying to figure out when George R. R. Martin will be coming out with Winds of Winter (Book 6 … Read More

PorchDrinking Playlist: All In Playlist

All aboard the A-Train, this is an All In Playlist to end all playlists. Alright, the jig is up this playlist all about… well… all things everything.  Over the next few months, we’ll occasionally feature playlists that center around specific words or phrases and today we kick off a playlist based on the word “all”.  With only a few weeks left in the summer, now’s your time to go ALL IN! Enjoy!

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Ultimate 6er | Summer Music Festivals

This beer is a little misleading in name, being listed as a IPA with an 5.8 % ABV (very far from brutal in my book) but is tasty all the … Read More

PorchDrinking Playlist | Summer Music Festivals

Throughout the land, kids, parents, adults (and the rest of us) are coming to terms that summer is more than half over. Don’t despair, my friends, we still have plenty of sunshine and good times to go around. In today’s PD Playlist, I will be sharing some of my favorite artists from this year’s summer music festivals (Coachella, Xponential, Americanarama) that overlap and will also be gracing the presence of some 100,000 dancing maniacs this weekend in Chicago at Lollapalooza.

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Why the Phillies Won’t Trade Cliff Lee

I guess most important to preserving any credibility I have is to acknowledge my Philadelphia bias and all the territory that comes with it….i.e. Washington should have never sat Strausburg … Read More

Southern Tier Brewing Company – 2X Stout

With the summer heat looming, it probably doesn’t make the most sense that I should be reviewing a milk stout. Chalk it up to being strange, or the fact that Cliff Lee surrendered four solo home runs in consecutive innings. Instead of picking up his 11th win of the season, it was just one of those nights … and we have had a lot of those nights. Dark and foreboding is what I saw behind this 12 oz bottle and I knew that I had picked correctly (especially after enjoying a couple Stone IPAs with dinner, thinking things would go otherwise).

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Green Flash Brewing Co. | Palate Wrecker

While I must admit that I am not the type to usually fall for big names that make large boasts, especially when it comes to hops and bitterness, breweries like Green Flash are the exception. Hailing from southern California in San Diego, hop heads all over recognize the great quality and diversity of IPA in their regular rotation. For today’s showcase, I hoppily introduce Palate Wrecker….and it is no misnomer. Read More

Stanley Cup Update

With only four teams remaining, (coincidentally the last four Stanley Cup Champions) there are plenty of interesting story lines to keep track of. The exciting Game 7 finished in the West Coast, with Chicago rebounding from a 3-1 series deficit to overcome the Detroit Redwings, the perennial playoff contender who haven’t missed playoffs in 20-plus seasons. It felt a little reminiscent of their 2011 quarterfinals where they almost dispatched the Vancouver Canucks in identical fashion.

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Playoff Hockey Returns

Despite the NHL season having been abbreviated due to the expiration of the existing collective bargaining and profit sharing deal, playoff hockey has not disappointed. Whether it be the … Read More

Bells Brewery Hopslam

Bell’s Brewery- Hopslam

ABV: 10%

IBU: 90

When considering the progress India Pale Ales have made in the American beer drinking culture while also crediting the rise … Read More

Sierra Nevada Ruthless Rye IPA

Sierra Nevada Ruthless Rye IPA

Key Facts:

• Bottled in Chico, California
• Style: American Rye IPA
• 6.6 ABV
• Season: Winter-Spring

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2013 Cochella Indio Weekend 2 Preview

Coachillin- The PD Guide to 2013 Cochella Indio Weekend 2 Preview

A week ago today, the California desert was the only thing on my mind. The countdown to Coachella had finally ended and the anticipation had kicked into overdrive. With the schedule having only been out for two days, mapping out the artists I wanted to see was both exciting and frustrating; conflicts, conflicts everywhere. In those few days, I tried to anticipate what I would need, what to expect from the festival, and who would  be up to task of rocking my socks off. Having since returned with a severe case of nostalgia, I hope this guide will serve you well…and also act  as a memento for these glorious days

While I could try and write an itinerary for your ultimate desert dance party, I will attempt to provide you a swiss army knife guide to getting around and what to look out for.

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NCAA Tournament: South Region Preview

NCAA Tournament: South Region Preview

Tournament Faux Paux

It is always interesting to see a number one seed described by their coach as the worst team he has ever coached, especially when that team was one game away from a national championship last year. Granted, this commentary came when the Rock Chalk nation lost to the Horned Frogs of TCU in Fort Worth, TX earlier this year. But even still, when crafting your bracket it is worthwhile to take note of certain anecdotes from well regarded coaches in addition to past performances.

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Funeral for a Friend: Big East Basketball

Editorial update: Notre Dame has reached an agreement with the Big East to leave the conference and join the ACC on July 1st.  ND will remain an independent in football but will play 5 ACC teams each season starting in 2014.

Its a funeral for a friend this March in New York City. The service will be held over five days and roughly 100,000 people will stand witness. You won’t hear a formal ceremony starting off in a similar tone as “We come here to celebrate the life of…” because it is tacit knowledge to the attendees. But this eulogy will most likely bring attention to the lives touched by the Men’s Big East Basketball Conference Tournament. Rather than focusing on the quantitative (16 teams will always have its critics), it was the quality. For recent generations, its the 2009 6OT title game between Uconn and Syracuse (for your viewing pleasure); its the performance of Gerry MacNamara or Kemba Walker, it can even be the time Allen Ray almost lost his eye from Karl Krauser…ok too fatalistic, I apologize.

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