Crooked Stave | Surette

Originally Published August 23, 2013

Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project: Surette Provision Saison

ABV: 6.2%

Crooked Stave is making amazing beers. The research that owner and brewmaster Chad Yakobson … Read More

Finkel and Garf Brewing Company

5455 Spine Road Suite A, Boulder, CO

Open Date: July 14, 2014

Brewing System: 15 Barrel Brewhouse

Taproom Hours Mon-Fri: 3-9pm Sat-Sun: 12-9pm

Finkel and Garf is Boulder County’s newest craft … Read More

Firestone Walker Brewing Co. | Opal

Farmhouse Ale | Dry-hopped Saison

ABV: 7.5%

IBU: 35

It’s an early spring morning, the first bit of sunlight on the horizon peeks through my south-eastern facing window and I begin to stir. The chickadees and robins are creating quite the early morning chatter. It’s more peaceful than my usual weekday alarm but I still grumble and roll over covering my head with my pillow. 5:30am – seriously?! I think to myself. As I try and coax myself back to sleep, I’m inundated by the crisp spring morning air wafting through my windows. Laden with pollen the air is ripe and wonderful. It’s what I’m sure Charmin was shooting for, but fell far short of, in their “Spring Breeze” detergent. The sun climbs higher in my window and I become more aware of the beautiful spring aromatics- growth, pollination, snow run-off and life. As the Colorado spring transitions to summer, I walk to the farmers market. On my way I cross Boulder Creek, a run-off fueled torrent raging through the middle of town. The sounds of earth erosion are almost deafening; I’m humbled knowing that what I’m hearing is but a fraction of the change the Boulder Creek watershed will see in its lifetime. The farmers’ market is bustling with people; young, old, families, children and smiling faces. I walk past a small stand on the northern side of the market and a 6-year-old boy Jason greets me. The Plowshares farmstand has the most beautiful arrangement of spring vegetables. After conversing with Jason about the creek, playground and squirrels I’m warmed from the inside by his charm and joy. I purchase a bundle of beets, mizuna, collard greens, and a bag of mixed salad greens from his mother. Walking back through the market the ripe aromas of fresh herb starter plants consume me. Basil, cilantro, parley, rosemary, thyme and lemongrass create an unforgettable floral bouquet. Read More

Crooked Stave – Wild Wild Brett Violet aged with Passion Fruit

It’s easy to see why Crooked Stave has built such a huge following in such a short amount of time. Their motto “Cultured in Yeast” really tells the story, as they are known for brewing beer almost exclusively with unique and wild yeast strains. Many of their beers are fermented, at least in part, by wild strains of Brettanomyces. Other, more coveted beers, are barrel aged with souring bacteria to produce mouth-watering libations. From coast-to-coast, people are seeking out Crooked Stave’s beers and their specialty bottle release beers may as well be trade gold. Of the specialty releases, the Wild Wild Brett series of beers is the granddaddy of them all. So when the unexpecting passer-by (me) shows up at the taproom on a random Sunday night before picking up a friend from the airport and sees the chalk-board sign that reads “Wild Wild Brett Violet aged with Passion Fruit”, the bartender knew exactly what I wanted when my response to “What will you have to drink?” was “Is that some kind of joke?” Read More

12 Beers of Christmas | Day 8: Avery Old Jubilation Ale

ABV: 8.3% | IBU: 45

Everyone has their favorite local watering hole. Because Avery Brewing Company is my local watering hole I am generally biased towards their beers. Their holiday seasonal is not only delicious, but unique to other breweries winter seasonals in that it is one of the most quaffable of the holiday ales I have had. I can easily get through two or three pints without feeling like I was pouring cinnamon and cloves on my tongue. With no spice additions or other adjunct ingredients, Avery puts their twist on a holiday ale with their Old Jubilation Ale. Read More

Homebrewing Gingerbread Stout

After a few beers I gained the cojones to start an email string suggesting the PorchDrinking team start homebrewing together. I’m humble about a lot of things I do, but dammit, I make damn good beer. All of my best friends can attest to that… or maybe I just have really nice friends. Either way, I decided to invite the team to my house to brew on my MacGyver’d homebrew setup and this is how we got started Homebrewing Gingerbread Stout.

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12 Beers of Christmas | Day 5- Jolly Pumpkin Noel de Calabaza

ABV: 9.0%

What better adjective to describe the holiday spirit than Jolly? Jolly Pumpkin brewery delivers their holiday beer with great complexity to the tune of Brettanomyces funk. This malty brew is best served with many leather bound books and an abode that smells of rich mahogany. Enjoy this sophisticated Noel de Calabaza. Read More

Brouwerij Lindemans – Cuvee Rene

Brouwerij Lindemans – Cuvee Rene

ABV: ?

IBU: ? Read More

Jester King – Das Wunderkind

Jester King – Das Wunderkind Sour Saison

ABV: 4.5%

IBU: ? Read More

AHA Learn to Homebrew Day

What: American Homebrewers Association Learn to Homebrew Day! Read More

Roundtable Discussion – Pairings

While a lot of breweries are now stating suggested food pairings for their beers on either the bottles or their website, we here at PorchDrinking have decided to make similar pairing suggestions, but this time with activities. So we polled our staff: “What are your favorite beer and activity pairings?” Read More

2013 GABF Must Try Beer List

From our extensive pour list, a few of our resident beer geeks have put their heads together to compile a list of “must-try” beers at GABF. These are beers that we have either tried ourselves and give the highest praise or are from breweries that we have come to know and love who’s beer intrigues us enough to hype it up! So here we go, make sure you taste your way through some of these beers at GABF, and if you manage to catch one of our staff at the same booth, be sure to throw up a high-five! Read More

Homebrewing: Brewing with Fruit

For many brewers like myself, brewing is a creative outlet. Water is the blank canvas on which we play with malt, yeast and hops. While many of the worlds best beers are made with those four ingredients, there are many avenues for furthering creativity. In this week’s post, titled Homebrewing: Brewing with Fruit, I will discuss the ways of imparting fruit flavors to your homebrew. Read More

The Alchemist – Heady Topper

ABV: 8.00%   IBU: 120

Let me start out by saying that I’m so grateful to have amazing friends across the county. Trying new beers and highly sought after beers from coast-to-coast has become an ease. Not to mention this week, one of my beer ‘pen pals’ sent me the ever glorious Heady Topper. Read More

Homebrewing – Wild Porch Pounder

As many of you are aware, we had the pleasure of brewing our 1-year anniversary beer with the Mountain Sun. What you may not know is that the Mountain Sun graciously gave us 5 gallons to take home for a homebrewing experiment… and it got funky. In this homebrewing edition, I will be discussing the approach to making Porch Pounder Gone Wild. Read More

Roundtable Discussion: Go-To Beer Styles

This weeks discussion revolves around the go-to beer styles of the writers here at PD. The question was posed as follows: When you walk into a new brewery or bar, what are the types or styles of beer that you will usually gravitate towards? Here are the responses to this weeks Roundtable Discussion. Read More

Homebrewing: Timing is Everything

If its not clear from previous posts, I LOVE to homebrew. It’s an scientifically artistic process that creates things that I can share with friends and family and bring a community together. The past few weeks I have enjoyed being on vacation and realized how important timing is. My mind and body needed the relaxation and escape of vacation. It inspired me to write this piece Homebrewing: Timing is Everything. Read More

Roundtable Discussion: Locally-Made Gateway Craft Beers

In this week’s roundtable discussion, the staff here at PorchDrinking discuss their favorite local gateway craft beers. Here are some local craft beer options for that friend who still drinks Milwaukee’s Best:

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Dragoon Brewing Company – The DOS

Dragoon Brewing Company – The DOS Russian Imperial Stout

ABV: 10.4%

While sampling the offerings at Dragoon Brewing Company in Tucson Arizona, I was absolutely blown away by the DOS … Read More

Homebrew Gadgets

Homebrewing is a great way to experiment, have fun and get your friends to tell you stories that they may not otherwise tell you. As I became a more advanced homebrewer, there were certain gadgets that I found that improved my brewing and some that frankly made things more stressful. Here are some of the more useful homebrew gadgets that I have come across. Read More