AboutRuvani de Silva, Author at PorchDrinking.com – Page 2 of 3
Ruvani de Silva
Ruvani de Silva (she/her) is a travel-loving beer writer with bylines including Good Beer Hunting, PorchDrinking, Beer Is For Everyone, Texas Highways and VinePair. She writes about beer in Central Texas and beyond, and is a vocal advocate for diversity, equality and inclusion in beer. Ruvani has been recognised as one of Good Beer Hunting's 2021 Signifiers and Highly Commended by the British Guild of Beer Writers in their 2021 Awards Best Beer Writer, National Media category. As a British South Asian woman living in Texas, Ruvani brings a unique voice to the world of craft beer. She is also the founder of #SouthAsianBeerClub. Find her on Twitter and Instagram as @amethyst_heels, and read her articles at CraftBeerAmethyst.com.Beer Is For Everyone Launches Drinking in Another State Collaboration Project
July 12, 2022 | Ruvani de Silva
On June 24, 2022, the US Supreme Court voted to overturn Roe vs. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling giving women across the US the right to have an abortion. With thirteen states poised to enforce historic trigger laws banning all medically unnecessary abortions, and another thirteen considered likely to make abortion illegal, this decision is a devastatingly regressive setback for reproductive rights and places the lives of those who need reproductive care, particularly those from lower socio-economic and minority backgrounds at significant risk.
Texas Keeper Cider | Grafter Rosato 2022
July 11, 2022 | Ruvani de Silva
Texas Keeper Cider is one of South Austin’s best kept secrets. A stunning 19 acre Hill Country ranch with a lovely rustic wood-paneled taproom just minutes away from the SoCo tourist bustle, the tight, dedicated team have been creating sophisticated small-batch hand-crafted cider since 2013. Blending career expertise in wine-making, brewing, fermentation and, of course, cider making, Texas Keeper offer a refreshing alternative to the sweet fruit-flavored canned fizz that is most commonly associated with both macro and craft ciders.
Blue Owl Brewing & Hop Capital Brewing Collaborate on See You Again, Friend IPA
June 27, 2022 | Ruvani de Silva
Being a beer nerd with half an eye out for whatever new tool or trend the industry intends to chuck out at us next, I haven’t been able to help but notice the term thiol appearing in my feed with increasing frequency. According to the Brewers Association, thiols are highly aroma-active compounds derived from hops that can give very intense fruity flavor to predominantly dry-hopped beers. While the presence of thiols in wine grapes has been known for a while, thiols in hops were discovered relatively recently, hence the sudden outpouring of interest, much of which is tied to the fact that the brewing process does not lend itself naturally to releasing the tropical aromas that chemically complex thiols keep hidden away.
Bent Water Brewing & Team Fox Launch Common Hope Collaboration Pilsner to Fight Parkinson’s Disease
April 28, 2022 | Ruvani de Silva
“To watch someone slowly fade away in front of your eyes over many years, and to not be able to do anything about it will stop you in your tracks. To know other individuals closely with the disease and ponder a similar outcome for them is challenging to say the least. It leaves you feeling helpless.”
Craft Women Connect & Reformation Brewery Release Venus II
March 25, 2022 | Ruvani de Silva
Craft Women Connect was founded by Jen Price (@AtlBeerBoutique), Michelle Turner (@ExcitedtoFeast), Chris Hughes (@TheeCraftbeerconnoisseur), and Britne Dionne, and Caitlin Bradfield (@beersagogo) back in January 2019 as a response to the lack of spaces for and visibility of women of color in the Atlanta beer scene.
Urban South Celebrates Mardi Gras With Three Special Themed Releases
March 14, 2022 | Ruvani de Silva
As seasonal and event-focused beers grow in popularity, Mardi Gras beers are now becoming a trend around the country, tying in with local celebrations or referencing NOLA traditions. For New Orleans’ largest brewery by volume, Urban South, this is the time of year for curated innovation as they update their annual triple-release of brews to celebrate the city’s biggest party.
Austin Beerworks and Kaiju Cut & Sew Launch Eastern Philosophy: A Kaiju Brew – The First Beer Supporting Stop AAPI Hate
February 2, 2022 | Ruvani de Silva
Sunday, January 30, was the launch of Eastern Philosophy: A Kaiju Brew – the first beer brewed to fundraise for Stop AAPI Hate. The brainchild of Will Golden, Director of Brewing Operations and Co-founder of Austin Beerworks and Chris Gomez, Owner of Kaiju Cut & Sew, the event brought together several local businesses, with hundreds of Austinites in attendance to show their support and get a taste of this very special beer.
Acopon Brewing | Hans Trapp Russian Imperial Stout
January 14, 2022 | Ruvani de Silva
For the past four years, residents of and visitors to the Texas Hill Country have had a privilege rarely bestowed on American beer drinkers — the opportunity to enjoy freshly brewed English-style beers served on cask at the singular Acopon Brewing taproom in Dripping Springs TX. While their beautifully delivered flagship Homunculus Dark Mild Ale and Gaspipes ESB continue to draw in both cask-curious and happily acclimated patrons from season to season, at this time of year there is another very good reason to make a trip to Acopon — the annual release of their Hans Trapp BBA Russian Imperial Stout.
Event Recap | Texas Craft Brewers Festival 2021
November 1, 2021 | Ruvani de Silva 1
The Texas Craft Brewers Guild hosted its annual festival at Austin’s Fiesta Gardens on Saturday, October 23. After the festival pivoted to an online event last November, brewers and consumers were eager to return in person to this tremendously popular celebration of all things Texas beer, with over 85 breweries from across the state serving up over 200 beers to thirsty visitors. Both VIP and General Admission tickets sold out in advance, signaling the excitement for the first major Texas beer festival since Covid restrictions lifted.
Hawkins Farmhouse Ales | Major Progression BA Belgian Quad
October 1, 2021 | Ruvani de Silva
Just over half an hour directly to the south of Austin sits Lockhart, Texas — the self-proclaimed “barbecue capital” of the state. The quintessential small-town-Texas vibe is punctuated by the enormous queues snaking out of Lockhart’s four famous barbecue joints on the weekend, which attract visitors from across the state and further afield. Now there is a new reason to visit Lockhart: Hawkins Farmhouse Ales.
Other Desi Beer Co. | Jalebae DIPA
June 14, 2021 | Ruvani de Silva
When Ravi Patel launched Other Desi Beer Co. in 2019, one of his primary aims was to share the tastes and flavors of the Indian food that he grew up with through the medium of high-quality craft beer. With several Indian-cuisine-inspired brews already under his belt, including the delightfully bright and zingy 3 Ranis Pink Guava Hibiscus Sour and the deep, layered High Chai Stout featuring cardamom, black pepper and cinnamon, Patel has now pulled off the coup of brewing what may be the first beer to feature India’s national sweet, the jalebi.
Craft Women Connect, Blk Brew Babes, Pontoon Brewing & The Atlanta Podcast | Pomona Paradise Smoothie-Style Fruited Sour
June 10, 2021 | Ruvani de Silva
Not one, not two, but three of Atlanta’s Black beer-community groups have joined forces with Pontoon Brewing to create the Pomona Paradise Smoothie-Style Sour. The beer came out of Pontoon’s ongoing Brewing Conversations project with The Atlanta Podcast–a community-focused initiative to raise awareness about inclusivity and racial issues in and around the Atlanta beer scene.
Urban South & Verdant Brewing (UK) | Hop The Pond IPA
May 18, 2021 | Ruvani de Silva
In just five years, New Orleans’ Urban South Brewing has made a huge impact in the beer world and is currently one of the fastest-growing breweries in the U.S. With more than 200 beers released to date, multiple awards under their belt and newly expanded distribution across Alabama, Tennessee and Mississippi, Urban South are riding high and celebrating their fifth anniversary in style with a 15-beer collaboration project that includes some of the biggest names in U.S. craft beer. Drekker, American Solera, Aslin and Pontoon are all involved in this highly ambitious project that includes beer styles ranging from mixed-fermentation Table Beer to Fruited Pastry Sour to TIPA.
New Braunfels Brewing Co. | Death for Breakfast
May 6, 2021 | Ruvani de Silva
Once a phrase linked solely with Oatmeal Stouts, the term ‘breakfast beer’ is now applied to beers ranging from Milkshake and Smoothie Fruited Sours to Oat IPAs. Of course, what you may or may not consider to be a true ‘breakfast beer’ invariably depends on what you choose to have for breakfast, but the link between oat content and breakfastiness in a beer remains undisputed.
Austin Beerworks | La Verdad Mexican Lager
April 28, 2021 | Ruvani de Silva
Austin Beerworks La Verdad is undoubtedly a champion of Texan Mexican Lagers. Its annual release heralds both Cinco de Mayo and the arrival of our sweaty summer season when lying by the pool or floating lazily down the Guadalupe is as much exertion as the weather allows any time after midday here in Central Texas. Now in its fifth year, the La Verdad was last year’s lockdown savior and kept us from parching even when we weren’t allowed in the water.
Texas Craft Brewers Guild Launches Liquid Bake Sale Fundraiser
April 9, 2021 | Ruvani de Silva 1
Who doesn’t love a bake sale? All manner of excitingly delicious, affectionately prepared offerings to tempt the taste buds, with any guilty feelings of over-indulgence thoroughly negated by the knowledge that one is stuffing one’s face to fundraise for a most-worthy charitable cause. A winning fundraising formula employed by school boards, scout troops and religious institutions across the nation, the bake sale has taken on a new and exciting beery form, courtesy of the Texas Craft Brewers Guild.
Women in Beer | Pam Catoe of Craft Beer Austin & PorchDrinking
March 22, 2021 | Ruvani de Silva
When we think about women in beer, it’s important to remember that beer is an industry like any other, made up a wide range of roles and responsibilities. Increasing representation of women in beer and creating an equal working environment means encouraging and supporting women in all areas of the industry, including fields that aren’t specific to beer itself, because the very nature of genuine diversity involves ensuring it exists across the board. One area women are making huge strides, both in numbers and in prominence, is the arena of beer writing. Once just as male-dominated as the brewhouse, the field of beer journalism has opened up significantly in recent years, with women putting themselves forward, and supporting and enabling their peers through a network of mentorship, collaboration and education. One of the women leading this particular charge has been PorchDrinking’s own Southwest editor, Pam Catoe.
Sour Series: Urban South HTX & Imprint Beer Co. | Spilled Schmoojee Fruited Sour Collaboration
February 17, 2021 | Ruvani de Silva
Texan Fruited Sours tend to fly deeply, almost suspiciously under the radar. Not because we’re not proud of them – on the contrary. The truth is that they are so lip-smacking-tasty that we want to keep them all to ourselves. Choosing just one Fruited Sour from a truly dizzying array of outstanding options was a small challenge in itself, but when we heard about new kids on the block Urban South HTX’s ultra flavor-dynamic collaboration with Pennsylvania’s Imprint Beer Co., we heeded the call. Spilled Schmoojee was the result of their collaboration.
Book Review | Beer and Racism
January 25, 2021 | Ruvani de Silva
Most people of color living in majority-white countries regularly encounter racism, be it violent, cruel and open prejudice or nasty little microaggressions. Sadly, this is a fact. But what do you do when your job, your hobby or both are imbued with structural racism? When it stops being about individual attitudes and becomes about organizational and institutional frameworks and hierarchies that, in their very nature, are skewed to exclude people of color?
Ultimate 6er | Central Texas Dark Lagers
December 2, 2020 | Ruvani de Silva
As the rest of the country slides into winter, Central Texas is still very much in fall mode – and a very welcome fall it is after a scorching summer locked down without the reprieve of our pools and swimming holes. Fall in Central Texas is full of fluctuation – you may need three different outfits in one day, with the temperature taking on the desert-like tendency to drop dramatically once the sun goes down. For weather like this, we brew up a fine selection of Dark Lagers – beers versatile enough to warm us when we’re being whipped by the wind but light enough to refresh us on those remaining sun-drenched days.
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