Dancing Gnome | Black Clouds Double Vanilla

It has been quite some time since my last article, but I figure I would come back and write about one of my absolute favorite breweries in Pittsburgh, Dancing Gnome. DG has been brewing, hazy deliciousness IPA/DIPA/TIPA, fruity goodness sour ales and delicious pale ales. But the one other beer style that has been talked about and that has craft beer patrons lining up early are their stouts, such as Black Clouds!

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Revolution Brewing Releases First 3 Deep Wood Series Beers

As they did last year, Revolution Brewing is once again staggering the release of their Deep Wood barrel-aged series. The first three beers got released last week at its now routine release party, which included cans to-go and a draft list full of rare and stand out beers you won’t find packaged.

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Bad Weather Brewing Company | Tippin’ It Down

The four weeks of mid-September to mid-October represent the greatest weather of the year in Minnesota. It’s often around 68 degrees and sometimes sunny. Everyone is donned in flannel (my personal outfit of choice). Orange-, red- and yellow-leafed maples line the streets as Oktoberfest celebrations begin. Everyone it seems is in a jovial mood.

That’s because this time of year depicts what is often the beginning of the end of favorable weather in the state. After this beautiful window, the temperature plummets, and we often see our first snowfall. Read More

WeldWerks Brewing Company | Fit Bits

Lighter, low-calorie, more health-conscious beers are becoming increasingly popular in the craft beer world. We shared six crushable options in an Ultimate 6er and talked about breweries such as Sufferfest Beer Company, (Sierra Nevada acquired them earlier this year) targeting a segment within craft beer that is constantly growing. WeldWerks Brewing Company, who wowed the craft beer world by creating more than 100 new SKUs in 2018, recently released their version of a low-calorie beer: Fit Bits.

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Prairie Artisan Ales | Paradise

As the weather cools off, you may be left dreaming of those warm summer days when you’re lounging out and soaking up the sun. Although we’re not in the worst of the winter just yet, Prairie Artisan Ales‘ Paradise will keep you reminiscent of those summer days, despite being a Stout.

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Athletic Brewing Company | Run Wild IPA

An interesting thing happened while prepping annual GABF coverage here at PorchDrinking this year. We noticed a growing trend of breweries bringing craft alcohol-free beer to the beer-lovers event. Now of course, alcohol-free beer isn’t new. Can you recall the times of “near beer” and O’Doul’s? And most recently Heineken introduced their version to the market. Out of curiosity we gave the latter a try, and to our surprise it tasted like a regular Heineken. Needless to say it was intriguing, so we did more research into the non-alcoholic craft craze. Read More

Roughhouse Brewing | Ona

Outside of Austin lies what many locals call the prettiest little part of Texas: Hill Country. Small rolling hills break up the endless blue sky and Texas scrub provides shade to white-tailed deer, armadillos, and the hordes of tubers leisurely floating down the San Marcos River. Many Austin based companies will provide tubes and transportation for easy access to San Marcos’ best-known attraction. Visitors shouldn’t stick to the water; getting out and exploring Hill Country charms is best done on dry land. Some of the best boozy attractions in the state are scattered around Hill Country from the elite Jester King Brewery to the only sotol distillery in the United States, Desert Door. With over twenty-five breweries in Hill Country, visitors will find plenty of delicious reasons to keep exploring the surrounding scrubland.

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Comrade Brewing Company | Superpower IPA Wins Big at GABF

Denver’s Comrade Brewing Company showed its true superpower at this year’s Great American Beer Festival: winning medals. Comrade took home golds for SuperPower IPA and More Dodge Less RAM and was also named Small Brewing Company of the Year.

Superpower IPA beat out 130 other entries to win the American-Style Strong Pale Ale category to prove why it has been a taproom staple since Comrade opened five years ago. Read More

Hoppers Grill & Brewing | La Nymphe Bière de Garde

It’s not often Hoppers Grill & Brewing Co. bottles its beers so when it does, as the usually draft-only brewery did with La Nymphe, craft beer drinkers know they’re in for a treat.

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Southern Prohibition | Altered Beast IPA

The beast has awoken, and this time it has emerged in the form of Southern Prohibition‘s newest core IPA offering. Teenagers of the 1980s, you’ll recognize the name and label art as a Grecian-based beat ’em up arcade game produced by Sega in 1988. Game on!

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Turk’s Head Brewery | I-SOON REACH

Turks and Caicos Islands is a group of Islands located in the Atlantic Ocean southeast of the Bahamas. The first inhabitants of Turks and Caicos were the Arawakan-speaking Taino people, who arrived between 500 and 800 AD. In 1512, Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de Leόn’s arrival created slavery and depopulated the islands by European disease. In the centuries since, Turks and Caicos has been under several different European powers but gained independence in 1973. Since then they have remained a separate British Overseas Territory.

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Allagash Brewing Company | Truepenny

We all know fall (at least in New England) doesn’t truly start until October 1. Sure, the calendar says September 23, but many of us are in denial for the last week of September, trying to soak up the last few warm days before everything cools off.

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Troegs Independent Brewing | Trail Day Pale Ale

Within the touristy town of Hershey, Pennsylvania, sits a craft brewery by the name of Troegs Independent Brewing. Originally formed in 1997 and located in Harrisburg, PA, Troegs made the move to Hershey (the home of Hershey Chocolate Factory) in 2011. With a growing popularity within the region, Troegs became very well known for The Mad Elf Christmas Ale, and it didn’t take long for the brewery to gain momentum and demand. Brewing 10 year-round beers, Troegs also offers many options when it comes to seasonal brews and a never-ending list of “Scratch” beers that are brewed in an experimental six gallon brewing system and released regularly at their taproom. Read More

Oxbow Brewing Company | Pils & Love Collaboration Lager

The third Pils & Love Festival returned to Portland, ME this past July and, to honor the occasion, approximately 40 of the 60 participating breweries gathered to make a collaboration brew (a list of the breweries that participated is below). The festival was hosted by Oxbow Brewing Company and furthers a state-side version of Birrificio Italiano’s Pils Pride festival in Italy. Birrificio Italiano is known for its Tipopils, which puts a spin on a German pilsner by dry-hopping the beer, something prohibited by the Reinheitsgebot; the Pils & Love collaboration beer takes its inspiration from Birrificio Italiano’s classic. Read More

New Trail Brewing Company | Pine Creek Pilsner

It’s easy when you come across a brewery that has built a strong reputation for brewing a certain style of beer to continue trying their latest offerings. New Trail Brewing … Read More

Great Divide Brewing Company | Mexican Chocolate Yeti

Fans of Denver staple and craft beer OG Yeti from Great Divide already know the importance of starting with a quality base beer before throwing a bunch of variants out into the saturated market. With Yeti–one of the most recognizably branded beers in the country–there’s no shortage of variants, ranging from horchata and chai to the beloved barrel-aged chocolate and vanilla Stouts that have made their way onto store shelves at different points in time.

With so many solid variants available in stores, and even more available at Great Divide’s taphouse and RiNo Barrel Bar, how do you pick just one to review? And with so many other beers to choose from in the craft beer market at-large, how does a brewery stay relevant?

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MadTree Brewing Co. | El Dorado High Imperial IPA

If you’re as much of a beer person as I am, you know that as soon as your friend mentions they’re going out of town, you’re asking them to bring you back some beer! That’s exactly what happened when I heard of an impending Ohio trip. I absolutely had to get my hands on some MadTree beer, and I was so pleased! You’re going to have to read below to learn more about El Dorado High.

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Old Nation Brewing | Electron Brown

Last weekend, autumn finally arrived in Michigan in the form of perfect murder mystery type of weather. So, I spent the weekend at the lake calculating the final touches on my plan to do away with my meddling spouse while taking in the gentle stillness of nature. Uh, I mean, um, transitioning from summer to fall beers. Michigan has a glut of great beers and the authentic experience of all four seasons. Thus, we truly have great pairings for every season.

I first got into Old Nation Brewing Electron Brown Espresso Bean Double Brown Ale at a cheese & beer tasting at the incomparable Zingerman’s in Ann Arbor. While I couldn’t accurately describe the cheese, Old Nation’s double brown ale certainly made an impact. Enough so that I scrounged around for it the moment October hit.

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Wiley Roots Brewing Company | Vanilla Anonym

Fall is upon us and the weather is cooling off. It’s the perfect time to crack open some stouts and embrace this cooler weather. A few weeks back, Greeley’s Wiley Roots Brewing Company released the long-anticipated Vanilla Anonym, amongst many other beers.

Vanilla Anonym is part of Wiley Roots’ barrel-aging program and has been aged in bourbon barrels for the last 18 months. Those barrels were chosen specifically because they hoped the imparted bourbon and wood notes from the barrels would complement the beer nicely. Mission accomplished.

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NoDa Brewing Company | Gordgeous

For some, the arrival of autumn means football. For others, perhaps the ripening of the leaves on the trees—as their colors erupt in flaming reds, oranges and yellows. Others may slave over their Halloween costumes as soon as summer draws to an end. In the beer world, fall is synonymous with the most hotly contested debate in all of craft. Love it or hate it, the pumpkin beer season has arrived. Not surprisingly, breweries aren’t shy of taking a side in this contentious argument, with many taking a stance in the former camp. One of these establishments is NoDa Brewing Company, as it proudly releases its pumpkin Ale, Gordgeous onto its taps.

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