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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Fulton Beer | Specter

“It’s there and then it’s not.”

Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP). An alarming public health crisis, the death-by-suicide rate for Americans has grown 30 percent in the last two decades. In 2017 alone, more than 47,000 Americans died by suicide. The tragedy of the suicide epidemic in the last 20 years seems to have touched all of our lives at some point. Three years ago, it touched the family of Minneapolis’ Fulton Beer.

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Saint Arnold Brewing Company | Art Car IPA

The phenomenon of the art car has intrigued me for some time. Have you ever seen these things? Cars covered from bumper to bumper with colorful paint jobs and anything from mosaic tile to plastic figurines. Sure, some look like a hoarder hoarked on a hooptie, but there are certainly some examples that truly are mobile art. The layers of detail and creativity are impressive, and it’s that creative spirit that inspired Saint Arnold’s Art Car IPA.

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Summit Brewing Company | Slugfest Juicy IPA

Bombasota. The Land of 10,000 rakes. These represent a couple of examples to describe what’s taking place on the baseball field this season in Minnesota.

The nicknames are warranted. The Minnesota Twins are mashing the baseball this season, hitting home runs at a historic pace. At the beginning of the month, the Twins set a new MLB record hitting their 269th home run of the season. Yes, they broke the record with a full month of games to go.

And they’re not slowing down. The Twins keep slugging with currently 289 home runs as I’m typing. But that’s not all. While building on their record-setting season, the Twins broke another MLB milestone. They became the first team in league history with five players to hit at least 30 long balls in a season.

It’s safe to say it’s been a slugfest in Minnesota this summer.

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Melvin Brewing | Jenny Lake Pilsner

Located at the base of the Teton mountains in Jackson Hole, WY, Melvin Brewing has gained a reputation – and numerous awards – for serving up high-quality, hops-forward brews. After a day of strenuous adventures in the outdoor paradise of Grand Teton National Park, Melvin’s Jenny Lake Pilsner provides a satisfying shot of liquid refreshment. Read More

Mystic Rye | Toltec Brewing Co.

An Albuquerque, New Mexico, native, Kaylynn Krosche still recalls the scent of hops hitting the boiling kettle as her father homebrewed. Her passion for beer and brewing developed early. And it has evolved into her life-long pursuit. Krosche is now the founding brewmaster of Toltec Brewing Co. in Albuquerque. Her presence is well recognized through her active involvement in the community and through medals and awards.

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