Features
Colorado Beer Beat | Bi-Weekly Beer Release Guide 6/30
June 30, 2022 | Mackenzie Helms
Welcome to the Colorado Beer Beat, a bi-weekly roundup of all of the new can releases around the state. From Denver to Grand Junction and everywhere in between, we have you covered. Be sure to check back on Thursdays (usually!) to find out what’s new in the Colorado beer scene.
The holiday weekend is starting a little bit early because of the Avs Championship Parade going on today! Now it’s just a matter of finding the perfect spot to watch from and the perfect brew to sip on while you’re there. Keep the suds flowing all the way through the 4th of July to make it one of the best weekends in Colorado this summer!
AleBlazers Series | Q&A with Sarah Flora of Flora Brewing
June 21, 2022 | Emma Wargolet
As part of the PorchDrinking AleBlazers Series, I was excited to get to chat with Sarah Flora of Flora Brewing. If you’ve had a chance to peruse her website or YouTube channel, you know that she is a top-notch homebrewer. Additionally, she just made her commercial debut at Pilot Project Brewing, a brewery incubator in Chicago, with Medusa, a Pale Ale that is perfect for summer!
2022 Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Festival Pour List Announced
May 25, 2022 | Tristan Chan
We are just a week and a half away from the grand return of the 2022 Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Festival taking place in Paso Robles, CA on Saturday, June 4. Having built a reputation as one of the most celebrated festivals within the craft beer industry the FWIBF returns after a COVID-induced hiatus with another all-star cast of breweries.
Not only are some of the best of the best breweries represented from around the globe, but a festival of this caliber always brings out the rarest beers as well. In addition to the usual hyped barrel-aged styles typically found at destination festivals, it’s refreshing to see a wider representation of world-class lagers as well.
Be sure to check back as we break down some of the can’t-miss beers to try at this year’s Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Festival, but for now, enjoy a look at the initial pour list. Tickets are SOLD OUT for this year’s festival as last year’s ticket holders were offered first right of refusal. Keep in mind, as with all beer festivals, pour lists are subject to change, but this serves as a nice preview of what’s anticipated from each brewery.
Hooray for Craft Beer! | A Review & Interview with Author Em Sauter
May 25, 2022 | David Nilsen
Hooray for Craft Beer!, the new book of educational beer cartoons from Em Sauter of Pints & Panels, celebrates learning about beer in an inclusive and non-intimidating way. The follow-up to 2017’s Beer Is For Everyone (of Drinking Age)!, this new title from Brewers Publications issues an invitation to people of all levels of beer knowledge to enjoy and understand our favorite beverage.
A Comprehensive Guide to Colorado’s Best Lager Breweries
May 20, 2022 | Ryan Pachmayer
Just a few short decades ago, state-side Lager beers were largely considered light, watered-down beer for the masses. In recent years, a host of breweries have proven that stereotype wrong, and a multitude of Lager-focused breweries are now flourishing in Colorado. Drawing inspiration from European breweries, often in the Czech Republic or Germany, and sometimes combining those elements with modern techniques, these breweries are making a range of bottom-fermented beer that is sure to intrigue both the casual drinker and the connoisseur.
Editorial | Making the Case for Widely Adopting Craft Malting in Beer
May 16, 2022 | Josh Watterson
Forget Cold IPAs, Hard Seltzers, and Ready to Drink Cocktails, because as we’ve seen with many other style trends that have come before, they’re likely momentary flashes in the pan. What is the next trend that’s more likely to elevate craft beer? How about Craft Malt? Brewers often call malt the ‘Soul of Beer’ and it’s unmistakably the backbone.
CanSource Provides Canning Solutions Amid Minimum Increases
May 16, 2022 | Tristan Chan
At the onset of the pandemic, the ability to pivot quickly after tasting rooms were closed for on-site consumption led a majority of breweries to focus their attention on packaging beer to-go. It was at that moment that aluminum cans became one of the hottest commodities in the industry.
But just as canning beer became a major relief for breweries who desperately needed a way to get beer in the hands of consumers, it also became a major pain point. Ball Corp, which has long been the dominant supplier of aluminum cans, announced that it would increase minimum orders for a single SKU of printed cans from one truckload to five truck loads. This meant that a brewery that could previously order 200,000 printed cans of a single brand would now be forced to order approximately 1 million cans, essentially eliminating a primary supplier of printed cans for a majority of breweries in the market today.
5 Essential Minnesota Brewery Day Trips Outside of the Twin Cities
April 29, 2022 | Kim Thiel
Minnesota is known as the “Land of 10,000 Beers,” or is it the “Land of 10,000 Lakes?” Either way, with a little over 200 breweries currently located in the state, exploring the Twin Cities and beyond will lead you to some of Minnesota’s finest beers. Listed below are 5 essential day trips to breweries outside of the Twin Cities that can be completed in a day or less. This article is by no means an exhaustive list of all the day trips that could be planned to visit breweries in the “Land of 10,000 Beers” but rather a launchpad to begin exploration.
The Complete Guide to the Best Breweries in the Twin Cities
April 28, 2022 | Adam Rozanas
So, you’re coming to Minneapolis in May for the 2022 Craft Brewers Conference.
Awesome! If you’ve never been to the Land of 10,000 Lakes before, you’re in for a treat. … Read More
Beers of the Month | March 2022
April 8, 2022 | Brandon Cohran 1
It’s almost impressive that a quarter of the year is already in the books. Maybe it’s the increase of activity from the last two years in a COVID world, but the first few months of 2022 has kept drinkers happy and fridges full with beer events and special releases across the country. We certainly can’t make every event, or pop every top, but we’re giving it hell to try and find some of the best beers monthly to showcase. From Lagers to Barrel-aged Stouts and all of the dry-hopped IPAs in between, who knows which beers or styles will make this monthly list. So, grab a glass and, potentially, one of the beers featured for March. Cheers.
The Complete Guide | Best Breweries in New Orleans
March 31, 2022 | Britt Antley
Welcome to New Orleans, one of the most culturally rich and unique cities in America and the world. While you’re most likely here to take in the Men’s College Basketball Final Four, the city offers much more than the ideal location to host large sporting events. New Orleans has a rich tradition of alcohol innovation as the home of the Sazerac and Hurricane drinks, but the emphasis has historically been on cocktails as opposed to beer.
The beer scene has undoubtedly improved in the last decade with the arrival of many breweries and expanding interest in craft beer, and today there are a plethora of options for the beer nerd to satiate their needs in the Big Easy. With my knowledge having lived in the city 2017-2021 and current resident Katie de la Rosa’s expertise, we have assembled a guide of the best places to drink beer in New Orleans along with some extra tips on food and entertainment.
This guide was co-written by Britt Antley and Katie de la Rosa
Athletic Brewing Takes Biggest Step Yet with its NA Athletic Lite Release
March 30, 2022 | Taylor Laabs
Even the most avid craft beer fans get tired of beer after a while. Sometimes you want to change things. Maybe you decide to stick to spirits, Light Beers or Hard Seltzers, or you choose to refrain from alcohol altogether, One appealing option that continues to grow in popularity and variety is Non-Alcoholic (NA) beer, a rapidly expanding segment that continues to draw new buzz and more eyeballs – and tastebuds. NA-brewer Athletic Brewing is widely considered the giant of NA beer, taking big swings at releasing NA-versions of Hazy IPAs, Sours, Stouts and Witbiers. Their release focus on complex flavors and style gave them an appealing niche to sell to beer’d-out beer drinkers. Now, they’re leaning into the largest category of beer drinkers – Light Beer lovers, with the debut of Athletic Lite. Here’s why.
It’s Okay That You’re Not Okay | Coping with Anxiety in Craft Beer
March 21, 2022 | David Nilsen
I was standing in the middle of a wide, crowded aisle at the 2019 Great American Beer Festival in Denver when I felt a familiar fog begin to close in inside my head. My thoughts got fuzzy and abstract, my eyes became fixed on the middle distance as the edges blurred, and my jaw felt wired shut. I was a silent observer inside a robot body.
Do-It-4-MDOG Aims Big in 2nd Annual Fundraiser
March 16, 2022 | Brian Phipps
For the second year in a row, Jack’s Bottle Shop of Rochester, Minnesota is putting together its Do-It-4-MDOG fundraiser. This year the beneficiary is Children’s Minnesota, a place Jack’s Bottle Shop owner Jack Lester is very close to.
200+ Women/Non-Binary-Owned Breweries to Support Across the U.S.
March 7, 2022 | Emma Wargolet 45
Despite the idyllic notion that craft beer is an incredible industry founded on collaboration and camaraderie, the reckoning ignited by Brienne Allan’s work showcased that sexism is a rampant issue in beer that has often been swept under a rug for far too long.
Brienne’s work helped to shine greater awareness on the systemic issue and as a result, incremental change has begun, as seen with her Brave Noise collaboration campaign. Additionally, we’re constantly inspired by a new class of trailblazers like Ash Eliot, founder of Women of the Bevolution, who’ve stepped up to help continue to further Brienne’s cause, and our own Kindsey Bernhard, who launched the Boys are from Märzen podcast to spotlight incredible women in the industry, and Grace Weitz, editor for Hop Culture and organizer of Beers Without Beards festival, which celebrates women and non-binary led breweries. However, in the grand scope of things, there’s still so much that needs to be done to bring greater equity to a historically male-dominated industry.
It’s not enough to post that a brewery supports diversity and will work to combat racism, sexism, homophobia; there has to be actual action. Performative allyship does nothing.
Competition in the Beer, Wine & Spirits Industry
March 4, 2022 | Julie Rhodes
Back in July 2021, the Biden Administration issued Executive Order 14,036 focused on “Promoting Competition in the American Economy.” An Executive Order is a broad directive from the Executive Branch that sometimes can act as an immediate law. The goal of Biden’s EO last year was to draw attention to consolidation and competition in various industries in order to provide benefits to consumers in the form of better service, more product choices, and lower prices, as well as provide guidance for regulatory agencies to provide a more level playing field for small businesses. In this instance, Executive Order 14,036 specifically addresses competition in the beer, wine, and spirits industry.
Georgia Beer Day | March 5, 2022
March 4, 2022 | Brandon Cohran
Beer deserves to be celebrated! That’s why this Saturday, March 5, 2022, beer lovers across the state will have the chance to raise a glass in honor of Georgia Beer Day as the Georgia Craft Brewers Guild hosts it’s second annual Beer Day. Over 70+ breweries from Acworth to Valdosta are participating in the event.
Breweries have the option to go full-on shindig or just have the commemorative glasses, by artist Ali Lamoureux, available for customers but either way $1 of the sale of the glass goes back to the Guild to help promote growth and support of the industry. The design is an homage to the beautiful landscapes throughout Georgia “from the Blue Ridge Mountains to Driftwood Beach” as an outdoor refuge is portrayed on the Becher pint glass. Last year, these limited (at each brewery) glasses went FAST, so make sure to get there early and support all day!
2022 Chicago Women’s Collaboration Brew Day Beer is Here
March 3, 2022 | Emma Wargolet
Each year, Pink Boots Society members across the country team up to brew a beer for International Women’s Day. The Chicago chapter met up in February at Church Street Brewing Company to brew Cosmic Nunchucks, which will be available on tap and in cans at participating breweries starting this weekend. The brew day event involved 45 women that are involved in the craft beer industry in the Chicagoland area, helmed by Chicago Chapter Co-Leaders Shana Solarte, Raiye Rosado and Katie Hofmann.
Downloadable 2022 Super Bowl LVI Bingo Boards
February 11, 2022 | Tristan Chan 1
Aside from the glorious return of PorchDrinking’s 2022 Super Bowl LVI Bingo Boards, there’s quite a lot to celebrate during this Super Bowl Sunday. Firstly, we’re finally free of a Patriots / Buccaneers / Tom Brady Super Bowl. And this marks the first time in over 30 years that the Bengals will be making an appearance in the big game.
Beers For Gaming | Firewatch & Woodland Chill Cold IPA
February 4, 2022 | Brandon Cohran
Some games might draw you in with intense action, or a complex mechanic, whereas some games are simply there to tell a story and leave an impression. Firewatch, a 2016 game from Campo Santo, is a compelling adventure game that wonderfully mixes in mysterious interactions with incredible dialogue and perfectly scored music all set against a picturesque backdrop of the Wyoming Wilderness. Read More
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