Festival Recap | Springs Beer Fest 2014

A sold out beer fest is a good thing for craft beer, right?! Well, we aren’t 100% sure but we take a closer look with Springs Beer Fest 2014.

This past weekend, we were thrust into a myriad of emotions in relation to a sold out festival at the 8th Annual Springs Beer Fest at America the Beautiful Park in Colorado Springs. The festival ran from 12:00pm to 4:00pm (11am entry for VIP) with a cost of $25 for General (advance), $30 at Gate, $50 VIP. The promoters promised a fun-filled day of bottomless, fresh, craft beer samplings from over 45 notable Craft Brewers.

Read More

Uinta Brewing Company | Detour Double IPA

Uinta Brewing Company – Detour Double IPA

ABV: 9.5%

As I celebrate my 30th birthday in a rented trailer on the banks of Utah’s Weber River, drinking a Detour Double IPA from Salt Lake City’s Uinta Brewing Company, I find it hard to believe that nine years have passed since my 21st. I’m glad tonight that I’m not drinking countless car bombs and tequila/tabasco shots at the Bayview and then barfing them out the window of my own Jeep as my friends drive me home, though beers at the Bay on Michigan’s Gull Lake do sound pretty nice.

I stopped at the nonsensically-regulated state of Utah-owned liquor store on my lunch break for some celebratory beer and chose a four pack of the 9.5% Detour Double IPA. Why? Because I like hops? Maybe. Because the label features a sweet, stylized Airstream trailer, and I live in a less-sweet, but still kind of cool trailer? Probably. Read More

Event Preview | Sesh Fest

When: Saturday, August 2nd  |  3 p.m. – 7 p.m.

Where: Sculpture Park, 1101 13th Street Denver, CO

Price: $20.00

How: To buy tickets visit Imbibe Denver

This weekend the creators … Read More

Deschutes Brewery | Not the Stoic

ABV: 12.1%

IBU: 15

I first encountered Not the Stoic at a food and beer pairing hosted by Deschutes Brewery’s executive chef during Seattle Beer Week. I must admit that I immediately swooned over this perfectly balanced Belgian quad that was served with the first of five courses, a trio of local cheeses. However, its stoicism (if you will) was proven when, even after weaving our way through three hours of gastronomic and fermented bliss, Not the Stoic endured as the brew that left its boozy mark on me and my date for the tasting, my dad. We each bought a bottle and, likely due to our palpable excitement, were interviewed shortly thereafter for a Deschutes promotional video. Needless to say, we left the event giddy with delight, each clutching a 650ml bottle of satisfaction. Read More

Beer Cocktails | Summer Bourbon Refresher

I had the pleasure of visiting New Orleans to attend Tales of the Cocktail. It was an amazing week filled with cocktail events including tasting rooms, pool parties, seminars, private parties and product release events. In addition, the New Orleans cocktail culture and hospitality was a magical experience. Read More

Widmer Brothers Brewing & Breakside Brewery | Saison a’ Fleurs

6.7% ABV, 25 IBU

1984 was a hell of a year. I mean, seriously, look at that list. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles AND Scarlett Johansson AND Ghostbusters? You gotta be … Read More

Ultimate 6er | The Cincinnati Session

Summer is the perfect time for relaxing, exploring, and utilizing every minute of the beautiful long days and nights. People turn into early risers to take advantage of every part of the day to try new things and see new places. One of the best accompaniments to these long adventurous days is great beer. If you live in a great city it is often easy to find something new and always fun to show visiting friends how awesome your city is, and the best way to it is by showcasing a local beer every step of the way. This Ultimate 6er is dedicated to the great session ales Cincinnati has to offer.

Read More

PorchDrinking’s Weekly Denver Beer Beat

Hey there PorchDrinkers! Are you native to the city and looking for events to tide you over for the week? Are you new to the city and looking for the best place to find tasty suds? Visiting and looking for events to hit while you are in town? Check out this week’s Denver Beer Beat and every week to find all things #craftbeer.

Read More

Festival Recap | Sierra Nevada Beercamp Across America – Rocky Mountain Edition

Well, that was fun. Seriously. We don’t like to brag a bunch (we do, however, like to brag a little) but there were no lines for beer, there were celebrity brewers pouring their own wares, and there were many-a-food-truck setup with tasty nosh for purchase. Sierra Nevada’s Beercamp Across America – Rocky Mountain Edition boasted lots of brewer cameos. I saw Ken Grossman just milling around (much like we were) looking for his next liquid victim to quaff. The goal of the touring festival was to bring attention to the craft brewing industry as a whole. To do that, Sierra Nevada invited every brewery in the nation to attend one of the fests and they brewed twelve different collaboration beers with twelve other breweries, including Longmont’s Oskar Blues. The festival accomplished this and so much more. See just why this was our favorite festival of the year so far!

Read More

Hoppin’ Frog Brewery | Gangster Frog I.P.A.

Hoppin’ Frog Brewery  – Gangster Frog I.P.A.

American IPA

7.5%  ABV

55 IBU

Being native to the northeast Ohio region, I have come to realize that there is not always a lot to do. Because of that, I find it almost shameful to say that I have never been to Hoppin’ Frog Brewery. I love going to small breweries (of course drinking the beer is a perk), but I cannot understand how I have passed this place up some many times. Just the other day, all of this was going through my tiny little brain, and then it hit me…..James Taylor concert at Blossom Theater + needing something to eat and drink prior to the concert = Hoppin’ Frog Brewery. Read More

GABF | DMV Takeaways

This post was written in conjunction with Erin Russell (Petrey).

The DMV should be proud of its representation at the Great American Beer Festival this year. There will be 27 … Read More

2014 GABF Breweries in Attendance and Missing

692 Breweries. 4 Sessions. 3 Days. Over 3,000 beers. Denver, CO. And so the stage has been set. Earlier this week, The Brewers Association released the lineup of breweries who … Read More

Great Lakes Brewing | Spacewalker American Belgo

ABV: 8.2%

IBU: 65

If you explore the brief description on Spacewalker’s carrier, it reads:

“Perhaps one of space’s great mysteries is why so many of its explorers hail from Ohio. In honor of the 25 courageous astronauts who have called Ohio their terrestrial home, and the nine Ohio men and women who’ve logged hours walking in space, we present this adventurous brew.”  Read More

Weekly Growler Fill | National Beer News Roundup

This week’s beer news is all about new brews, breweries, and things to make drinking beer just a little more fun. Avery is bringing us an extremely high ABV beer, Samuel Adams collaborated with Brewery Rickoli, and Green Flash shows Europe what hops are all about. Read about it all and more in this edition of the Weekly Growler Fill.

Read More

2014 Great American Beer Festival Tickets on Sale Tuesday

Header image created by: Erin Horn

It is upon us. Take shelter. Boost your internet bandwidth. Update your ticketmaster information. Begin training your livers. 2014 Great American Beer Festival tickets go on pre-sale to AHA members at 10 a.m. MDT Tuesday, July 29.

General Public tickets are available to the general public on Wednesday morning, July 30 at 10 a.m. MDT. through Ticketmaster.

Read More

Flying Bison Brewing Company | Buffalo IPA

As a PorchDrinker based out of NYC, I am happy to regale you, dear readers, with tales of daring innovation that spring from the sometimes excessive effort to be the leader of the pack in the NYC-area beer world. But what about those cities that don’t get a lot of play in beer media? Places where craft beer is only just beginning to flourish? Well today folks, I am taking you to that great American stalwart, Buffalo, New York. In particular, we are talking about the Buffalo IPA from Flying Bison Brewing Company, a sweet little operation that, according to its website, professes to be the city’s first stand alone brewery since 1972. Before we get to the actual beer, let me just first tip my hat to the brewery for having the good sense to draw some wings on a bison and turn it into their logo. Excellent decision making there.  Read More

Event Preview | Sierra Nevada Beer Camp Across America

In a time when the Craft Beer industry is being inundated with trademark disputes, litigation, distribution battles and general growing pains, it’s refreshing to see a major industry leader return … Read More

The PorchCast | Episode 5 – Chris Heckman of the Epilogues

Episode 5 of the PorchCast features music from The Epilogues. We also welcomed on Chris Heckman, lead vocals for the Epilogues to talk about The Underground Music Showcase. On this episode we … Read More

Strange Craft Beer Company | Zora Rosemary Pale Ale

6.5% ABV, 55 IBUs

On an eighty-degree summer night, the back patio of Strange Brewery in south downtown Denver is about as close to actual “porch drinking” as it gets. Copious amounts of good vibes, camaraderie and beer are present, and while the facade of the Strange entrance has a strip-mall feel, the patio’s warm industrial vibe feels almost Brooklyn-esque. Denver RTD trains even rush along the back fence every 10 minutes or so as if the Brooklyn J train de-railed and headed west of its own accord.
Read More

Ultimate 6er | It’s All About The South

I’m currently on vacation with my family in Oak Island, North Carolina, a seaside town of about 7,000 located just north of the North Carolina/South Carolina border. In the spirit of things, I decided that for this week’s Ultimate 6er, I’d concentrate on beers brewed south of the Mason-Dixon line. My choices were limited to what I could find in the mix-and-match section at the local Food Lion, but I think what I came up with is pretty stellar. Read More