Caldera Brewing Company – India Pale Ale

ABV: 6.1%

IBU’s: 94

Being the only hophead in the house, I volunteered to act as the guinea pig for Caldera’s India Pale Ale, one of the beers from my dad’s most recent Craft Beer Club shipment. On this gloomy fall day, the bright can in and of itself was just the pick me up I needed, not to mention the beer inside. Read More

Ultimate 6er | It’s the Great Pumpkin Beer, Charlie Brown!

It’s that time of year again, when the leaves begin to turn from their summery, verdant green to all shades of red, orange, and yellow. And they reach their peak crunchiness for the most satisfying of leaf stepping. It is finally time to don sweaters and cozy scarves. The winds begin to bring in a chill, and with those crisper temperatures come the familiar smells and tastes of fall: pumpkin and spice. Many look forward to enjoying that first slice of pumpkin pie, or perhaps that Pumpkin Spice latte in the morning (with the honorable mention of gorging on Halloween candy). But for us PorchDrinkers, we look forward to the release of the spicy, oh so delicious pumpkin beers. So here are a few of the best pumpkin beers I’ve sampled this season to cozy up with during the autumnal days ahead.

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Shipyard Brewing Co. | Pumpkinhead

It seems like everyone has gotten in on the pumpkin game these days. Once fall hits, pumpkin fever infects us all and we just want more of it! Luckily, I think I have found the cure to the sickness. Well, I shouldn’t say cure, because once it’s gone, it leaves you craving for this orange and blue aluminum can to come charging back for more. Read More

Festiv-Ale 2013; A time to drink AND give back!

Among all the times we geek out for beer fests, rare releases, GABF (…the list goes on), I began to recently notice the phenomenal outpour (pun intended) of charity beer … Read More

Portland Fresh Hop Festival Review

Few things get me more excited than fresh hop season in Oregon.  When I moved to Portland in 2010, I went to many of the medium to large-size summer … Read More

Awesomesauce- Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee

Quick, name the first comedian you can think of who LOVES cars….besides Jay Leno.

Ok, so I was thinking of Jerry Seinfeld.  The car lover in question resurfaced in 2012 … Read More

Tales of Snallygaster

Saturday wasn’t one of those brilliant, orange-and-red autumn days. It was windy, threatened rain and was one of the first chilly days Washington, D.C. has experienced this fall.

It was … Read More

Victory Brewing Company – Dirt Wolf D.I.P.A.

Today we’re joined by Vin, founder of Bier Battered.com, a fantastic new startup beer site.  He’s guest blogging for us and sharing his showcase of Victory Brewing Company Dirt Wolf … Read More

Ultimate 6er | Fall Fun

As October gets into full swing and the morning temperatures continue to drop, an Ultimate Fall 6er designed specifically for this beautiful season only seems appropriate. Get your mittens and your pumpkins and your s’mores and lets do this. Read More

Weyerbacher – Heresy Russian Imperial Stout

ABV 8.00%

Being a sports fan in Philadelphia right now SUCKS. Whether you are a Foles fan or if you hate Vick, there really isn’t much going on down on … Read More

Three memories from GABF

Now that I am finally back in the friendly confines of Boston and away from people graciously shoving beer into my face, I’ve had the chance to detox a little bit, and I’ve been able to gather some quick memories from a wonderful visit to the Great American Beer Festival. This won’t be some cohesive, extensive recap, but rather the random memories of GABF that I’ll look back on for years and years to come.

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New Belgium Brewing | Accumulation White IPA

New Belgium Accumulation White IPA

ABV: 6.2%

IBU: 70

When thinking of Winter seasonals, one usually gravitates towards stouts, porters, and Christmas-y spiced ales.  However, New Belgium sees your traditional winter seasonals and raises you a White IPA.

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Braven Brewing Takes Flight

Marshall S. Thompson and Eric Feldman both fell in love with the Bushwick neighborhood in Brooklyn: the people, the burgeoning arts scene and its differentiation from Manhattan. They also both were avid homebrewers and wanted to make the jump to go pro.

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Ska Brewing – Hoperation Ivy #23 Wet Hop IPA

Ska Brewing – Hoperation Ivy #23 Wet Hop IPA
ABV:?
IBU:?

Ska Brewing boasts a limited release every fall in the form of a harvest, wet hop IPA. It’s moniker – a word play on their love of ska and the ska-punk band, Operation Ivy. If you are not familiar, they are recommended if you like Rancid, Against All Authority and Common Rider. This year they have opted for an “all-Colorado” batch of Hoperation Ivy in which they commandeer fresh Colorado hops from High Wire Hop Farms in Paonia, and grain from Colorado Malting Company in Alamosa. This harvest IPA is a real treat. Big on hops but well balanced with malty sweetness. Bright, lively flavors of pine, spices, citrus, wildflowers, and spruce are rested on a substructure of creamy, smooth malts.

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Hops and Pie Pumpkin Beer Festival

It comes to no surprise that people go absolutely bazonkers over pumpkin beers. As soon as that first chilly morning sends us racing indoors for a a sweater, as soon … Read More

Crooked Stave – St. Bretta (Fall)

Beer: St. Bretta (Fall)
Brewer: Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project
ABV: 5.5%
IBU: 25

I hate to admit that I had never really heard of Crooked Stave until the end of this past August. I was attending a homebrewer’s competition for a local non-profit and was invited to guest judge. (Apparently my credentials at PorchDrinking and my affinity for beer were enough to give me the exclusive rights to judge.) When I arrived, I learned that I would be the only judge that night as the two brewers from “Crooked Stave” would not be able to show. Read More

Getting a Woody | Odell’s Fernet Aged Porter

Background

Odell’s Fernet Aged Porter
Style: Barrel Aged Porter
ABV: 9.8% Read More

Dogfish Head – American Beauty

9.0% ABV, 55 IBU

Workingman’s Dead on CD, bought for $5 from the used bin at the local record store my Freshman year of high school. For a short period of time, they were the only band that existed in my provincial teenage mindset. Read More

2013 GABF Fantasy Brewery Final Results

Last week we introduced PorchDrinking.com’s Inaugural GABF Fantasy Brewery Draft. We assembled a tremendous collection of national and local writers who selected breweries and earned points from medals won by those breweries during the GABF awards ceremony which took place on Saturday.  Here was the scoring guide we went by:

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Samuel Adams | Fat Jack

ABV: 8.5% | IBU: 25

This small-batch, double pumpkin ale eluded me last year, so imagine my surprise when I found a bomber of it at the Kroger in little ol’ Athens, Ohio over the weekend. I was ecstatic! And I have to say, it did not disappoint. Made with 28 pounds of real pumpkin per barrel, from the moment I opened the bottle all I could think was “this is fall.”

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