2020 Colorado Best in Beer Year-End Honors

Enough with the played-out 2020 tropes, we all know it was absolutely bonkers last year, so much so that this round-up of last year’s accolades comes almost a month late. … Read More

Thesis Beer Project | Rookie Card IPA

With the market oversaturated with Hazy IPAs and adjuncts, how do you find that one beer that sticks out amongst the rest? You compare a beer menu to a first-round draft pick. Some are unproven and many times there is so much unknown from them. Folks tend to sort a beer list by putting the ones you know you will like on top and putting the others on the bottom. So when there is a rookie on the list, where do you put the unproven beer you might overlook because it doesn’t have that hazy, juiciness or adjunct flavors we see so much of today?

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New Non-Alcoholic Brews for Dry January We’re Buzzing About

The non-alcoholic (NA) beverage and beer segment continues to eat up market share thanks to its ability to offer younger buying groups a palatable and fulfilling NA option that takes the place of the typical beer, hard seltzer or hard cider. For many, NA beverages have become an addition to their overall alcohol-consuming habits while others have used NA beers to stop drinking altogether. I, like many others in the U.S., fall somewhere in the middle. According to Lagunitas, 45% of American adults have now purchased an NA beer. Data from Nielsen shows that 47% of Americans are making an effort to “cut back or abstain from” alcohol altogether. 

While December is often filled with excess drinking, January is typically viewed through the lens of constriction, where you either consume less alcoholic drinks or participate in dry January, a month-long pledge to stop drinking alcoholic beverages entirely.  If you’re a beer drinker curious about new NA beer options available on the market or participating in dry January, below is a list of five options we’re excited about. 

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Introducing the Boys Are From Märzen Podcast | Kaitlyn Colberg West Sixth Brewing

If you haven’t heard the Boys Are From Märzen podcast hosted by me, Kindsey Bernhard, is joining the PorchCast Podcast Network!

I started the Boys Are From Märzen podcast in July because, like many of you, I got very bored during the quarantine. And due to COVID-19, I had some more free time on my hands to start a podcast that highlighted some of the talented women who work in the craft beer industry in all shapes and forms. I just recorded my 20th episode (stay tuned) and I have interviewed brewery owners, brewers, social media influencers, journalists, educators, etc.

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McClellan’s Brewing Co. | Wulver IPA

The IPA is easily one of the most lauded, debated, romanticized and scrutinized beer styles the world has ever known. Passionate beer brewers and drinkers alike have experienced the rise of the American IPA as a dominant force in the beer market starting with the American craft beer revolution and continuing as an influence in craft beer internationally. Many are familiar with the abridged IPA origin story: IPA evolved as a high alcohol, massively hopped beer, conditioned during the long sea voyage from England to India. While that tells part of the story, McClellan’s Brewing Company’s Wulver IPA also plays a part in that story, and it’s a delicious way for both IPA and non-IPA drinkers to connect with the history of the style.

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What We’re Drinking | January 15, 2021

Pandemics and politics, sounds like it could be the title of a horror film. Unfortunately, the two topics have consumed nearly everyone’s lives over the past ten months. Enough about that, let’s talk about beer. Even if you’re partaking in dry January, don’t forget that your local craft breweries need your support more than ever. Many breweries were able to limp through 2020, but if you want to see your favorites breweries stick around for years to come then make sure you start 2021 off by supporting them however possible. Some of our staff has taken that mission to heart and is trying to save this industry that we all love. This is what we’re drinking.

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PorchDrinking Dream Bottle Share | John Holl

Since our launch in 2012, PorchDrinking has celebrated its anniversary each year by throwing a big bottle share for all of our industry friends, supporters, and staff because to us, bottle shares are the truest form of beer lovers coming together as a community. However, 2020 was an unorthodox year, and as much as we would have loved to mark our 8th anniversary with another share, we figured that passing bottles in an enclosed space during a pandemic probably wasn’t the best idea.

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2020 Illinois Best in Beer Year-End Honors

It’s cliche to say that 2020 was a year unlike any other but how else do you describe what was most likely the most challenging year in a long time. While breweries and organizations mainly cancelled or refashioned beer festivals and release parties, the beer continued to flow. In 2020, Illinois brewers still managed to produce an abundance of of notable beers.

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Pollyanna Brewing | Lite Thinking

In 2016, I wrote a piece about Pollyanna Brewing Summerly Raspberry Wheat that stated, “Pollyanna Brewing‘s rapid success is almost unfathomable until you try the beer — and then it makes perfect sense. Just shy of two years old, Pollyanna Brewing is already expanding its production.” Well, nearly five years after that story published, the brewery has opened two new locations and won a host of prestigious beer awards, including its Lite Thinking American Lager that won 2019 gold and 2020 bronze at the Great American Beer Fest (GABF).

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Colorado Beer Beat | Bi-Weekly Beer Release Guide 1/14

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 to find out what’s new in the Colorado beer scene.

Even though it’s a whole new year, it sure feels like 2020 is trying to hold us in its grasp. But one thing 2020 can’t stop is new beer releases to start the year! Now that Colorado allows breweries and restaurants to reopen limited capacity indoor seating, get out there and support your favorite breweries, and maybe try one of these new releases.

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Dry January? Here’s How You Can Still Support Your Favorite Breweries

January is often a popular month for craft beer drinkers to take some time off from the “hobby.” It’s important to be able to do so and to drink in amounts where you’re comfortable. We recently offered 30 Reasons Why You Should Skip Dry January in 2021, but if you are taking the time completely off, you can still help your local breweries. Read More

Behind the Beer Scene | Sleeping Giant Explains Contract Brewing

Although it’s one of Colorado’s top five independent craft brewers by volume, Sleeping Giant Brewing Company neither serves nor sells beer onsite. While this may seem counter-intuitive, Sleeping Giant is a dedicated contract brewer, meaning it only produces beer for other breweries–it has no beer brand of its own. Matthew Osterman, founder and owner, recently discussed this important and little-understood part of the craft brewing industry.

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Hop & Sting Brewery | Aluminum Cowboy

January often gets a bad rap — it’s easy to feel gloomy after the holiday fun is over. As 2021 begins, let’s remind ourselves that the days are getting longer, last year’s goals are a distant memory, and we now have the opportunity to make new ones. Thus far 2021 looks a bit too much like 2020: aspirations of travel, trying new things, and meeting new people might have to wait until mid-year. Instead of goals, perhaps it’s time to start working on some COVID-safe resolutions, like eating more vegetables, finishing home improvement projects, and drinking tasty local beers at home. Enter Aluminum Cowboy, a light lager from Hop & Sting Brewery.

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PorchDrinking Dream Bottle Share | Julia Herz

Since our launch in 2012, PorchDrinking has celebrated its anniversary each year by throwing a big bottle share for all of our industry friends, supporters, and staff because to us, bottle shares are the truest form of beer lovers coming together as a community. However, 2020 was an unorthodox year, and as much as we would have loved to mark our 8th anniversary with another share, we figured that passing bottles in an enclosed space during a pandemic probably wasn’t the best idea.

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How Breweries Are Preparing for 2021 Beer Festivals

After a year that saw virtually no in-person beer festivals, there’s hope that with a vaccine people might once again be able to congregate and drink together in 2021. But early in the year, people are very cautious with any concrete timelines or plans.

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Ultimate 6er | Creative Beer Packaging

Unlike we shouldn’t with books and people, we’ve been conditioned to judge a beer by its cover. Masterfully designed labels on bottles and cans beg us to, influencing trends and enticing buying decisions on their appearance alone.

Breweries know we drink with our eyes first, and they’re playing to it. The visual game of modern beer is level Expert. To cut through the noise in crowded social feeds, it has to be. The professionals crafting it are deliberate. Those marketing it are intentional. These industry tastemakers have us where they want us, and we can’t swipe right fast enough when a beer wrapped in a slick matte finish with foil accents catches our attention.

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Suarez Family Brewery | Saunter English Mild

The paradox of a dark beer somehow also being light it hard for many to digest. Most commonly, people think of the world’s most famous stout, Guinness, as a heavy beer, despite it’s 4.2% alcohol and calorie count similar to Mass-Produced Swill Lite. A nice light Witbier is great when the summer sun is shining on you, but what about on those blustery winter days where snow and freezing rain make you want to build a blanket fort and watch 10hrs straight of Lord of the Rings? Suarez Family Brewery may have the solution for you in Saunter, an English Mild Ale that is the flavorful light winter warmer you need.

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A California Craft Beer Veteran Retires

If asked about the most influential people in California’s craft beer history, names like Fritz Maytag, Ken Grossman and Vinnie Cilurzo might top the list for many of the beer enthusiasts. However, away from the public eye, Tom McCormick has had an immense impact on the success of craft beer. Read More

Craft Brewers Conference Announces Moves to Denver in September

In an attempt to salvage the ability to move forward with an in-person conference, the Brewers Association has announced this morning that they will be moving this year’s Craft Brewers Conference. This year’s conference was originally scheduled to take place in San Diego, March 29 through April 1, 2021, and will now move to September 9-12, 2021 in Denver, CO.

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PorchDrinking Dream Bottle Share | Miguel Rivas (The Beer Trekker)

Since our launch in 2012, PorchDrinking has celebrated its anniversary each year by throwing a big bottle share for all of our industry friends, supporters, and staff because to us, bottle shares are the truest form of beer lovers coming together as a community. However, 2020 was an unorthodox year, and as much as we would have loved to mark our 8th anniversary with another share, we figured that passing bottles in an enclosed space during a pandemic probably wasn’t the best idea.

So to kick off the new year, we reached to a few of our industry friends to ask them what they’d bring to a “Dream Bottle Share”. For continuity’s sake, we asked each of our guest contributors to share four of their favorite beers from 2020 as well as four of their favorite beers all-time that they would bring to a hypothetical dream bottle share.

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