Ultimate 6er | The 2016 Evolution Fighting Game Championship Series

The world of eSports is vast and glorious; on the brink of mainstream acceptance through the understanding and mutual respect put into the time and skill of learning video games. There are games with underground followings like Counter Strike: Global Offensive and genres such as MOBAs that have reached the zenith of national sport. But today’s Ultimate 6er is centered around a breed settled when the quarters were slammed on the arcade cabinet in the days of yore: Fighting Games.

The Fighting Game Community or “FGC” has had a vigorous history through years of rigorous reinvention and a fervent, dedicated fanbase of thrill-seeking gamers. Beyond the coordination and strategy of other gaming tournaments, Fighting Games have an unmistakably thematic flair. The ups-and-downs of comeback, the mind game of predicting your opponent and the study of position create a viewing experience unlike any other. It’s just two players, two controllers, two characters drowning out the thousands of passionate fans to play the best match possible. Read More

CCBW Barley’s Angels | The Women of Revolution Brewing

As I leapt over the river that had began to form on the sidewalk and street, trying to avoid becoming more drenched than I already was, I had finally arrived to the taproom and warehouse location of Revolution Brewing for the Barley’s Angels Women of Revolution event!

The last time I was at this location, it was for a friend’s wedding, and the atmosphere and energy of the space was completely different from the moment I crossed the threshold. When I walked through the doors and up the metal steps, my ears were greeted with jovial sounds of people talking, laughing and alternative music. There was a high lofted ceiling with exposed pipes and ventilation system, a dark wood bar lay directly in front of me which was the length of the room on the western wall. Floor to ceiling windows made up the north wall between the Taproom and Brewery, long community tables lined the open space, hundreds of barrels lined the east wall next to a gigantic American flag.
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Event Preview | Fifty West Punch Out Beer Festival and Boxing Event

This Saturday July 9th, Fifty West Brewing Company in Cincinnati, Ohio is hosting a one-on-one amateur boxing night featuring ten fighters from eight different local breweries at their Production Works facility. Along with the five matches, there will be food trucks, a live DJ, guest taps, and the release of their Punch You in the Eye-PA bottles. The tickets are $15 and can be purchased here. The event goes from 4-11pm and the proceeds go to various charities that each brewery has selected. Read More

Square Roots Festival kicks off in Lincoln Square Friday

The Square Roots Festival makes its annual visit to Lincoln Square this weekend. The event is hosted by the Old Town School of Folk Music and the Lincoln Square Ravenswood Chamber of Commerce and runs from Friday July 8th-10th.

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Goodwood Brewing Company expands to Chicagoland area

Louisville-based Goodwood Brewing Company will begin distribution in the Chicagoland area as early as next week. It’s the first time the brewery’s beer will be available in the area.

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The Art of the Summer Backyard Bash

Ah, summer is here. Can you smell it? If you’re like me and the sprouting weeds and blossoming trees have wreaked havoc on your once empty sinus cavities, probably not. Summer means many things to many people. To me, aside from the whole allergy thing, it means the pinnacle of outdoor hangout season is officially upon us. Don’t get me wrong winter can be nice for a bonfire, but as soon as Memorial Day has passed and the mercury has risen, the seasons for cookouts, barbecues (no, they’re not the same thing, more on that later,) pool parties, and tailgates are officially here! So, set aside those last few stouts in your beer fridge until the next snowfall and hope time treats them well. Grab yourself some summertime brews, gas up the lawn mower, pop some Claratin, and get ready for the best year of outdoor entertainment yet.

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What We’re Drinking | July 2nd, 2016

4th of July has arrived, my friends. We’ve got a long few days of PorchDrinking and sparkler-waving ahead of us, so stock up on your favorite summer brews and get ready to celebrate. Here are a few of our favorites. Break out the koozies and red solo cups… this weekend, we drink to Amurica! *clink*

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Spiteful Brewing | God Damn Pigeon Porter

ABV: 8.2%

City living comes with its annoyances. Plenty to find just in being around large amounts of people. But the special treat comes from dealing with the variety of “wildlife” that the city harbors. Rats, pigeons, squirrels, rabbits, centipedes, ginkgo trees, invasive ivy. Every city dweller has a story about a run in with city nature. Girlfriends screeching to kill a ceiling centipede, rats running into your foot on a bar’s back patio, or pigeons decorating your suit coat on the way to work. Just daily city navigating. But one way to take your mind off the animals (other than employing your own feral cats) is to sit down with Spiteful Brewing’s God Damn Pigeon Porter. Read More

Rhinegeist | Streaker Rye IPA

ABV: 6% | IBU: 60

Streaker Rye IPA from Cincinnati’s up-and-coming  Rhinegeist provides insight into why this Queen City brewery is enjoying such rapid success. Rhinegeist recently celebrated its third anniversary, only days after partying with friends from New Belgium Brewery to help kick off the release of the Fat Tire and Friends CollaBEERation 25th Anniversary project (as reported by PorchDrinking’s Jasmin Hudacsek). In a crowded world of craft brewing, Rhinegeist is making beer enthusiasts take notice. Read More

Event Recap | Chicago Ale Fest

Like a symphony orchestra that brilliantly melds the sounds of a drum, bassoon and violin together into one harmonious musical piece, the Chicago Ale Fest proved most enjoyable because from tent to tent; one could sample a black or red IPA, porter, an ale with green tea and lemongrass, fruit-forward beers, barrel-aged brews, helles, pils, maibocks, saisons, sours and gose…and a partridge in a pear tree, I think. Each beer was good on its own, but collectively it makes for one terrific beer experience. Read More

Brewery Showcase | Temperance Beer Co.

Who better to build a craft brewery from the ground-up than a former architect? Josh Gilbert, born and raised in Evanston, IL (a northern suburb of Chicago), left the world of architecture and founded Temperance Beer Company in 2013, the town’s first brewery since Prohibition. Three years later, the brewery can best be summed up with one word — balance. Balance in beer. Balance in approach. Balance in philosophy.

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Schlafly to Release 12-Pack Focused Around Individual Hops

Schlafly Beer is getting ready to release a new variety pack that features relatively new hops in a SMaSH (single malt & single hop) format to showcase the unique characteristics of the hops. The Hop Trial SMaSH Pack will be available everywhere Schlafly Beer is available starting July 4th.

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Goose Island releases latest Fulton & Wood Series beer: Bee Squad

Brewed with honey and the proceeds going to help beekeeping education and training, Goose Island released Bee Squad last Wednesday night at a sold out event at The J. Parker Rooftop.

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Petoskey Brewing Company | Cranium Crush Waffle Cone Raspberry Cream Ale

7.0% ABV

The Sunday evening before Memorial Day brought rain, but it let up when I was feeling most productive. When the clouds broke and the western skies opened, I walked to the laundromat, washed, and exchanged a dollar for dryer quarters. Read More

Iron Spike Brewing Company | Locomotive Lager

ABV: 6%

For a brewing landscape as diverse as American craft beer, there appears to be only two camps which breweries occupy when it comes to location: remote, rustic, farmhouse-style outfits steeped in terrior, or urban and suburban operations in refurbished warehouses or corrugated steel garages hidden amongst industrial parks.

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Urban Chestnut Brewing Company | The Class of 2011

Beers are like years. There are a lot of them in the past, more are coming, and some are better than others.

There are four specific years that stand out in the annals of St. Louis’ rich beer history. 1852 is perhaps the most important, as it is the year Anheuser Busch was founded. In 1991, we saw St. Louis enter the world of locally owned craft beer with the establishment of the Schlafly Brewing Company. And in 2008, well, that’s a year that most St. Louis beer lovers would rather forget… it’s the year AB allowed itself to be bought and owned by Inbev. That was a sad year. Read More

Ultimate 6er | Netflix Original Programming

Netflix is the little technology business that could, going from movies-through-the-mail to one of the largest streaming services in the world. Available on every smart device and video game console available, Netflix has a reported total of 81 million people – with 46 million being in the US alone. It’s replaced cable for most of us, opening up a treasure chest of hidden gems and old classics in the most digestible manner possible. Netflix is now a powerhouse in the audio/visual world after acquiring exclusivity rights with Disney, but also through releasing their own original content.

For this week’s Ultimate 6er, we’ll be looking at several of the heavy hitters in the Netflix Original Lineup. Don’t fret if you don’t see any of your favorites here, but these have some of the best beer combinations you could hope to ever watch with your favorite show. So let’s Netflix and Chill (more like cooler) for some summer streaming! Read More

The Six Best Beers for Summer Backpacking

You have finally reached your campsite after hiking 20 miles over rugged terrain with all of your gear on your back. A heavy band of sweat clings to your head as you finally drop your pack and begin to set up your shelter. Once you’ve eaten and settled in for the night, you reach into your pack and pull out a beer. Beer might not be as essential as food, water, shelter or clothing, but, in your modest camp, it’s nothing short of a luxury.

Since the most important criterion of a backpacking beer is portability, every beer on this list will be canned. Cans are much lighter than glass and don’t require you to pack a bottle-opener. You also do not run the risk of a can breaking and leaving dangerous shards all over the campsite. Last but not least, aluminum conducts heat faster than glass, which means they’ll get cold faster when you stick them in a creek. There are many to choose from, but, if you ask me, these are the best summer backpacking beers. Read More

Goose Island Collaborates with Local Chicago Band

For the fourth year, Goose Island has teamed up with a band performing at the Pitchfork Music Festival to create a unique beer that represents the bands taste in beers. This year the brewery collaborated with Chicago’s own Twin Peaks to create Natural Villain, a garage/pilsner-style lager.

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Event Recap | #CCBW Miskatonic Brewing Mystery Infusion Contest

Suburban Chicago’s Miskatonic Brewing (Darien, IL) challenged patrons to a test their skills as a beer connoisseur during Chicago Craft Beer Week. Sure, it’s easy to log on to any one of the numerous beer rating sites and provide insight, but just how good are you? More to the point, as the writer who covered the event, how good am I? Read More