Old Bust Head Brewing Co. | English Style Pale Ale

ABV: 5.6% | IBU: 21

Old Bust Head Brewing Co. has appeared on taps throughout bars in my new hometown and because it’s made in Warrenton, which isn’t far from me, I knew I had to give it a shot. At my glorious Harris Teeter, I bought a 6-pack of their English-style pale ale, interested in both the beer but also the beer category itself — I’ve circled around English pale ales, but never dove into the style. Read More

Dogfish Head | SeaQuench Ale

ABV: 4.9 | IBU: 10

Dogfish Head has a knack for marking time — 60, 90 and 120-minute intervals. But, in the case of SeaQuench Ale, it’s not mere minutes that matter, it’s centuries. Five hundred years ago, the German brewing purity law, or Reinheitsgebot, gave birth to the prominence of the German lager we’ve all come to know and love. Sea Quench Ale honors that anniversary by simultaneously celebrating German brewing and ignoring that law.

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Event Recap | Brooklyn Brewery’s Chicago Beer Mansion 2016

On August 13, 2016, Brooklyn Brewery brought their A-game to Chicago and threw down one of the more unique beer festival experiences. The Brooklyn Brewery Beer Mash, which was part of a … Read More

What We’re Drinking | August 26th, 2016

Guess who’s back, back again? The PorchDrinking team has rejoined forces to bring back our weekly What We’re Drinking series. As the evenings grow shorter, the temperature begins to drop and we all know that summer is quickly coming to an end. Because of this, we are drinking whatever the hell we want. We love our seasonal brews but let’s be completely honest here. We love #allthebeers. So cheers to another awesome week and hoping we can stretch a little more out of this summer. Read More

Brewery Showcase | Stickman Brews

American craft beer is like the history of the country itself. As a nation of immigrants, our brewers borrow their techniques from many different traditions, tweaking, combining and refining them into something uniquely american. Now, try imagining that we had a centuries old heritage of farmhouse brewing like Belgium. What impact would that have had on modern craft beer? Stickman Brews‘ mission is to find an answer that very question.
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Inside the Tank | Stickman Brews’ Ethan Buckman

How would craft beer have evolved in America if we had a centuries-old farmhouse brewing tradition like Belgium? Head brewer and co-founder of Stickman Brews, Ethan Buckman, focuses his creativity on creating beers that could have existed in this alternate brewing history. He brews hop-forward American-style ales, which he then ferments farmhouse-style with different strains of Brettanomyces and wild yeasts in open-top fermenters. The resulting beers blur style guidelines in exciting new ways. Ethan doesn’t like to assign styles to his brews because he doesn’t feel there are any regularly used styles that accurately describe what he is trying to create.

He is probably right.

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The Bronx Brewery | Bronx Banner Release Party Recap

It’s here and it’s delicious! This no-frills pale ale is straight to the point. After a hard day’s work, let it play on your palate and quench your thirst. Grab it in a can, or pull it from the tap. Trust me: you’ll be fully satiated. Read More

Brewery Showcase | Weyerbacher Brewing Company

Beneath the gaze of the iconic court jester, you’ll find a set of glass doors, which bear the number “21.” That’s 21 years of defying expectations. 252 months of eschewing style guidelines. 7,665 days (give or take a few leap days) of perfecting their craft. Read More

2016 Summer Olympics | Pennsylvania Craft Beer Pride

The upcoming 2016 Olympics in Rio are about to evoke some serious excitement and national pride. Americans everywhere are looking forward to tuning in to swimming, gymnastics and beach volleyball. For two short weeks, we will all look to the medal counts, feeling as if our success as a nation is in the balance.

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Terrapin Beer Co. | Sound Czech Pilsner

ABV 5.2% | IBU 42

Terrapin Beer Co. enjoys great music, great beer and their wonderful community. All this is apparent in the beer company’s latest addition to their year-round lineup, Sound Czech Pilsner. Read More

Bronx Brewery B-Sides | Boom Boom White IPA

ABV: 8.1%  IBU: 64

BREWING: July – August

Summer has fully arrived! And with it, a long awaited Boom Boom White IPA B-side release from our friends at The Bronx Brewery.

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An In-Depth Look at Yuengling’s $10-Million Dollar Clean Water Act Settlement

Broadly speaking, breweries have to jump through a multitude of regulatory hoops in order to get their beer into the consumer’s hands, but possibly one of the most important set … Read More

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

Tröegs Independent Brewing | Nimble Giant

ABV: 9% | IBU: 69

As the first production brewery I ever visited, Tröegs Independent Brewing in Hershey, PA will always hold a special place in my liver and in my heart. When I heard the official release of their new once-a-year double IPA was coming up, I promised myself I would make the trip. Eventually, I decided that lugging three small kids into a busy brewery would be a poor life choice and canceled my plans. Despite my last minute run-in with adulthood, Lady Luck was still on my side. I found a 4-pack of Tröegs Nimble Giant in the beer department of an upscale grocery store the next day.

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Yards Brewing Co. | Thomas Jefferson’s Tavern Ale

8% ABV | 28 IBU

July 4, 2016, marked the 190th anniversary of Thomas Jefferson’s death. In essence, he died on the very day he helped make significant as a result … Read More

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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Ultimate 6er | Refreshing Summer Sippers

There’s a lot going on this week friends. Of course, it’s Shark Week! Olympic trials in swimming, track and field and gymnastics have started. And my favorite holiday is less than a week away. That’s right, Independence Day is my favorite holiday! I look forward to it each and every year. To me, the Fourth of July signifies everything that makes summer amazing. Yes, it’s a day to celebrate our Independence and the birth of Democracy. But it’s also a day to soak up those special moments spent with friends and family into the wee hours of the evening, enjoying cold brew after cold brew as you kick back, relax and take in all that is summertime. (The Fourth of July also kicks off what I call my “birthday week” which culminates on 7-11. Gifts of craft beer are always appreciated! ) Read More

Life, Liberty and 13 Beers for 13 Colonies

It is a special thing to celebrate the Fourth of July in places up and down the East Coast, in cities that relish their historical relevance. It’s also a special thing to drink plenty of beer, develop a t-shirt tan and relish in the glory that is overcooked burgers and sour cream and onion chips, with ridges, of course. 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