PorchDrinking Playlist | 1987

It’s always interesting to group a bunch of similar items together and see how they compare — like getting your friends together for a delicious IPA bottle share, or sitting around discussing who the greatest quarterback of all time is. Time to revisit one of our first ever PorchDrinking playlists. We put together a playlist full of artists who were all born in 1986 and it was interesting to hear the common themes in the music. Let’s go back in time again… to 1987! Read More

Event Recap | Great Divide 22nd Anniversary Party

95 degrees and not a complaint in the world. That pretty much sums up Saturday’s Great Divide 22nd Anniversary party. On a day when festival goers could have been deterred … Read More

New Glarus Brewing Co. | Spotted Cow

ABV: 4.9%

It’s been said that the best things in life are worth working for – a new job, your dream car, that perfect house. The work put in makes the end goal that much more rewarding. While the motto normally applies to loftier, greater goals, the same can be said for New Glarus Brewing Co.’s Spotted Cow. Only available in Wisconsin, Spotted Cow has been a favorite of mine since I began making college visits to my brother Mark when he attended Marquette University almost 10 years ago and continues on today (except now it’s little brother Matt holding it down in The Good Land).

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Bier Factory | XXA IPA

ABV: 6.7% | EBU: 65

I took four years of French in high school. I was an AP student, as in Advanced Placement. Oh yeah, really serious about it. So serious that 15 years later, I remember how to say hello, goodbye and count to 10. The fact that I’m living in the French-speaking part of Switzerland is in fact clearing out some deeply recessed cobwebs of learning in my brain. But judging by the label text, this tasty XXA IPA from Bier Factory is brewed in the GERMAN-speaking side of Switzerland. Damn. Read More

New Province Brewing Company | Philosopher IPA

I’m a very lucky man. There’s no doubt about that. So much so, that even though my wife doesn’t enjoy beer nearly as much as I do, she is always game to accompany me to whatever new brewery is opening. She’ll even suggest places for “date night”, dinners that she knows have an extensive craft beer menu so that I don’t just have to exercise my craft beer cravings with my equally as beer-geeky buds… I know right? I definitely came out on top in this arrangement. It’s because of my wonderful wife that I ended up at New Province Brewing Company.

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Kokopelli Beer Company | Hop Slugger IPA

ABV: 6.8% | IBU: 70

Baseball and beer — two of America’s favorite pastimes, amirite?

Rick and Christine, head brewer and owner of Kokopelli Beer Company, respectively, started brewing Hop Slugger way back in their home brewing days — when the idea of opening a brewery was just that: an idea. However, they’ve continued to brew this same recipe over the years because it’s always been such a hit with their friends, family, and now customers. The Hop Slugger IPA has won two gold medals at state-wide competitions… it’s easy to see why this beer is such a home run.

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Fieldwork Brewing Co. | Sea Farmer Sea Salt Grapefruit IPA

ABV 7.3%

Two words in the beer world that are instantly recognizable: Grapefruit Sculpin. Alex Tweet, head brewer and co-founder of Fieldwork Brewing Co in Berkeley, CA, decided to “take that idea in a different, but complementary direction” then the original Grapefruit Sculpin he created for Ballast Point. The different, but complementary direction resulted in Fieldwork’s Sea Farmer Sea Salt Grapefruit IPA (say that 10 times fast!). This grapefruit IPA is absolutely delicious and refreshing, making Sea Farmer the quintessential summertime fruit IPA.

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Ozark Beer Company | American Pale Ale

ABV: 4.3% | IBU: 38

Got time for a story? Great, have a seat. Last week something tragic happened: my neighbor finally mowed their lawn. Up until last Tuesday, by comparison, my lawn looked fine. However in an effort to keep up with the Jones’, now that my neighbor’s yard was cut, edged, and beautiful, it was my turn. Read More

Inside the Tank | Forbidden Root’s BJ Pichman

With so many breweries operating in Chicago, the ability to stand out is critical. Forbidden Root has been brewing beer for a couple of years now, and in February of this year they opened up a beautiful new tap room in West Town. The brewery uses botanics in its beers such as ginger, cherry stems, black walnuts and licorice to create unique flavor profiles.

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2 Days 2 Nights | Dallas Craft Beer Scene

With the rise of craft beer, Dallas has had a definite increase in the number of breweries coming into the market. More and more big companies have moved into the marketplace as well, causing a rise in the number of occupants moving in. This has only increased the demand for good quality beer. More travelers choose Dallas as their next travel spot now whether it be for the shopping or food destinations, its historical landmarks (JFK Sixth Floor Museum for one) or even for the artistic culture Dallas has to offer.

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Golden Road Brewing | Pints & Pierogi (Grand Central Market)

Golden Road Brewery is named as a tribute to the Grateful Dead’s song The Golden Road (To Unlimited Devotion.” If they had a motto, I believe they would take inspiration from a quote by the great Jerry Garcia said:  “our strong suit is what we do…” Golden Road opened their newest tasting location in the wonderfully eclectic and diverse Grand Central Market. Join them for a pint and a pierogi, and you will certainly know that their strong suit is everything they do.

I found myself in Los Angeles on a rainy Friday afternoon and I was lucky enough to experience the sights, sounds and experience of Golden Road and their newest location in the Grand Central Market.

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Event Preview | Fieldwork Brewing Anniversary Weekend

Fieldwork Brewing is a Berkeley-based brewery committed to quality and freshness, that has taken the Bay Area by storm. Their beers are some of the most aromatic and balanced hoppy beers that you will ever have. The vast beer array of beers Fieldwork offers are truly unique and forever changing. The draft list may be completely different a week later.

Having been open for a year and exponentially growing in popularity, Fieldwork Brewing has reason to celebrate for three days. Co-founder and head brewer Alex Tweet stated, “in my eyes the anniversary is to celebrate our customers. We honest to god have the best customers I have ever seen in this industry, and the anniversary is hopefully going to be a fun weekend for them to celebrate what they helped build. If it wasn’t for them we wouldn’t be in business.”

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19th Anniversary Ale | SweetWater Brewing Co.

ABV: 7.0%

There’s a lot love about craft beer: the people, the stories, the creativity, and those senses of freedom and abandon from the monotony of big domestics… Oh yeah, and the beer of course. The incredible vastness of the array of flavors and choices mixed with the never-ending search for newer and better makes this craft beer bubble so unique and so fun. Yet in the midst of all this, there seems to be one aspect of it that tends to get overlooked:

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Anderson Valley Brewing Co. | Briney Melon Gose

ABV: 4.2%

Last summer was my introduction to the gose style, and my first one was Anderson Valley’s Blood Orange Gose (also a beer I highly recommend). I immediately became a fan, and started seeking out others in the gose style. That soon led me to another from Anderson Valley, the Briney Melon Gose. At the time, it was only available in bombers, but this year they started distributing it in six-pack cans… and we’re all better off because of it. With a fun, easy-drinking summer beer like this, cans that you can throw in a cooler and take to a barbecue to share with friends are the only way to go.

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2 Days, 2 Nights of Craft Beer in Denver

*Header photo by Kyle Cooper, on behalf of 303 Magazine*

Special thanks to Dustin Hall of The Brewtography Project for capturing such iconic photos of Denver’s beer scene.

2 Days and 2 … Read More

Ultimate 6er | Ale Industries

Tucked away in a historic part of Oakland, Ale Industries carefully crafts their wonderfully fun and inventive beers. The brewery, which happens to be the oldest and largest Oakland has to offer, has a taproom named: the Jingletown Jazz Room. If the Jazz Room had a day job, it would obviously be a brewery, but it does have another occupation. On the second Friday of every month, the Jingletown Jazz Room really lets its hair down and hosts local artists and musicians.

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Weyerbacher Brewing Co. | Sunday Morning Stout 2016

ABV: 11.3%

What does Lionel Richie’s song “Easy” have in common with Weyerbacher? Lionel is “Easy Like Sunday Morning” and Weyerbacher’s Sunday Morning Stout is so smooth, that it’s just as … Read More

2 Days, 2 Nights in Seattle’s Craft Beer Scene

This post was written by Hannah Carlson and Katelyn Pelak of the PorchDrinking Seattle team

Seattle, one of the fastest growing US cities, is a mixture of business, wilderness, food, music, coffee, and – of course – beer. Its tenants include everyone from your pink-haired neighbor that works at a boutique featuring solely local arts and crafts, to the posh fashionista that is able to strut her stuff at Nordstrom corporate, to the plaid-donning Amazonian, who types code all week with the goal of treating himself to a trip into the mountains come the weekend. There is something here for everyone, which is why so many people, cut from so many cloths, have found their way to the Emerald City. Seattle, at its core, is an explosion of culture, curiosity and adventure that has encouraged locals to continue sink their roots in deeper. It’s also encouraged transplants to plant new ones. Read More

2 Days, 2 Nights in Atlanta’s Craft Beer Scene

Atlanta probably doesn’t top your “must visit” cities for a beercation — but it should. The creativity, positivity and diversity of Georgia brewers is just as worthy of your hard-earned beer budget money as, say, a trip to Tampa/St. Pete or Chicago.

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Funky Buddha Brewery | Sweet Potato Casserole Strong Ale

ABV: 7.9% | IBU: 30

I am so happy to bring to you a VERY seasonally appropriate beer showcase thanks, in no small part, to Funky Buddha Brewery out of Oakland Park, FL, but mostly to our very own Jess Baker who brought enough home to share! I introduce to you, Funky Buddha’s highly celebrated Sweet Potato Casserole Strong Ale. Read More