Kentucky Derby Beers

The Kentucky Derby may be all about mint juleps and bourbon, but there’s room for beer as well. In honor of this weekend’s run for the roses we wanted to highlight a few Kentucky Derby Beers worthy of consumption during race day. These beers are a showcase of the tremendous growth of craft beer in my home state of Kentucky. If you’re in the Bluegrass state for the Derby, be sure to drop in to one of these talented breweries or pick some up from your local liquor store. Read More

Bison Brewing | Organic Chocolate Stout

Bison Brewing’s Organic Chocolate is one of my favorite stouts, and has been for the last few years or so. It is rich in flavor without being heavy in the body, and low enough in alcohol to be sessionable. This is definitely NOT a sweet stout. (If sweet is your thing, check out Samuel Smith’s Organic Chocolate stout.) Brewed with Peruvian cocoa and roasted barley, this beer boasts big coffee and dark chocolate flavors.

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Odell Brewing | Lugene Chocolate Milk Stout

ABV: 8.5%

I am not sure which is more exciting, Odell Brewing Company‘s chocolate milk stout known as Lugene or the story behind its name. It is no secret that Fort Collins produces a lot of spent grain in order to make beer, and it all has to go somewhere. For the past decade, the spent grain from Odell’s has been picked up by local farmer, Lugene Sas to feed his dairy cows at Taft Hill Dairy. That’s an entire two truckloads a day! The staff at Odell even made a fun photo editorial of the process to show how it is used.  Read More

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

Founders Brewing | Breakfast Stout

ABV: 8.3% | IBU: 60

I used to think this brew was best poured into a wide base tulip on a cool summer’s evening. I have changed my mind. This breakfast beer is best served with breakfast. It’s a big beer but not too big. Grab a mug, pour a Founders Brewing Breakfast Stout and grab a slice of coffee cake. Take a seat on your front/back porch with the morning paper. It’s time for breakfast the way it was intended.

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Left Hand Brewing | Nitro Milk Stout

This post originally appeared as one of the first posts on PorchDrinking when we launched FOUR Years Ago. We wanted to share this again, because Left Hand Nitro Milk Stout is a phenomenal Colorado beer and because many of you all have joined us since we first launched. For those who have followed us since the beginning thanks for your support and we hope you’ve enjoyed the ride.

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Fat Head’s Oompa Loompa Chocolate Cream Stout

ABV: 6.5% | IBU: 33

Stout brewed with dark chocolate and vanilla beans added.

Fat Head’s story began in Pittsburgh, PA, circa 1992, with the founding of Fat Head’s Saloon. In 2009 Fat Head’s expanded to North Olmsted, Ohio, teaming up with Matt Cole (an award winning brewer) to open Fat Head’s Brewery & Saloon. Success came quickly, with the brewery producing over 5000 barrels over its first three years and Fat Head’s beers winning many awards. They expanded to a full-scale producing brewery in 2012, located in Middleburg Heights, Ohio.

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Green Beer Day | Miami University

Every year on Miami University’s campus thousands of students voluntarily climb out of their slumber at approximately 4 or 5 a.m. for a pilgrimage up High Street. Their mecca lies Uptown where at 5:30 a.m. on the Thursday before spring break, every bar opens inordinately early to pour an Olympic pool’s amount of green colored beer. Today, March 16, is that day. A national holiday dubbed Green Beer Day (GBD).

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Avery Brewing Company | Ale to the Chief

ABV: 8.1%

If there is one issue our nation can come together on, it might just be the right to drink great beer. Avery Brewing Company has resurrected their Presidential Pale Ale from 2008 to commemorate this year’s heated race. This drink pours a regal golden color and tasters are hit with that initial hop bite. But that bitterness quickly mellows to a sweeter malty light finish.
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Dark Horse Brewing Company | Tres Blueberry Stout

ABV: 7.5% | IBU: N/A

I’m pretty skeptical of anything boasting an added fruit flavor. 9 out of 10, times it turns out to be a gimmicky mix of artificial tastes and colors—ultimately tasting nothing like the actual fruit. Fortunately, this is not one of those cases. As it turns out, Dark Horse Brewing Co. has put together an exceptional stout that balances a fantastic blueberry nose with dark, rich flavor. Read More

Unibroue Brewery | Maudite

ABV: 8% | IBU: 22

Unibroue beers are juxtaposed with history and mythology. In an important way, the juxtaposition is quite literal; the bottom refermentation process that most of its French Canadian beers undergo produces a look and style that defies modernity. These unfiltered beers are a refreshing alternative to both the sterility and uninteresting nature of your local Safeway favorites, and one note style-box beers. Maudite is no different. It’s murky look and yeasty odor inspires curiosity. Part of it, I’ll admit, is bias. Its compatriot, La Fin du Monde, is one of my personal go-tos. And with a name that translates literally as “the Damned,” there are plenty of reasons why this beer deserves a pour. Read More

Rivertown Brewery & Barrel House | Hop Bomber Pale Ale

ABV: 5.5% | IBU: 60

Okay, here’s the thing: I’m not exactly what you would call a “beer expert.” I couldn’t tell you the difference between an IPA and an APA, and I don’t actually know what IBU’s are—I just googled that number. That being said, I do enjoy beer and I really enjoy my pal Tristan—so when he asked me if I wanted to participate in the PorchDrinking website, of course, I had to say yes (after first checking to make sure he was serious). Read More