Event Preview | San Diego Beer Week

There is nothing better for the local community of beer lovers in San Diego than San Diego Beer week! Although advertised as a “week,” this year it will take place over the course of 10 days, November 1-10, all throughout San Diego. For the most comprehensive list of events, pairings, beer releases and dinners, go to the SDBW website, but here we’re going to be talking about some of the cool events happening, where they will be and then you can decide which ones you are going to try and make! Be sure to check if events are ticketed, shown by 🎫 Read More

What We’re Drinking | October 25, 2019

It’s that time of the year again; all things spooky, frightening and pumpkin spice is everything and everywhere. It’s a time of year when candy is shaped like spiders and gummy worms are dumped into mash tuns. It’s the perfect sugar-coma lead-up to the gluttonous holidays. While trying to not develop type 2 diabetes, check out what some of our writers have been drinking.

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Learn to Homebrew Day is November 2

In 1999, Learn To Homebrew Day was established by the American Homebrewers Association to promote the most rewarding, and delicious activity of all time — homebrewing. This is what is written on the AHA’s website about this event. It is a day that many homebrewers the world around have come to their local homebrew stores or friends or even the internet to learn the hobby that you can literally drink to! 

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PorchDrinking’s Weekly Denver Beer Beat | October 23, 2019

The Denver Beer Beat is a weekly roundup of brewery openings, special tappings, firkins and one-off batches, bottle releases, dinners, pairings, and more happening in the Front Range and beyond. Be sure to check in each Wednesday to discover anything and everything happening around Colorado’s beer scene. Now let’s get to this week’s can’t miss beer events. Read More

Beer Event | Collabapalooza Recap

This past weekend was one of the most highly rated beer festivals in Southern California: Collabapalooza. The ethos of the beer festival is a sense of community within the beer industry–in most cases, all of the breweries involved were friends with each other and the brewers were all trying each other’s beer while talking shop. As we got to talk to several breweries in the preview article on the beers they were bringing, we got to experience the selection of a ridiculous tap list contributed by all the breweries. Here are some standouts.

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Athletic Brewing Company | Run Wild IPA

An interesting thing happened while prepping annual GABF coverage here at PorchDrinking this year. We noticed a growing trend of breweries bringing craft alcohol-free beer to the beer-lovers event. Now of course, alcohol-free beer isn’t new. Can you recall the times of “near beer” and O’Doul’s? And most recently Heineken introduced their version to the market. Out of curiosity we gave the latter a try, and to our surprise it tasted like a regular Heineken. Needless to say it was intriguing, so we did more research into the non-alcoholic craft craze. Read More

PorchDrinking’s Weekly Denver Beer Beat | October 16, 2019

The Denver Beer Beat is a weekly roundup of brewery openings, special tappings, firkins and one-off batches, bottle releases, dinners, pairings, and more happening in the Front Range and beyond. Be sure to check in each Wednesday to discover anything and everything happening around Colorado’s beer scene. Now let’s get to this week’s can’t miss beer events. Read More

Firestone Walker’s Terroir Project | An Experimental Crossover

For many people, the expectation is that breweries must always be innovating to be relevant. While smaller breweries have the luxury of chasing a trend and nimbly playing the field, many larger and established breweries find this a challenging task. Firestone Walker, though one of the larger craft breweries, has continued to find a way to create their own space. Whether it’s through unique beer releases or highly curated events, they always seem to be up for the challenge. Read More

Collabapalooza Beer Fest Returns to San Diego

Collabapalooza is one of the top-rated beer festivals in southern California. On Saturday, October 19, more than 30 breweries will overtake the backlot of NorthPark Observatory to showcase a plethora … Read More

PorchDrinking’s Weekly Denver Beer Beat | October 9, 2019

The Denver Beer Beat is a weekly roundup of brewery openings, special tappings, firkins and one-off batches, bottle releases, dinners, pairings, and more happening in the Front Range and beyond. Be sure to check in each Wednesday to discover anything and everything happening around Colorado’s beer scene. Now let’s get to this week’s can’t miss beer events. Read More

Troegs Independent Brewing | Trail Day Pale Ale

Within the touristy town of Hershey, Pennsylvania, sits a craft brewery by the name of Troegs Independent Brewing. Originally formed in 1997 and located in Harrisburg, PA, Troegs made the move to Hershey (the home of Hershey Chocolate Factory) in 2011. With a growing popularity within the region, Troegs became very well known for The Mad Elf Christmas Ale, and it didn’t take long for the brewery to gain momentum and demand. Brewing 10 year-round beers, Troegs also offers many options when it comes to seasonal brews and a never-ending list of “Scratch” beers that are brewed in an experimental six gallon brewing system and released regularly at their taproom. Read More

GABF Spotlight | The Best Chicagoland Beers

There will be more than 4,000 beers poured at this year’s Great American Beer Festival. It is impossible to try every beer there, it would even be a feat if you tried 3% of all the beers being poured at the event.

I went through the pour list of every Illinois brewery pouring at GABF this year and picked out a handful of beers that if you’re not from the state, should be on your list to try. Keep in mind that pour lists do change and so I’m going off of what is available on the festival’s website. I’ll also give you an honorable mention beer from each brewery that may not be the most hyped up beer they have, but it’s still worth trying.

Also, know that a lot of breweries submit beer for judging but don’t make the trip out to Denver to pour their beer. So if you saw that your favorite brewery sent beer to GABF, it doesn’t mean that they are actually going to be there for you to try. Read More

Event Preview | The 9th Annual BeerHoptacular

Billed as Chicago’s original craft beer festival, the BeerHoptacular returns once again to the Vertiport hangar on September 28 with over 100 beers being poured.

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Saint Arnold Brewing Company | Art Car IPA

The phenomenon of the art car has intrigued me for some time. Have you ever seen these things? Cars covered from bumper to bumper with colorful paint jobs and anything from mosaic tile to plastic figurines. Sure, some look like a hoarder hoarked on a hooptie, but there are certainly some examples that truly are mobile art. The layers of detail and creativity are impressive, and it’s that creative spirit that inspired Saint Arnold’s Art Car IPA.

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PorchDrinking’s Weekly Denver Beer Beat | September 24, 2019

The Denver Beer Beat is a weekly roundup of brewery openings, special tappings, firkins and one-off batches, bottle releases, dinners, pairings, and more happening in the Front Range and beyond. Be sure to check in each Wednesday to discover anything and everything happening around Colorado’s beer scene. Now let’s get to this week’s can’t miss beer events. Read More

PorchDrinking’s Weekly Denver Beer Beat | September 18, 2019

The Denver Beer Beat is a weekly roundup of brewery openings, special tappings, firkins and one-off batches, bottle releases, dinners, pairings, and more happening in the Front Range and beyond. Be sure to check in each Wednesday to discover anything and everything happening around Colorado’s beer scene. Now let’s get to this week’s can’t miss beer events. Read More

Suave Fest and Raíces Brewing Shine Light on LatinX Brewers

The communal nature of the craft beer industry naturally lends to a general sentiment of inclusiveness. Race, gender, sexual orientation, doesn’t matter to most in the beer community as long … Read More

Ultimate 6er | Six Beers for DC Beer Week 2019

Another DC Beer Week is upon us, taking place in the nation’s Capital from September 8-15, 2019. This annual event, hosted by the DC Brewers’ Guild, continues to grow in size each year, both in the number of breweries and in the events taking taking place across the district. With 11 breweries now open inside the city limits and dozens more within the metro area, the Washington, DC beer scene is rapidly becoming another craft beer hub along the East Coast.

To celebrate the 11th Annual DC Beer Week, we’ve put together six of the top beers being produced by DC breweries right now. Our list only includes breweries inside Washington, DC proper (sorry Virginia and Maryland).

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Tommyknocker Brewery | Drift Blonde Ale

Any avid mountain-trekker will tell you that there are few things as satisfying as a post-hike beer. Some seasoned veterans even stow a cold one in their pack to crack open on the summit in celebration of a job well done. But if that isn’t for you, fear not! A good beer is never far in Colorado, even if you do find yourself perched on top of a Mount Bierstadt.

Tommyknocker Brewery & Pub, which sits just off the highway in Idaho Springs, Colorado, is a well-known (and well-loved) craft beer haven, and it’s the perfect rest-stop for anyone with sore feet and a big thirst. Its collection of brews ranges from rich, nutty Stouts to tropical IPA’s and ciders. But after a long day on the trails, the thought of drinking something too heavy or hoppy will have your stomach turning real quick. Instead, you’ll want to start with something as easy-drinking and refreshing as Tommyknocker’s Drift Blonde Ale. Read More

New Glory Craft Brewery | Hopaway Beach

There are not many breweries in the Sacramento, CA area that have a better track record of brewing IPAs than New Glory Craft Brewery. When you check the “about us” section of their website, the first sentence reads: “We reject the mainstream concept of ‘flagship’ or core beers.” A quick look at their current tap list includes 24 beers; 15 of them are either a Pale Ale, IPA, Double IPA or Milkshake IPA. I’m not sure how many different IPAs and hop-forward beers they’ve turned out since 2014, but it’s safe to say they’ve worked every angle of the style.

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