BrewHaHa Showcases DC’s Deliciousness

It was the food. The beer was fantastic — we knew it would be — but it was the food that seemed to wow the crowd at Friday night’s BrewHaHa … Read More

Oak Park Micro Brew Review

Oak Park Micro Brew Review

Downtown Oak Park, Illinois is a perfect place to host a beer festival. The quaint, shady brick streets are lined with sidewalk cafés, pubs, and specialty shops, and the area is easily accessible by several public transportation routes. In fact, the train station acts as the geographical center of the festival. Started in 2008, the Oak Park Micro Brew Review is the largest zero-waste craft beer festival in the Midwest. Read More

Spiteful Brewing | Alley Time! Pale Ale

Spiteful Brewing | Alley Time! Pale Ale

6% ABV

Spiteful is among my favorites of the breweries I’ve discovered since moving to Chicago a little over four months ago. The Alley Time is a smash beer (single malt/single hop) made with Pilsen malt and Simcoe hops. These two ingredients come together to create a crisp, refreshing pale ale with just the right amount of bite for these warm summer days, fleeting though they may be. Read More

Festival Recap | Fermentation Festival 2014

Fermentation is defined as “the chemical breakdown of a substance by bacteria, yeasts, or other microorganisms, typically involving effervescence and the giving off of heat.” Sure, that might sound a little bit unappealing, but without the process of fermentation, we wouldn’t have beer, wine, spirits, cheese, vinegar, pickles, chocolate, and so many other foods and drinks we love dearly. As a fan of nearly all fermented treasures – I’m still trying to cultivate a taste for Natto – I was very excited to attend the second annual Fermentation Festival held last weekend.

Read More

Event Preview | The Fermentation Festival

Since you’re reading these words, I expect you have at least a passing fondness for beer, and perhaps other fermented beverages such as cider, wine, and kombucha. Great, now what about fermented foods? Sure, everybody loves cheese, but how about sauerkraut, kimchi, or tempeh? The process of fermentation has been yielding some of the most delicious things we eat and drink for thousands of years, so it’s a good thing Colorado has an annual event celebrating them. Yes, the Fermentation Fest returns to Denver this weekend!

Read More

Big Boss Brewing Company | Hell’s Belle Belgian-style Ale

7.0% ABV

30 IBU

Belgian-style ale

Available across NC and SC

During the hot, humid days and tepid nights of summer in the piedmont region of North Carolina, relief comes … Read More

Finkel and Garf Brewing Company

5455 Spine Road Suite A, Boulder, CO

Open Date: July 14, 2014

Brewing System: 15 Barrel Brewhouse

Taproom Hours Mon-Fri: 3-9pm Sat-Sun: 12-9pm

Finkel and Garf is Boulder County’s newest craft … Read More

Red, White & Brew | An Independence Day Ultimate 6er

The American celebration of Independence Day is upon us. It is a weekend of fireworks and flag shorts. Koozie factories across the nation are working overtime this week. Hot dog farms are at capacity. What better time, I wonder, to drink a good beer? There isn’t! And I know you PorchDrinkers hate to come unprepared, so I’ve brainstormed my best suggestions for the perfect Independence Day six pack. Drink up!

Read More

Lantern Brewing | Tripel

Lantern Brewing | Tripel – 8% ABV

If you are even casual fan of Belgian style beers, especially the tripel, you know they can get pretty out there with high ABV, bacteria treated sours, complicated aging processes, and unusual ingredients. They can become so complex that it’s easy to forget why people loved them to start with: they are refreshing, clean-flavored, balanced beers that happen to punch above their weight class in terms of alcohol content. Read More

Adroit Theory Takes Brews to D.C.

In Washington, D.C., old collides with new. It’s a city of rows of Georgetown mansions and burgeoning hipster neighborhoods, of traditional politicking and feisty, unfettered eagerness. Last week, the “History and … Read More

Chicago Craft Beer Week

Chicago is a mind-blowingly large city, boasting a population of over 2.7 million people, it is divided into more than 200 neighborhoods. These neighborhoods showcase the various cultures and lifestyles of the city’s residents, and each one is unique. The fifth annual Chicago Craft Beer Week (CCBW), which started last Thursday and runs for ten days total, is centered on these small, intimate parts of the city that are so integral to its structure. With over 300 participating venues in the city and surrounding suburbs, this week is guaranteed to be amazing. Read More

5 Takeaways from SAVOR

PorchDrinking had a great time at SAVOR this weekend and we won’t bore you with the beautiful ambiance of the National Building Museum, the delicious cheese spread or the interesting … Read More

Beer and Food Pairings | Blonde Ale

Welcome back to the delicious world of beer and food. It was a treat to be able to showcase wild/sour fermentation styles last month, and the DIY approach even gave … Read More

Sun King Brewery | Fistful of Hops

6.5 ABV, 77 IBU

Welcome to Indiana, home to my back porch. I’m excited to bring all the fermented wonders that this great state has to offer to you PorchDrinkers. Around here Sun … Read More

Some FATE at SAVOR

PorchDrinking was lucky enough to snag tickets to SAVOR this week, the fancy craft beer and food festival held in the stunning National Building Museum. (Remember President Bill Clinton playing … Read More

Beer and Food | Framboise

Welcome back to the delicious world of beer and food. This week we are continuing to delve into the depths of the history of sour/wild fermentation methods. Last week we mentioned some historical benchmark Belgian sour producers, to close out the month, we are featuring Hanssens Brouwerij from Dworp, about 8 miles outside Brussels. Read More

Cooking with Beer | Fried Beer-Battered Avocados

Here it goes again, another recipe about Cooking with Beer. This one should really be called ‘The Trials and Tribulations of Frying Beer-Battered Avocados’ or ‘Kitchen Failures: Avocado Edition.’ Luckily, the saying held true and the third time really was a charm. Frying avocados sounded amazing but figuring out the right way to accomplish the task wasn’t easy. The first time around, the batter was too thick and I forgot some ingredients (so don’t drink too much before cooking). The second attempt, the batter still didn’t seem right and the avocados turned to mush. The third time, well, it was perfection. The batter was crispy and full of flavorful hops from the Upslope IPA. The avocados turned out to be just the right texture. These little crunchy green nuggets tasted great — probably even better to me since I finally conquered what seemed to be an impossible mission. But when you think about it, how could you ever go wrong when beer and avocados are involved?

Read More

Beer and Food | Flemish Sour Red

Welcome back to the delicious world of beer and food! We have attempted to keep the intensity of the wild/sour attributes scaled back through these first couple weeks, but now it’s time to take the training wheels off for those of you new to these types of flavors. Read More

Roundtable Discussion | Summer Beer Festivals

Summertime is fast approaching, so in the spirit of warmer weather, Tristan asked the staff for their favorite summer beer festivals. Read below for some awesome events to check out … Read More

Ultimate 6er | Welcome to Chicago!

I finally did it! After about six years of daydreaming and talking my friends’ ears off about it, I finally packed up my entire life (which is basically just my records, my cats and my beer collection) and hauled off to Chicago. Being a lifelong Florida resident, I feel as though I now live on an entirely different planet. I am using public transportation for the first time ever, attempting to navigate a completely new music scene and trying all kinds of beers I’ve never even heard of. It’s pretty awesome! Here are six of the amazing brews I’ve come across so far. Read More