Collaborating for a Cause | ALEX KIDD IS LIFE!

While Mikerphone Brewing out of Chicago is the latest brewery in this series, they were one of the first to take action in support of Alex Kidd and his family following the news of his cancer diagnosis. Just like what we saw most recently with Bob D’Angelo and Esker Hart Artisan Ales, Mikerphone Brewing was founded from a passion for homebrewing. Now, eight years since their first commercial beer, Mikerphone has become a Chicago beer staple and Owners Mike and Lisa Pallen have been fortunate enough to travel the world making and sharing beer. Upon hearing Alex’s devastating news, they knew they wanted to do what they could for him and his family during this unprecedented time. We were able to talk briefly with Mike and discuss a little more about the special single barrel English-style Barleywine released for the man behind the Barleywine is Life movement.

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Weathered Souls | 2023 Whale Rider Set

Weathered Souls Brewing has been around since 2016, and since then has made waves throughout the industry. Most notably in 2020, co-owner and Head Brewer Marcus Baskerville started the Black is Beautiful initiative, a movement with the mission to bring awareness to the injustices that many people of color face daily. This open-ended collaboration has inspired the support of hundreds of breweries across the country, and this year even saw the launch of Volume 2.0 of the Black is Beautiful initiative in honor of the opening of the National Black Brewers Association (NB2A) back in May. Marcus and Weathered Souls also had another exciting ‘first’ in 2023 with their highly sought-after Whale Rider Imperial Stout. July 29th marked the date of the inaugural Whale Rider Day.

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Collaborating for a Cause | Bear: Stay Strong Alex

The Stay Strong Alex initiative continues this week with a special iteration of Esker Hart Artisan Ale’s Bear series. With his first full-production location slated to open in early 2024, Bob D’Angelo started his brewing journey nine years ago. Early support from Alex served as a huge kick start to what has now become Esker Hart, and in the wake of his unanticipated cancer diagnosis, Bob knew that he wanted to honor and dedicate this second Blend of Bear to him in support of the long road ahead. We had a chance to talk with Bob and learn more about his history with Alex as well as the beer itself and the special raffle that was set up to help raise money for the Kidd family.
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Collaborating for a Cause | 2 Live Gran Kidd

In a continually impressive showing of togetherness for a shared cause, Stay Strong Alex and similar initiatives have been raising an incredible amount of money to support Alex Kidd and his family as they navigate the road ahead following his Stage IV cancer diagnosis. This week we look to Pennsylvania and Voodoo Brewing Company. Having just celebrated the 10th anniversary of its original Arch Street Brew Pub last year, these guys are no strangers to the industry. The devastating diagnosis of the satirical beer icon resonated heavily with the team in Meadville, and we had the opportunity to speak briefly with Voodoo CMO Tom Guzick to gain some insight about the most recent release in their famous Barrel Room Collection series dedicated to Alex Kidd.

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Collaborating for a Cause | For The Kidd’s

The high-production powerhouses of the industry have been far from the only ones showing support towards Alex Kidd and his family during his continuing fight with Stage IV cancer. A collaborative effort out of New Jersey, For The Kidd’s is the next feature in a growing series highlighting the incredible support provided by the craft beer community for a craft beer icon. Chris with Shore Side Brewing allowed us the opportunity to sit down and discuss a beer that he felt was more than fitting to be released for Don’t Drink Beer.

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New Terrain & Fritz Family Brewers Team Up for Collab Fest

Preparations for Collaboration Fest 2023 are well underway at breweries around Colorado. Last week, New Terrain Brewing hosted Cory Buenning of Fritz Family Brewers for a collaboration brew day. The two breweries are making an Italian Pilsner that combines Fritz’s knowledge of old-world lagers with New Terrain’s love of stylistic experimentation.
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Beer Is For Everyone Launches Drinking in Another State Collaboration Project

On June 24, 2022, the US Supreme Court voted to overturn Roe vs. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling giving women across the US the right to have an abortion. With thirteen states poised to enforce historic trigger laws banning all medically unnecessary abortions, and another thirteen considered likely to make abortion illegal, this decision is a devastatingly regressive setback for reproductive rights and places the lives of those who need reproductive care, particularly those from lower socio-economic and minority backgrounds at significant risk.

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21st Amendment & CLS Hop Farms | Close Encounters of the Hop Kind DIPA

21st Amendment recently released their Imperial IPA collaboration with family-owned hop farm, CLS Farms. Close Encounters of the Hop Kind is a Double IPA using some of the new and innovative hops coming out of Yakima Valley. Eric Desmarais, co-founder of CLS, was on hand at a recent event to walk people through the process that brewers go through to chose certain hops. Using El Dorado, Cashmere, Zappa, and their new CLS-X14 as examples for what different hops evoke and express.

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Blue Owl Brewing & Hop Capital Brewing Collaborate on See You Again, Friend IPA

Being a beer nerd with half an eye out for whatever new tool or trend the industry intends to chuck out at us next, I haven’t been able to help but notice the term thiol appearing in my feed with increasing frequency. According to the Brewers Association, thiols are highly aroma-active compounds derived from hops that can give very intense fruity flavor to predominantly dry-hopped beers. While the presence of thiols in wine grapes has been known for a while, thiols in hops were discovered relatively recently, hence the sudden outpouring of interest, much of which is tied to the fact that the brewing process does not lend itself naturally to releasing the tropical aromas that chemically complex thiols keep hidden away.

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Craft Women Connect, Blk Brew Babes, Pontoon Brewing & The Atlanta Podcast | Pomona Paradise Smoothie-Style Fruited Sour

Not one, not two, but three of Atlanta’s Black beer-community groups have joined forces with Pontoon Brewing to create the Pomona Paradise Smoothie-Style Sour. The beer came out of Pontoon’s ongoing Brewing Conversations project with The Atlanta Podcast–a community-focused initiative to raise awareness about inclusivity and racial issues in and around the Atlanta beer scene.

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Sour Series: Urban South HTX & Imprint Beer Co. | Spilled Schmoojee Fruited Sour Collaboration

Texan Fruited Sours tend to fly deeply, almost suspiciously under the radar. Not because we’re not proud of them – on the contrary. The truth is that they are so lip-smacking-tasty that we want to keep them all to ourselves. Choosing just one Fruited Sour from a truly dizzying array of outstanding options was a small challenge in itself, but when we heard about new kids on the block Urban South HTX’s ultra flavor-dynamic collaboration with Pennsylvania’s Imprint Beer Co., we heeded the call. Spilled Schmoojee was the result of their collaboration.

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Oconee Brewing Co. | Bacon & Kegs Bacon-Infused Red Ale

Since the holiday chaos and rush has slowed down, it’s a good time for some reflection. We wrapped up some of our favorite beers and the biggest beer stories across our regions to end 2020. One story that caused a greasy splash was the collaboration between Waffle House and Georgia’s own Oconee Brewing Company for an official beer.

Now, a few weeks later, we’re wiping down the table and diving into the bacon-infused Red Ale that is Bacon & Kegs.

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Jackie O’s Pub & Brewery | Polycephaly IV

With so many breweries closed or offering limited service, it is a serious challenge to find a steady supply of great beer. Luckily, there are a few notable breweries that are offering shipping to states with a more liberal policy on out-of-state beer shipping (thank you VA, DC and AK!). Jackie O’s Pub & Brewery is one such notable example.

The good people at Jackie O’s are not just selling their more commonly found offerings, but have also opened up their cellars and are selling early examples in their sought-after Polycephaly series, including Polycephaly IV.

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Best of Hands Barrelhouse & Matchless Brewing | Family Influence Hazy IPA

I’ve written before about Seattle’s best bottle shop, The Beer Junction, and how lucky I am to live in the same neighborhood so I can access their brilliantly curated selection and knowledgeable staff as frequently as I want. But earlier this year, The Beer Junction gave me and fellow West Seattle residents a new reason to appreciate their craft beer expertise in the form of Best of Hands Barrelhouse.

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Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co. | Camp Light

People heavily involved with craft beer have been saying for quite some time that lagers were going to make a comeback and see gains in popularity. If you were one of those people, you were spot on and I applaud you. Lagers have been killing it in 2019 and it shows no signs of slowing down. Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co. isn’t new to the lager game, but they’ve been ramping up their lagering efforts lately. One of their more recent releases was a light lager called Camp Light. Read More

Button Brew House & Old Ellsworth Brewing Company | Dark Elevation

For those of you that have been around the craft beer scene for a while, think back several years ago and it’s easy to see that many styles have come and gone. Even some of the styles that have stood the test of time have evolved over the years. One style, in particular, comes to mind: Black IPAs. This style was highly popular for a few years, then quietly phased out of many breweries’ lineups. However, Black IPAs have started to make a comeback in popularity.

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Modern Times Beer & Pueblo Vida Brewing Company | Arcosanti Fresh Hop IPA

Everyone has a favorite brewery, or a few of them. If the stars ever align and those breweries get together and brew a collaboration beer, then that’s about as good … Read More

What We’re Drinking | November 17, 2017

With the new season approaching, it invites change. Change in weather, leaves falling, families coming together from far away and, for me at least, ending a job at a company I’ve been at forever! We here at PorchDrinking will be searching for clever ways to share tasty brews with this wet weather, I’m thinking hammocks! Cozy up with a blanket, start a nice fire and dive into What We’re Drinking.

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Avery & Odell Effin’ Teamwork Stout Takes GABF Collaboration to the Next Level

To commemorate this year’s Great American Beer Festival, several breweries have already announced collaborative projects, however few tally as storied histories as Avery and Odell Brewing. Odell founded in 1989 and Avery, which launched in 1993, constitute two of the country’s earliest pioneers in the recent craft beer resurgence. Next week during craft beer’s largest stage, their mutual appreciation toward each other’s craft will manifest in the release of a collaboration beer unlike any other.

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