halfacre Archives – PorchDrinking.com
Boys Are From Märzen Podcast | Katie de la Rosa Half Acre
October 7, 2022 | Kindsey Bernhard
In Episode 71 of “Boys Are From Märzen” podcast, Kindsey Bernhard is joined by Katie de la Rosa, Hospitality General Manager at Half Acre Beer Company in Chicago.
Exploring The Perfect Harmony Found Between Beer Releases & Instagram
April 8, 2021 | Taylor Laabs
Scroll through Instagram’s visual-forward feed, and you’ll find pictures of people celebrating life events, vacations and accomplishments—along with a heavy dose of very prescriptive sponsored posts that make you question your internet browser’s personal data collection policies. You’ll also find a bevy of new beers, pumped up by appeasing photos that appeal to both your eyes and your taste buds. While a striking photo of your latest beer to hit shelves is the standard, many breweries have taken things a step further—perhaps inspired by the poetic musings of the Dont Drink Beers Instagram account—to layer their latest beer release with passages of beer-inspired prose.
What We’re Drinking | January 29, 2021
January 29, 2021 | Mathew Powers
Can you believe we are already one month into 2021? It’s tough to say that 2021 is much better than 2020, so far. But, one thing hasn’t changed: the beer produced by a nation of brewers remains good as ever. The PorchDrinking team certainly loves to demonstrate that with photos of their beer-drinking experiences. We hope you enjoy this week’s version of What We’re Drinking, and we also hope that you have a moment or two this week to kick back, take a deep breath, and enjoy a malty libation of your own.
Revolution Caps Off Deep Wood Series with Half Acre Collab
January 20, 2021 | Mike Zoller
To wrap up their 2020-21 Deep Wood release, Revolution Brewing decided to go with two non-stouts, featuring an Imperial Rye Porter made in collaboration with Half Acre as well as a spin on their popular Ryewine Ale by putting it into Apple Brandy barrels.
Ultimate 6er | The Office (US)
September 9, 2020 | Dan and Lizzie
Has there ever been a show on Netflix that has been more in the background of your everyday life than NBC’s The Office? It’s perhaps one of the most beloved comedies for millennials. The Office contains a slew of strong, lovable characters, a plethora of quotable one-liners, and an interesting story of a small paper company in northeast Pennsylvania.
Where Do the Barrels Go After They’re Done Aging Beer?
October 16, 2019 | Taylor Laabs
It’s finally the season for barrel-aged beers. Chicago is spoiled with its options: Revolution’s Deep Wood series kicks off this weekend; Cruz Blanca also has standout offerings – oh, and Begyle won gold for their Barrel-Aged Imperial Pajamas at GABF this year. While the beers get all the glory, the barrels that produce them sometimes get lost in the fray. Ever the creative-types, breweries typically find alternative use cases for these barrels after their primary usage days are past them. To find out how these barrels find new life post-barrel-aging, we asked the breweries.
Ask the Experts | How to Revamp the Standard Brewery Tour?
July 25, 2019 | Taylor Laabs
Chances are, if you have been to a brewery before, you have been on a brewery tour. It’s an easy way to get the consumer closer to a brewery’s brand, process, and beer. While some offer hands-on exercises, unlimited samples, and specialized experiences, your typical, run-of-the-mill brewery tour is no longer memorable. Beer drinkers are much more educated and knowledgeable of the brewing process and the craft beer industry as a whole than they were 5 or 10 years ago. Sniffing hop pellets and looking at stainless steel fermenters can get dull after a while.
To stand out in today’s brewery tour landscape, you really have to offer something that goes beyond the status quo and provides a deeper connection to the brewery you’re visiting. Many national and regional breweries have realized that their brewery tour can help extend the beer drinker’s experience with them, which could help influence subsequent purchasing decisions at retail locations and bars. Offering something different and memorable is a great way to standout from the fray of local colleagues and regional competitors. Things like specialized tours and immersive tasting experiences are just a few ways that breweries have revamped their tours to better appeal to today’s beer drinking clientele.
Chicago Quick Sips | July 22 Chicago Beer News & Events
July 22, 2019 | Ana Plefka
Quick Sips is our way of highlighting beer events, tap takeovers and other notable beer news around the city of Chicago. If you’d like to submit something to be included in the next Quick Sips, please email us at [email protected].
Half Acre Brings All-Star Lineup of Breweries to Inaugural Far & Away
October 5, 2018 | Mike Zoller
Your standard run-of-the-mill beer festival includes a long list of breweries, many of which go to the same festivals all season, pouring roughly the same beers at each one. Half Acre turned heads in August when they announced a new festival called Far & Away that features some of the best-known breweries from around the country.
Half Acre’s The Big North Celebrates Duality of Mainstream Appeal & Creativity
August 20, 2018 | Taylor Laabs
This past Saturday, beer fans from across Chicago (and the larger U.S.) made the trek to Half Acre’s Balmoral home to partake in the burgeoning beer fest called The Big North. Half Acre has hosted this event for three years running now. Each year is bigger, each year is better, and each year, the beer list grows to eye-popping quantities. The third iteration of Half Acre’s beer celebration did not disappoint as hundreds of sudsed-up beer fans took in a picturesque summer evening across Half Acre’s ever-expanding campus. The event is special for many reasons, but it’s also an important milestone for Half Acre’s self-titled pursuit of “duality,” which means that they’re able to make enough mainstream brews to keep business moving, while also keeping their creative and experimental programs producing at a high clip. The result of Half Acre’s pursuit was witnessed on Saturday, and boy did it taste good.
Why Patio Season in the Midwest Means More
June 19, 2018 | Taylor Laabs
Oh, summer. As a native Minnesotan and current Chicagoan, I have a mixed relationship with the best season of the year. I’m used to rationalizing the cold, the rain, the snow, more cold…and even hail, endured during roughly nine months of the year, knowing that the sweet embrace of 70 degrees and sunny skies is right around the corner. Unfortunately, summer in the Midwest can be as fleeting as the last drip of Lager in your glass, which is why Midwesterners go so crazy for the nice days: because there are so few of them. One of my favorite summer activities is patio drinking. It’s a staple pastime that tans the skin and bloats the belly as you sit outside sopping up suds and some much-needed Vitamin D. Much like its inhabitants, the breweries of the Midwest also rejoice when the first summer forecast comes into the picture. Patio season can even start before Memorial Day – I’ve seen Chicago breweries unveil their patio chairs on an unseasonably sunny day in March. And guess what? That patio was filled. We asked several Midwestern brewers why patio season is so special for their brewery and for their patrons.
2 Days, 2 Nights | A Complete Guide to Chicago’s Craft Beer Scene
April 17, 2018 | Mike Zoller
Chicago has always been a weekend destination as people look to explore the city’s rich history, culture and of course, have a slice of deep dish pizza. It’s also now a place where craft beer fans can indulge in the wide array of breweries that the city offers. If anything, it might be overwhelming when trying to think of how to tackle all the breweries within the city limits. Spoiler alert—it would be virtually impossible to visit every single brewery in a weekend.
So if you’re coming to Chicago for a weekend, here’s a guide on how to get the most out of the Chicago craft beer scene in a limited amount of time. Understand that like I said above, it would be virtually impossible to do every brewery, so I had to leave some out. It’s nothing personal and you can alter this itinerary however you like. You’ll also notice that there are no suburban breweries on this list. I’ll be doing another itinerary in a couple of weeks that will focus on just suburban breweries—don’t worry guys, I didn’t forget about you!
Our Favorite Chicago Beers From 2017
December 26, 2017 | Mike Zoller
2017 will undoubtedly go down as the year of the tap room for Chicago craft beer. Big names that have become synonymous with beer in the city finally opened their doors to the public. Off Color Brewing, Metropolitan Brewing, Maplewood and Half Acre’s new production facility are just to name a handful of places you can now go drink where you couldn’t before. Read More
Chicago Quick Sips | September 11
September 11, 2017 | Mike Zoller
Quick Sips is our way of highlighting beer events, tap takeovers and other notable beer news around the city of Chicago. If you’d like to submit something to be included … Read More
Fast Facts on Ravenswood’s Newly Branded Malt Row District
May 22, 2017 | Taylor Laabs
*Feature image courtesy of Greater Ravenswood Chamber of Commerce
Ravenswood is embracing the vibrant beer culture within its Northside neighborhood by re-branding a two-mile stretch of road into Malt Row, which will feature six local breweries along with one distillery. That two-mile stretch, mapped here, will expand from Balmoral Avenue to Irving Park Road.
Half Acre Beer is Experimenting with Mixed Fermentation
April 25, 2017 | Taylor Laabs
Featured image courtesy of Half Acre Beer Co.
Half Acre Beer Co. is expanding and it’s a good sign for Chicago craft beer drinkers. Their new Balmoral Brewery space, a massive 60,000 square foot expansion, is getting closer and closer to opening to the public. Not only does this mean more real estate, but it also means more opportunities to brew beer, including the newly announced mixed fermentation program at their original brew spot in Lincoln Square.
Half Acre Beer Co. | Topanga Gulch DIPA
March 10, 2017 | Taylor Laabs
Featured image courtesy of Half Acre Beer Co.
ABV: 8%
Half Acre Beer Co. is known across Chicago as a forward-thinking brewery that produces big flavor throughout all of their beers. Their newest release, Topanga Gulch DIPA, is the next iteration of this trend, delivering Citra hopped tastiness and fruity notes throughout every sip.
Five Chicago Beers You Must Try
January 19, 2017 | Mike Zoller
Chicagoans are extremely lucky to have a wide variety of craft beer at their fingertips. In fact many of us take our incredibly large selection for granted. But for the craft beer fan that is visiting Chicago for maybe only a weekend I selected five beers that are an absolute must try.
Inside the Tank: Half Acre Beer Company’s Matt Young
March 21, 2016 | Mike Zoller
Half Acre Beer Company is a mainstay for any Chicago craft beer enthusiast. A consistent array of year-round, seasonal and special-release beers make one of the oldest craft breweries in … Read More
Half Acre Beer Company | Inspiring the Brewer in You
May 28, 2014 | Lindsay Snyder
“Our mission is to make a beer you can sit down with your buddies and feel good about.” As soon as I stepped into the bustling warehouse that this Chicago-based crew playfully refers to as SS Half Acre, led by the captain himself decreeing his mission, I knew I was going to like this place. If you’re ever in Chicago on a Saturday, this brewery tour is worth the wait. Read More
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