What We’re Drinking | June 3rd, 2016

Many a thing pair beautifully with our beloved beverage, beer. Cheese, pie, porch swings, macaroons, bacon, campfires, you name it — there’s probably been a beer pairing for it. Personally, my favorite thing to pair with beer has always been dessert… but what about when the beer is so wonderfully decadent that it is, in fact, a dessert? Yes please. This can easily be said about Westbrook Brewing’s recently released Mexican Cake — a highly sought-after imperial stout aged on cocoa nibs, vanilla beans, habanero peppers, and cinnamon sticks. This is one you don’t want to miss, folks.

The PorchDrinking team has been busy researching (drinking) all week long to make sure you have the beer-iest, most beautiful weekend possible. See what else we’re excited about below. Cheers to liquid dessert. *clink*

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Ultimate 6er | Memorial Day Weekend

Memorial Day weekend is synonymous for cookouts, pool parties, beach trips and it kicks off the beginning of summer. Plus, we get one extra day of fun in the sun (#MondayFunday anyone?) On the way to your Memorial Day parties, be sure to pick up one of these tasty brews that we think will go perfectly with all of this weekend’s shenanigans! Read More

Event Recap | Tip Top Tours Visits South Slope Breweries

Craft beer is all about new experiences. The craft beer industry has taken a goods / commodities based enterprise and evolved it into an experience based business model. This is evident in brewery hosted events, taprooms/bier gardens and beers unbound by categories. This influence has extended past the brewers and imbibers to the retailers who are dreaming up new and innovative ideas to draw their customers into the door and encourage them to return many times thereafter.  Read More

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. | Otra Vez

ABV: 4.5%

We’d been searching for Sierra Nevada Brewing Company’s newest release Otra Vez since we first saw it advertised on Beer Advocate. A Gose with prickly pear and grapefruit sounded like an amazing way to break up the past few months of winter warmers. After contacting liquor stores for weeks we finally were able to track a six pack down. Read More

Weekly Growler Fill | National Beer News Roundup

The Weekly Growler Fill is moving to Tuesdays… just kidding. The real story is that the Super Bowl, and many beers, got the best of me. Living in Denver ain’t too shabby right about now, although today seemed unnecessarily long. Hence, you’re getting the Growler a day late. To all of my concerned fans that flooded my inbox – do not fret. We still have tons of groundbreaking craft beer news coming your way. This week, I’m bringing you stories of beer releases, expanded distribution and trailblazing grocery store chains. Keep reading for the details of these headlines and more in this edition of the Weekly Growler Fill.

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Weekly Growler Fill | National Beer News Roundup

Sierra Nevada adds a new beer to their lineup, South Korea embraces craft beer, basketball players discuss homebrew, and one of the biggest and baddest beers (no, I’m not talking about Bourbon County Stout) returns to the market. Read all this and more in the Weekly Growler Fill! Read More

Ultimate 6er | Summer Seasonal Beers

I was brutally reminded yesterday that it’s almost August. Not only did that mean rent was due, but summer is flying by fast. If you live in the Midwest, you know that means you are soon going to be slapped in the face with 4-8 months of winter, depression and an overall desperation for spring to arrive to save you from the depths of Hell.

Instead of focusing on all that nonsense, I will try to embrace the rest of the summer, and take advantage of all the great seasonal summer beers, some you can still buy all year round, and some you can’t. Either way, any of these beers will add a little sparkle to the remaining summer.

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Sierra Nevada | Hop Hunter IPA

Brewery: Sierra Nevada (Chico, CA)
Style: IPA
Season: Perennial
IBU: 60
ABV: 6.2

As the summer slowly comes into permanent existence here on the East Coast, it’s time for that special style from the West Coast. Who else but Sierra Nevada would employ a new style with signature quality and popular fanfare? Read More

6 Reasons Sierra Nevada’s New NC Taproom Will Impress You

Tuesday, March 10, 2015, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. opened its East Coast Taproom and Restaurant on an expansive wooded property in Mills River, North Carolina, two miles west of the Asheville Regional Airport and about 20 miles south of downtown Asheville.

From the commanding presence of the 200-barrel brewhouse, to the Taproom and Restaurant featuring more than two-dozen beers and a menu that doesn’t look anything like your typical pub fare, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company built this facility to impress. Here are the six things that’ll stand out on your visit. Read More

Sierra Nevada Brewing Company | Narwhal Imperial Stout

ABV: 10.20%
IBU: 60

When I think of Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, I usually think of the hop-heavy portion of their offering, from their classic IPA and Torpedo to the less traditional Flipslide Red IPA. I was both surprised and excited to see Sierra Nevada snag a bronze medal at this year’s Great American Beer Festival in the Imperial Stout category. A couple days after the festival, I saw this blingtastic brew at Argonaut and I was not able to turn it down.

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Ultimate 6er | Koozie Doozies

Yeah, a nice craft beer sipped from a fancy glass is great, but sometimes a little neoprene sleeve around a classic can of suds is even better. The koozie keeps your beer from getting warm and your hand from getting cold. More importantly though, it gets you out of the house, out of the bar, just drinking good beer with good friends with a fun bit of squishy love between your hand and the can. I give you my Ultimate 6er, the beers and the best places to drink them, Koozie Doozies: Read More

Beer Celebrities You May See at Great American Beer Fest 2014

Great American Beer Festival is a unique opportunity for people that enjoy beer to rub elbows with the amazingly talented people that have propelled the craft beer scene into the vastly successful industry you see today. Here is a quick guide to some of the beer celebrities you may see in Denver this year during GABF. By no means is this a complete list of everyone to look for. If you have a favorite brewery, author, blogger or personality that is not on this list, try to find them on Twitter to see if you can meet them. Read More

Festival Recap | Sierra Nevada Beercamp Across America – Rocky Mountain Edition

Well, that was fun. Seriously. We don’t like to brag a bunch (we do, however, like to brag a little) but there were no lines for beer, there were celebrity brewers pouring their own wares, and there were many-a-food-truck setup with tasty nosh for purchase. Sierra Nevada’s Beercamp Across America – Rocky Mountain Edition boasted lots of brewer cameos. I saw Ken Grossman just milling around (much like we were) looking for his next liquid victim to quaff. The goal of the touring festival was to bring attention to the craft brewing industry as a whole. To do that, Sierra Nevada invited every brewery in the nation to attend one of the fests and they brewed twelve different collaboration beers with twelve other breweries, including Longmont’s Oskar Blues. The festival accomplished this and so much more. See just why this was our favorite festival of the year so far!

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Sierra Nevada – Beer Camp #94 Belgian-Style Black IPA

Sierra Nevada – Beer Camp #94 Belgian-Style Black IPA

ABV: 7.7%
IBU: 52

Beer Camp #94 is a 2013 Beer Camp release from Sierra Nevada. Its distinct flavor profile is derived from buckets of black malt giving this beer a deep, black color and a huge body. Openhanded portions of bittering hops add balance and tip the mouthfeel definitively to the hoppy side of the scale, while Belgian yeast provides the brew with a slightly zesty undertone.

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12 Beers of Christmas | Day 3-Sierra Nevada Brewing Company’s Celebration Ale

Style: American Style IPA
ABV: 6.8%
IBU: 65

Celebrate good times, come on!
It’s a celebration
Celebrate good times, come on!
Let’s celebrate… Read More