2016 Music Festival Roundup

Thinking about adding a music festival to your spring/summer plans?  We know that picking a festival, especially with all of the different lineups, locations, and unique qualities can be rough. It’s practically a full … Read More

BridgePort Brewing | Conviction Pale Ale

ABV: 5.2%
IBU: 40

Looking for the perfect beer to bring to a Labor Day cookout (or any other Labor Day activity)? I’d like to introduce you to the Conviction Pale Ale from BridgePort Brewing. Read on for a one-minute review in which I quickly make my case for the perfect Labor Day beer.

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Ultimate 6er | The Six Beers That Made My Summer

While the official end of summer is still over a month away, my summer is coming to a close. In 12 short days, I’ll be going back to school, and what little freedom I had will be gone. So, here are the six beers that made my summer. Read More

Red Hare Brewing Co. | Whabbit Wheat

ABV: 5.6%

Georgia summers are long and hot. You’d swear they start in mid-April. So thank God the good folks at Marietta’s Red Hare Brewing Company thought to brew Whabbit Wheat, a summer beer with a delightful twist of fresh fruit and Saaz hops. It’s a beer that makes the drenching humid days a little bit more tolerable.

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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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Ultimate 6er | Texas Beers to Beat the Summer Heat

With summer upon us, days in Texas can be brutal – rising temperatures heading into the triple digits call for ways to stay hydrated. What could be more appropriate than a cold brew on a hot day? Those perfectly suited for the Texas scorching heat that can equally be enjoyed all day or even poolside. So put aside the lemonade and water, here is the Ultimate 6er of Texas beers to beat the summer heat. Read More

Strange Craft Beer Company | Cherry Bomb Stout

IBU: N/A

ABV: 5.2%

Somehow, the year is already about half over and the official start of summer is only about a week away. Despite that fact, this may … Read More

Roundtable Discussion | Beer Songs

No matter if you’re cracking open a cold one during the summer day or sitting by the campfire at night, you might need a few song options to keep you buzzed. Here are a few of our favorite (and sometimes, least favorite) songs about drinking beer.
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Ultimate 6er | Summer Treat Beers

We may be 2 weeks away from the official start of summer. But for a majority of the country, there’s already been at least a couple days of some back sweat and sunburned noses. Which of course means it’s more than appropriate to break out the summer treats. Instead of getting sticky with melting snow cones or the sadness of losing a scoop of vanilla to the ants, grab one of these summer inspired beers instead. Or even throw them in the freezer for a frozen beer treat!

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PorchDrinking Playlist | Summer Synths

With nascent summer finally upon us, enjoy this synthesized list, chock full of luscious acoustics and opulent timbres that are perfect for soaking up the sun by the pool, or imbibing in your favorite beverage on your porch. Read More

Platform Beer Co. | New Cleveland Palesner

I know it is not the case this year in some areas of the U.S., but this past week has been toasty in the Cleveland area. With temperatures almost reaching 90 degrees on the 8th and 9th, it is strange that not long before the first week of May we had weather forecasters talking about snow and wind chills.With summer at the doorstep, and already here, in some locales, a killer cavalry of refreshing brewskis have arrived. Therefore today, I share with you a delightful beer from Platform Beer Co., one of Cleveland’s newer breweries. Pictured above is a pint of Platform‘s New Cleveland Palesner.

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Buffalo Bill’s Brewery | Orange Blossom Cream Ale

Hi all! I’m Kate, a new contributor around here. I write the blog Brown Ale Girl, which shares snippets of life, food, and beer in Cincinnati. I love drinking dark beer, supporting local businesses, and witnessing the revitalization of the Queen City. 

ABV: 5.2%

IBU: 13

Yogi Berra is credited as saying, “Love is the most important thing in the world, but baseball is pretty good, too.” Granted that it’s THE American pastime, I think a lot of people would agree. I grew up in a household where the Cincinnati Reds game was on the outdoor radio and family room television every night. Therefore, it’s not officially spring to me until I attend a baseball game. I was a little late this year, but this week I went to my first Reds and high school game of the season. To be honest, I felt chills when I heard the first “thwack” of the ball hitting the catcher’s glove. Read More

Ultimate 6er | 6 Southern Beers to Shoot the Hooch

Summer in Atlanta means three things: drenching humidity, the annual 4th of July Peachtree 10K Road Race (which is held in the drenching humidity), and Shooting the Hooch.

While Shooting the Hooch may sound a little NSFW, we promise, it’s not. “Hooch” is short for the Chattahoochee River, and “Shootin’” means you’re leisurely floating down said river in an inner tube — and trust me, you’re going to need a beer for that. Read More

Grist Brewing Co | Berliner Weisse

ABV: 5.4% | IBU: 13 | SRM: 6

As we are hitting record highs here in Denver, we know that summer is leaving us. We know it. But we can’t just say goodbye to its beers just yet! So, as leaves are falling on the ground and as Misun’s Goodbye Summer plays on my iPhone, I snag an old summer style favorite of mine, the Berliner Weisse. The brew is new to me and is from the Denver suburb of Highland’s Ranch; the brewery is Grist Brewing Company.

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St. John Brewers | VI Massive Series Double IPA

ABV: 8.8%
IBU: 80

Weddings are usually a fun-filled weekend followed by a week-long hangover. Family weddings, on the other hand, are a whole different animal, especially when the man your sister is marrying decides he is going to brew the beer for it. Pretty challenging in and of itself, but then throw in the extra challenge of bottling and labeling, and you begin to get a scope of this endeavor. Now here comes the whammy: Eight styles. Eight different brews dispersed into 650 bottles and voila, you may kiss the bride. That said, it is safe to say that beer has a warm place in the hearts of most my family- 10 siblings/spouses and counting!

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Roundtable Discussion | Seasonal Beers Out of Season

Fellow PorchDrinking staff member Joshua Kan started the discussion about a week ago. His story goes a little like this.

A friend of mine just posted this status:

“Boycotting pumpkin beers and pumpkin spice coffees until it’s OFFICIALLY fall. One season at a time guys. Don’t be a Walmart.”

Thought it was a pretty interesting topic. What are your thoughts on drinking seasonal beers out of season?
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Gigantic Brewing Company | Firebird Smoked Hefeweizen

ABV: 6.1%, 24 IBU

As summer rolls to a close, I’m filled with a sense of urgency. Fall/winter/spring is a long hard slog for us Seattleites. We’ve got to make the proverbial hay while the sun shines. I know come October, my beautiful Weber grill will likely be relegated to the garage and temperatures will begin to preclude the drinking of summertime cervezas. Read More

Elysian Brewing Company | Superfuzz Blood Orange Pale

ABV: 5.4%

IBU: 45

Since I’m originally from the Midwest, I pride myself on being able to withstand harsh weather – frigid winters and humid summers are the foundations of even my earliest memories, and I recall those glory days bravely and often. However, after three summers in Seattle, I’m beginning to turn into a bit of a weather wimp, and once it hit 80 degrees for the 10^th day in a row I started to get that antsy, uncomfortable feeling that had previously only plagued me after a month of 95 degree, 90% humidity days in the Midwest. It was time for a beer. Read More

PorchDrinking Playlist | Sunroof Open, Windows Down

After years of not doing so, I decided in 2010 that the time was right to put together some of my favorite songs of the moment onto a CD. I would play these songs in my car as I drove around the city or along the interstate with the windows down, basking in the summer months and the sun and the warm weather.

It’s become a tradition now to do this every year. At the start of the year, I closely explore a variety of songs that might fit well together. Soon after I begin looking for summer-y songs, I notice a possible theme emanating from the endless songs I find or are recommended.

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Frankenmuth Brewery | Twisted Helles

ABV: 5.5%

Summers in Michigan were a staple of my childhood, from celebrating my first birthday at Higgins Lake to weeklong vacations in Harbor Springs. We took day trips to Petoskey, Charlevoix and Big Bear Dunes, and we usually made a pit stop in Frankenmuth, Michigan’s Little Bavaria. It should come as no surprise then that today’s showcase from Frankenmuth Brewery is Twisted Helles Summer Lager. Read More