What Exactly Is Porch Pop Season?

We've all been there. You've just unloaded the week's groceries from the Family Truckster and are scurrying to clear space in the refrigerator for a dozen eggs, a pound of bacon, some orange juice, a jug of milk, a collection of fruits and vegetables, a rotisserie chicken, and the list goes on. Finally, everything is in its place, and you let loose with a little sigh of relief — until you turn around and see that 12-pack of soda still sitting on the counter. There's no room in the fridge to chill it, so it's stashed into a corner of the kitchen or slid onto the pantry floor until there's room for it to chill.

And that's just the way it goes. Unless, that is, it's wintertime and you live in a place where it's cold enough — but not too cold — to put your sodas outside to get them chilled to their intended refreshing temperature. Some parts of the United States have a special name to describe this exact circumstance. In Appalachia and the Midwest, the months from October through February are referred to as "porch pop season." Drive along the backroads in those parts of the country, and you're likely to see a number of porches adorned with soda cans (and maybe the occasional case of beer or liquor bottle) taking advantage of winter's chill.

Porch pop season was recently featured by Eater, investigating the proper way to perfectly chill sodas and adult beverages outdoors. According to article, plastic bottles aren't optimal during porch pop season since they won't chill as well. Fair game, however, is "the quintessential porch pop:" a canned soda that has been taken out of its cardboard box or freed from its plastic ring, spaced out among its fellow cans so each gets maximum cooling. If you want to try it yourself, be sure to place your beverages on your wood or concrete porch and not in the grass or your car, as these places won't give you the same characteristically frosty results, Eater explains.

While porch pop season is certainly celebrated in Appalachia and the Midwest, those aren't the only places where the practice is known. In a Twitter discussion on the topic, one person shared, "The porch was the beer fridge all the time in Massachusetts," while someone from Louisiana said they refer to their porch-chilled beer as "mother nature cold." It seems like porch pop is nearly a national experience, as long as at least part of the year is cold. There is, however, a note of caution to be sounded for the season: If temperatures get too low, your precious soda cans could explode, as evidenced this video from KREM-TV in Spokane, Washington. If temperatures dip below freezing, your drinks are better off indoors.