Joe Stange
Brewing with Sourdough Culture at ScratchBy Joe StangeScratch—the rural Illinois brewery just nominated for a James Beard Award—is known for a seasonal range of beers made from foraged ingredients. Less well known is what they use to ferment most of those beers: the same stuff they use to raise their breads.
Breakout Brewer: DovetailBy Joe StangeDeploying coolships, open fermentors, turbid mashes, and decoctions, and specializing in lagers and spontaneous fermentation, the brewers at Dovetail in Chicago are among the new guard for the old ways.
Porter, the Polish WayBy Joe StangeBaltic porter survived the 20th century in Poland, and it stayed strong. Now a new generation of Polish brewers is pushing the envelope.
Editors’ Picks: Two Recent Beer BooksBy Joe StangeEvery year brings a spate of new beer books, often released ahead of the holiday shopping season. From Issue 36 (Dec 2019–Jan 2020), here are a couple of recommendations.
Special Ingredient: Sweet PotatoBy Joe StangeHad enough pumpkin beer? Embrace an American tuber so mighty that it doesn’t care whether you make it a side dish or a dessert. Or a beer. With whiskey.
Critic's List: Joe Stange's Best in 2019By Joe StangeApologies in advance for some European bias. These picks span a year of travel and a trans-Atlantic move back to the States, where I now gawk like a yokel at the weird and wonderful American beer scene.
The Best 19 Beers of 2019By Jamie BognerOur editors, writers, and blind-review panelists have tasted thousands of beers sent to our office, passed over a bar at a brewery or pub, and poured at festivals around the world. Here is the culmination of the best of those experiences.
Podcast Episode 107: The Best 19 Beers of 2019 Special EditionBy Jamie BognerWhat are the best beers of 2019 as named by the reviewers, critics, readers, and editors of Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine? This special episode of the podcast walks through the stories behind the beers and the selections.
Anatomy of a Colonial-Era Pumpkin AleBy Joe StangePopular legend holds that colonists brewed ales with pumpkins, even if the evidence is scanty. But if they did, what would they have been like? Frank Clark, food historian and brewer at Colonial Williamsburg, walks us through his highly educated guess.
Hop Harvest HootenanniesBy Joe StangeAnywhere they pick lots of hops, they also throw a shindig. Plan your travel schedule accordingly. Don't worry: They'll have beer.
Meet Belgium’s New Lambic BrewersBy Joe StangeReal lambic takes time. It laughs at hasty plans. Until recently there were only eight lambic brewers in the Senne Valley. Discover the two newest brewers taking on a very old tradition.
Exploring the Most Brewery-Rich Region in the WorldBy Joe StangeDecoction mashing and patient lagering remain the norm across Upper Franconia, as they do in nearby Czechia—the two places in the world most famed for their attractive, flavorful lagers. Our correspondent takes a deep dive into the region.