Josh Weikert

Craft brewers have gone from shunning adjuncts to embracing them with alacrity amid our ongoing love affair with lager. Here, we put the American and international lager traditions into context—and then we ponder which adjuncts might be the next to conquer the world.

• Adjuncts
• Lager
• Corn

A great one to enjoy by the autumn bonfire, this is a style that any smoked-beer enthusiast should know how to make—and it can be nearly as easy to brew as it is to drink.

• Make Your Best
• Gratzer
• Grodziskie

Oak-smoked wheat malt drives the character of this Polish-style quaffer, which—when brewed well—is as refreshing on a warm day as it is appropriate next to an autumn bonfire.

• Beer Recipe
• Grodziskie
• Grätzer

Whether it’s hazy or clear, intentional bitterness and a dry finish are the keys to an IPA of great drinkability. Getting there takes some attention to details—including perception, ingredients, and process.

• IPA
• Drinkability
• Dry IPA

For brewers who want to get into tart, mixed-culture beers but don’t yet have a lot of confidence or experience, this is a great place to start. But it's also a style where advanced brewers can have a lot of fun dialing it in to their personal tastes.

• Make Your Best
• Oud Bruin
• Flemish Oak-Aged Ale

Ready to brew a great American lawnmower beer?

• Cream Ale
• Blonde Ale
• Lawnmower Beer

There are so many versions, varieties, and approaches here that it would be arrogant to claim this will be your best American IPA—but it’s a very, very good one that’s held up well to the test of time.

• Make Your Best
• All Grain Recipe
• Beer Recipe

The style parameters here are actually pretty simple: high bitterness, intense hop aroma and flavor, and just enough malt character to provide some background.

• Make Your Best
• Double IPA
• American IPA

Give this one some time. After about three months, you’ll find that the malt and hops are so perfectly integrated that you’ll want to just sit and smell this beer for a while.

• Beer Recipe
• American-Style Lager
• American-Style Pilsner

With this relatively obscure historical style, you can think of it as a fresher, drier, slightly lighter version of a clean bière de garde—or you can go for a more lambic-inspired version, bringing in some mixed cultures to have a say.

• Beer Recipe
• Farmhouse Ale
• Bière de Mars

Mild wasn’t always dark, smooth, and low in strength, but that modern incarnation is one well worth brewing and appreciating. Rich in flavor yet drinkable in quantity, mild is a tradition waiting for its next evolution.

• Mild
• British Ales
• Dark Mild

Dry and lively with earthy-herbal hop flavors, saison should be refreshing, with any spicy character better driven by yeast and hops than by actual spices.

• Make Your Best
• Saison