Breakout Brewer

Committed to brewing the best European-style lagers possible, Art History Brewing in Geneva, Illinois, is expanding into a brewhouse outfitted with a wish list of bells and whistles.

For brewers who read and sponge all the info they can find, it may be hard to believe: The authors of two of the most influential brewing books of the past decade run a brewery together. In suburban Baltimore, Scott Janish and Michael Tonsmeire are experimenting at Sapwood Cellars.

In South Salt Lake, Utah, the team at Shades Brewing has transformed a proprietary yeast culture and a dash of bad luck into brewery magic.

Kelsey McNair turned his West Coast IPA from one of the most-awarded homebrew recipes to a gold medal–winning commercial beer. At the helm of San Diego’s North Park Beer, he’s not done showing off his hoppy tricks.

In upstate New York, Steve Parker and his team at Fidens Brewing are making the kinds of juicy IPAs that got them excited about beer and inspired Parker’s intense study of brewing. Now, people come from afar to buy Fidens beers—and the learning continues.

These former homebrewers brought their talents from Venezuela to Miami, sharing a family-like conviviality while steadily dialing in their vibrant fruit beers and refreshing lagers.

BKS has won national acclaim for its supple IPAs and gained ardent local fans for its classic ale styles and—now—for its lagers. Undazzled, the Rooneys say they are determined to grow slowly, keep a laser focus on quality, and continue to make beer in their own careful way.

In the Seattle suburb of Woodinville, the people behind Métier Brewing believe that great beer is a bridge to more equitable, connected communities. This year, they’re taking that mission to the masses.

Nailing styles as diverse as altbier, fruited sour IPA, and saison, Roaring Table is turning a suburban Illinois strip mall into a destination.

Whether it’s pinpoint pilsners, lush, juicy IPAs, or big, balanced stouts, the upstarts at family-run Alma Mader in Kansas City have something that just about any kind of drinker can love.

South Carolina’s Birds Fly South is introducing new, more approachable beers while going from strength to strength on their mixed-fermentation and farmhouse-inspired ales. As it turns out, IPA and saison have a lot to learn from each other.

Toronto’s Godspeed Brewery is a reflection of founder-brewer Luc Lafontaine’s life and obsessions, from reverently brewed traditional lagers to IPAs and goses that showcase unusual Japanese ingredients.

Incremental improvements are paying off big for Seattle’s Burke-Gilman. Fresh off Alpha King and Great American Beer Festival gold medals for their double IPAs, the team aims to push their whole range to the next level.

At Seattle’s Floodland Brewing, Adam Paysse pursues a singular vision: to make beers that reflect his preferences and ideals. Turns out, a lot of other people dig them, too.

At Wolf’s Ridge in Columbus, Ohio, head brewer Chris Davison leads a flavor-forward beer program with roots in experimental homebrewing and a growing pile of accolades.

Evan Price, cofounder and head brewer at Green Cheek, is winning medals and brewing the kinds of IPAs he enjoys most, applying a skill set that he’s picked up the hard way.

With freshly minted GABF gold for Spellbinder IPA, Phoenix’s Wren House hopes its new production facility can finally keep up with demand for its hazies and barrel-aged knockouts.

Tulsa’s American Solera began with a serious devotion to coolships and mixed fermentation. It has since leaned with abandon into hazy IPAs, big adjunct stouts, fruited foeder lagers, and ... pumpkin seltzer?

With dogged attention to detail, Halfway Crooks in Atlanta are surviving and thriving by playing the long game: “You have a beer at night and then wake up the next morning and go full force again.”

Like the punk-rock pioneers who inspire them, Burning Beard rejects standard operating procedure and embraces a unique set of values that have helped to set them apart from the crowded San Diego beer scene.