Brew

Summer ends too soon, vacations are over too soon, fall seasonals hit the shelves too soon—all reminders that while it may feel too soon to drink a pumpkin beer, it’s just the right time to brew one.

Tonya Cornett and Ian Larkin have been brewing medal-winning beers together, apart, and together again through three different breweries, but they’re constantly reinventing their pathways to success, just as they’re consistently tweaking their medal-winning beers.

Most professional craft brewers get their start as homebrewers, often with simple extract-based kits. Pinter’s mission to make that process easier—and the beer better—is helping a new generation of future brewers connect with the art and craft of making.

A collaborative experiment between South African brewers led to a super-hefty barleywine of 17.5 percent ABV, via an unusual boiling process measured in days rather than hours.

From helpfully updated software to usefully colored malts, here are a few recent recs from our editorial team.

From ZwanzigZ Pizza & Brewing in Columbus, Indiana, the Fulcrum imperial stout twice won gold medals at the World Beer Cup, in 2022 and 2025. Here, brewmaster Mike Rybinski shares the beer’s inspirations and what makes it stand out from the modern crowd. As told to Ryan Pachmayer.

Cold showers are trendy, and cold plunges are so hot right now—but craft breweries were taking advantage of cold water before it was, well, cool. Here’s a closer look at one of the most undersung pieces of brewhouse equipment—the CLT—as well as other ways to knock out and chill.

Meant to represent the kind of pale lagers that were brewed by the likes of John Wagner, who brewed the first lager in the United States, this is kind of like German or Czech Pilsner but includes some local variability and flair.

In England’s East Midlands, the brewing trailblazer Thornbridge has rescued and is continuing to use a vital piece of British brewing heritage—an original Burton Union system. More than just a museum piece, the technology lends a suppleness to the ales that course through it.

In the never-ending quest for quality, brewers turn to specialized instruments to build a better understanding of their raw materials, their processes, and their beer.

Before investing in equipment, ask these four critical questions to ensure your brewery is set up for long-term growth, flexibility, and success.

In Scotland, Dan Wye of Fyne Ales is creating mixed-culture beers designed to mimic the flavor and texture of wine. By using foraged fruit, flowers, and herbs in his blends, he’s attempting to define a new style.

From beer-barreled whiskey to brewery hikes and your new favorite player in the transfer portal, here are a few things we’re stoked on, now.

Every brewer should have a house beer they use to get better—the one you could brew in your sleep to fine-tune your process, get to know your ingredients intimately, and dial in flavor and quality. For Annie Johnson, that beer is her throwback American amber ale.

It doesn’t take a bespoke lager brewery to bring the subtle complexities of decoction to craft lager—but it does take some ingenuity.

Northbound Smokehouse & Brewpub founder and brewer Jamie Robinson shares tips on how to brew the kind of eisbock that can win a gold medal—as Northbound Eisbock has done two years in a row at the Great American Beer Festival.

You voted, we tallied. Here are your favorite breweries, broken down into four categories by volume brewed.

The diversity of styles is one thing that makes craft beer great. Here are your favorite brewers in eight different craft-beer niches. The 2024 rank is noted in parentheses.

Infusing beer with fruit and other flavors between the tap and the glass isn’t just a relic of a time when craft beer was less mainstream—and, often, more fun. It’s also something you can do at home, today. Ready to get acquainted?

From the angel’s share to dilution, River North founder Matt Hess lays out some key considerations to keep in mind when you’re planning to age your beers in spirits barrels.