Brewer's Perspective

The wider world has known about sahti for a few decades now, but many attempts to brew it have little to do with the real thing. For those who want to make something much closer to the Finnish farmhouse tradition, Mika Laitinen explains the basics.

From remote Setesdal, Norway, Torkjel Austad launched his Bygland Bryggeri so that more drinkers could experience those hard-to-find traditional farmhouse ales. Here, he explains how it happened—and shares practical tips for brewing your own.

In rural Flemish Brabant, Antidoot Wilde Fermenten’s house mixed culture includes various wild yeasts they have captured over the years. Here, Tom Jacobs offers tips for success in wrangling your own local strains.

Michael Kane, founder of Kane Brewing, explains their patient and intentional approach to barrel-aging imperial stouts, including the award-winning A Night to End All Dawns—from selecting barrels to tasting and finishing.

Josh Pfriem, brewmaster and cofounder of pFriem Family Brewers in Hood River, Oregon, breaks down their approach to Kölsch-Style Ale—an exercise in precision and a gold-medal winner at last year’s Great American Beer Festival.

Rocket Frog Brewing in Sterling, Virginia, has taken home two Great American Beer Festival medals in the past three years for its flagship brown ale, Wallops Island. Head brewer Russell Carpenter takes us up to the brew deck and walks us through it.

Remember malt? Imperial red ale does. Brian Seffer, head brewer at Claremont Craft Ales in Claremont, California, explains the philosophy behind Happy Days, the 9.5 percent ABV red ale that brought home GABF gold in 2018—then did it again in 2020.

Patience! Trevor Rogers, cofounder of de Garde Brewing in Tillamook, Oregon, muses on the unique expression and slow work of spontaneous fermentation.

MadeWest Brewing in Ventura, California, won GABF gold in 2018 and silver in 2019 for its flagship blonde ale, Standard. Mike Morrison, cofounder and head brewer, sketches out its origins and lays out the schematics of this extraordinary ordinary beer.

Jean Van Roy, head brewer at Brasserie Cantillon in Brussels and heir to a 120-year-old lambic-brewing legacy, discusses his emotional approach and connection to spontaneously fermented beer—and his view on the new wave inspired by traditional methods.

For advice on brewing a great doppelbock, we turned to an experienced Bavarian brewer: Florian Kuplent, cofounder and brewmaster of Urban Chestnut in St. Louis and the Hallertau.

Here is Adam Robbings of Reuben’s Brews on the key elements of brewing great, high-gravity, hazy IPAs. Surprise: It doesn’t start with the hops.

Steve Holle, founder and managing partner of the KC Bier Company in Kansas City, Missouri, describes their deliberate, details-oriented approach to brewing traditional German-style lagers.

“We think pilsners can be as different from each other as the four or five IPAs we have on tap,” says Kurt Smith, cofounder and head brewer at Smith & Lentz Brewing in Nashville, Tennessee.

It all started with Tipopils... Matt Brynildson, brewmaster of Firestone Walker, talks about the beer that sparked his Pivo—as well as a growing number of Italian-inspired pilsners—and the core elements of this burgeoning sub-style.

Brian Hink, the innovation director at Cape May Brewing in Cape May, New Jersey, weighs in on the diversity and importance of nitrogenation when it comes to stouts and other styles.

One recent trend in the long evolution of stout is the addition of unconventional fruit to finished beer. In El Segundo, California, Three Chiefs has released several tropical-fruited stouts to great acclaim. Here, Head Brewer Charles Rapadas gets bananas.

Matthew O’Hara, brewmaster at Beau’s Brewing in Ontario, Canada, talks about how the stout—once associated with colder drinking months and St. Patrick’s Day—is now a year-round affair. (It's still nice in winter though.)

Peter Kiley, Brewmaster of Monday Night Brewing in Atlanta, has a lot of opinions when it comes to milkshake IPAs. Since the style is so loosely defined, he enjoys the freedom to get creative.