Pick 6

In this edition of Pick Six, Scratch Brewing cofounder Marika Josephson thoughtfully selects a sixer of beers that inspired and informed the creation of their rustic, forage-focused brewery in southern Illinois.

Sour beer may be the primary focus for Jay Goodwin, cofounder of The Rare Barrel, but—like most brewers—his taste isn’t limited to a single style. For his Pick 6, Jay pushes out of his brewing comfort zone to focus on a genre he loves: pilsner.

Anchorage Brewing founder Gabe Fletcher has built a national cult following by brewing niche styles with studious attention to detail. In this edition of Pick 6, his selections reflect thoughtful approaches that have influenced his own.

For Ben Edmunds of Breakside Brewery in Portland, Oregon, those early beer infatuations were strong and malty. For his dream six-pack, Edmunds reaches back into fond memories to select the ones that broadened his idea of what beer could be.

Matt Tarpey, cofounder and head brewer of The Veil, selects a foundational six-pack that combines early experiences with the classics and those he still reaches for today.

Since founding La Cumbre in Albuquerque in 2010, Jeff Erway has combined creativity with precision to earn six medals from GABF and four more from the World Beer Cup. Here, he names a six-pack of beers that have influenced his own journey.

Adair Paterno traded in a legal career for a life in beer. If you’re familiar with the beers they produce, it’s no surprise that her 6- pack is stacked with bright and expressive yet dry and drinkable beers with a distinctly Belgian lean.

Which beers stoked James Dugan and Andy Miller passion for brewing? The mad geniuses of Great Notion Brewing in Portland, Oregon like a mix of craft classics and cutting-edge favorites for their Pick Six.

Randy Mosher, the author, is also the creative force behind both Forbidden Root Brewery and 5 Rabbit Cervecería in Chicago. Here, here talks about beers he’s tasted over his career in beer that have helped form many of his memorable lessons.

Maine Beer Company has developed a reputation for expressively hoppy beers, so it’s no surprise that half of Cofounder Dan Kleban’s 6-pack is lupulin-focused. But his love for Belgian-style funk, flavor, and character fills out the rest.

For Lawson’s Finest Liquids Founder Sean Lawson, his 6-pack of favorite beers is always in flux. Changing based on location and what’s he’s drinking at the time, and this list is heavily influenced by the location of our interview in Nashville, Tennessee.

For Los Angeles Brewmaster Alexandra Nowell of Three Weavers Brewing Co, indelible impressions of taste, experience of place, and a thorough appreciation for the craft inform the picks for her desert-island six.

For his 6- (ahem 7-) pack, Tom Kehoe of Yards Brewing Company still finds inspiration from the beers that formed his early opinion of craft beer, but he also takes the time to explore new flavors and search for something that could become a new favorite.

For his 6-pack, Tyson Arp of Nebraska Brewing Company (Papillion, Nebraska) thought back to his days of homebrewing and beer discovery and picked beers that inspired him at an early stage in his career.

Trevor Rogers finds inspiration in Belgian gueuzes, Brett saisons, and beers that express a similarly fastidious approach to turning down the volume while boosting the dynamic range to explore the nuance and complexity that beer can offer.

We Asked Ska Brewing cofounder Dave Thibodeau to pick memorable, flavorful, and standout beers he’s encountered in a lifetime of beer drinking, we found he’s fond of the classics.

Jolly Pumpkin founder Ron Jeffries embraces the joy of discovery from unanticipated results. These six beers (plus a seventh of personal importance) embody that dichotomy of precision versus freedom and consistency versus whimsy.

“What Would Vinnie Drink?” His list is surprisingly devoid of the hoppy beers one might expect…

For Melvin Brewing Cofounder Jeremy Tofte, Belgian-style beers played a formative role in his early life, but you’ll find only one of them in his dream 6-pack that leans heavily toward IPAs and imperial stouts.

Phil Leinhart, brewmaster for Brewery Ommegang in Cooperstown, New York, loves a simple recipe produced with attention to detail.