Spice

From head brewer Éloi Deit and his team at Brasserie Dunham in Dunham, Quebec, this saison recipe features the catkins of the green alder—also known as dune pepper.

Bubbling up through Québécois gastronomy and into the brite tanks of craft brewers, this foraged spice is gaining wider fame and winning fans—and it grows freely across much of Canada and the northern United States.

Some beers win so many medals that they become institutions—and with three World Beer Cup gold medals in five years, COVA’s Aloha State of Mind is making its claim. Brewmaster Matt Topping shares his secrets.

From Dan Wye, head of the Origins project at Fyne Ales in Cairndow, Scotland, here’s a recipe from one of his mixed-culture wine chimeras—containing no grapes, but with flavors inspired by sauvignon blanc wine from France’s Loire Valley.

With conjecture based on archaeological findings, here’s a recipe for a mixed grog—in this case, an ale that includes herbs, honey, and fruit—of the sort that well-to-do, Bronze Age Danes might have enjoyed on special occasions and then (literally) taken to their graves.

From Chicago’s Burning Bush Brewery, this amber ale includes two types of basil grown right there on their patio next to the Chicago River.

Beer and pizza are fast friends, as everyone knows. But how well do “pizza leaves” work in beer? Let’s find out.

From Scratch in Ava, Illinois, this saison recipe features 131 ingredients, all told—their use informed by deep expertise in what to forage, what to grow, and how the different components can safely be used to contribute worthwhile flavors to beer.

Scratch in Ava, Illinois, has won a national reputation for its combination of foraging and flavor finesse. Here’s how the brewery’s duo ended up putting 131 different botanical ingredients into one (very tasty) beer.

This rich amber ale, featuring layers of roasted orange spice mingling with hops, is a vamp on the English winter warmers that are stronger, darker, and toastier than pale ales or bitters.

Looking for some new creative avenues to explore, or want to try something special for your next holiday seasonal? Randy Mosher shares some insights into why botanicals have always been important to beer—plus, strategies to help you use them successfully, today.

Featuring dried shrimp, salted crabs, fish sauce, fresh lime juice, tamarind paste, tomatoes, peanuts, and bird’s eye chiles, this one’s not for vegetarians... or anyone with a peanut allergy... or a shellfish allergy... or anyone who doesn’t like “spicy.” But that’s Thai food for you.

This fresh, vibrant, spicy Thai dish is a powerhouse of flavor, from its lime-driven acidity to its fiery chiles, crunchy peanuts, and briny little sea creatures. Should you put it in beer? Yes, obviously, you cowards.

From owner and head brewer Rich Nuñez at Radicle Effect Brewerks in Rock Island, Illinois, here’s a homebrew-scale recipe for the local cult favorite they release only twice per year—four kegs, and it’s done.

Roast us for it, if you must, but we won’t mince words: Garlic beer could be a breath of fresh air.

Writer David Jesudason and brewer Nidhi Sharma share this homebrew-scale recipe based on an Indian-spiced pale ale they brewed together at London’s Meantime. It features “luminescent” turmeric as well as coriander, bay leaves, and black pepper.

This plant from the ginger family can add subtle spice to your beer—or turn it so gold that it could have been brewed at Springfield Nuclear Power Plant.

From layering malts to selecting and infusing adjuncts, Third Eye co-owner and head brewer Kelly Montgomery lays out their medal-winning approach to planning and brewing rich, flavorful stouts.

The recipe for this globe-spanning collab—a ginger-laced hefeweizen with influences from Brazil, Germany, Japan, and the United States—comes from Freigeist’s Sebastian Sauer and his friends at Japas Cervejaria in São Paulo.

Gorilla Brewing in Busan, South Korea, shares this recipe for a tart and spicy celebration of a cherished local staple.