Traditional Beer

John Laffler, cofounder of Chicago’s Off Color Brewing, shares this recipe for their chicha-inspired ale brewed with purple corn and Schinus molle berries, aka pink peppercorns.

Based on input from Nattachai “Ob” Ungsriwong of the Devanom Brewing Company in Nonthaburi, Thailand, here’s a recipe for making your own sato—inspired by traditional methods, but with a few optional twists.

Featuring hot stones in the mash, juniper, bog myrtle, and some smoke, this strong farmhouse ale may resemble what the commoners of eastern Norway brewed to celebrate Yule during the Viking Age.

Adapted from a book of Ukrainian folk recipes, here’s one for a traditional homemade kvass made from rye bread, sugar, some raisins, and a slice of lemon.

Easier to brew than it is for many people to say—it takes a click of the tongue—this ancient sorghum beer is unlike any modern style we know. Thick, tart, and creamy, it’s deeply traditional—yet it’s also open to a brewer’s own creative twists.

This traditional, spontaneously fermented sorghum beer is like nothing else you’ve ever tasted—thick, tangy, rustic, and meant for drinking within a few days.

From sourcing old-fashioned ingredients to aiming for authentic flavor, Our Mutual Friend head brewer Jan Chodkowski outlines an approach to brewing historically inspired beers in a modern craft brewery.

Jan Chodkowski, head brewer and co-owner of Denver’s Our Mutual Friend, outlines his approach to brewing historically inspired, highly drinkable, smoke-forward beers.

Unlike many other farmhouse brewing traditions, sahti is relatively well known and widely produced in its homeland. In the wider beer world, however, it’s frequently misunderstood.

The owners and brewers of a small craft brewery in Visby, on the Swedish island home of gotlandsdricke, share their view on brewing their local farmhouse style—and why they do it the way they do.

In collaboration with the Colorado Farm Brewery, Denver’s Our Mutual Friend produces this strong, dark, heavily smoky Stjørdal-inspired ale once each winter.

From remote Setesdal, Norway, this recipe comes from a special series of beers dedicated to honoring different kveik cultures and the farms and traditions from whence they come.

The Oslo-based author and researcher of heirloom yeasts and traditional brewing techniques talks about game-changing kveik, lost farmhouse beer styles, and more.

We often drink beers out of context, not thinking about their stories, backgrounds, or what dishes might be best enjoyed with them. As Greg Engert explains, knowing that context and explaining it can increase our enjoyment when beer and food come together.

As historical beers go, this is an odd one: an Austrian beer once described by Mozart (maybe), with a grist of 100 percent malted oats, and cream of tartar to lend a refreshing acidic touch.