Brewer's Perspective

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.

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.

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.

Looking to brew a beer with haze that’s ready to commit to the long-term? We asked Zach Coleman, head brewer and co-owner at TRVE in Denver and Asheville, for some clarity on haze stability, and he turned to fellow pros for their best advice.

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.

Kelly Montgomery of Third Eye Brewing won four straight GABF gold medals for milk stout—and he did it at two different breweries, using two different recipes. We sent David Nilsen to get the insights on how.

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.

Coffee and fruit flavors complement each other beautifully, yet we rarely see them unite in beer. One brewery leaning into that marriage is Urban South in New Orleans. Here, head brewer Alex Flores explains the method behind their Drip au Lait series.

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.

Like many Polish breweries, Browar PINTA embraces its country’s signature beer style—Baltic porter—with high-gravity gusto, going for hefty body and deep malt flavor. Lately, they’ve added a new dimension to these ponderous beasts: expressive dry hops.

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.