Classic Styles

Easy to drink and simple to brew yet complex in flavor, American brown ales reward the newcomer as well as the old hand.

Few experiences in brewing are more rewarding—or make for better practice—than bringing some undersung, underloved, old-fashioned beer styles to life in your own brewhouse. Josh Weikert makes the case for learning, drinking, and brewing the canon.

Study the classics, and use the best ingredients and equipment you can. One secret to making great beer is knowing that others have done the hard work for us—from the brewers who came before us to the farmers who produce our raw materials.

As a serial entrant in major beer competitions, Brink Brewing in Cincinnati, Ohio, has been winning national medals with classic styles, turning them into local success.

Award-winning Root Down Brewing in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, is balancing reverence for the classics with excitement for evolving styles.