Pick Six

In St. Petersburg, Florida, Green Bench produces a wide range of styles, but the beers that have most influenced cofounder and brewer Khristopher Johnson are those that showcase a particular blend of localized expression, integrated process, and disciplined focus. As told to Jamie Bogner.

While there are plenty of classics that have influenced the brewing journey of Pinthouse Brewing cofounder, brewmaster, and hop savant Joe Mohrfeld, it’s the beers of his friends and peers that continue to shape his approach in an immediate and constant way—and those are the beers he’s packed into his chosen sixer.

Ashleigh Carter, cofounder of Denver’s Bierstadt Lagerhaus, focuses solely on lager in her own brewing, and she’s drawn to those with similarly singular approaches. Her chosen six-pack honors intentional commitment to a style, to a single beer, to presentation, and to experience.

Seattle’s Floodland Brewing may be hyper-focused on saison, but its founder’s broad love of beer inspired this collection of favorites that span modern interpretations of lager, pale ale, cask ale, and—of course—saison.

The brewmaster at Cleveland’s Fat Head’s—best known for their award-winning IPAs—shares a six-pack inspired by German and Belgian brewing traditions, with beers that speak to flavor, technique, and the experiences that have shaped his own approach to brewing.

The accomplished brewer and president of the National Black Brewers Association shares his curated six-pack—and it’s the lineup of a geek who’d queue for special releases, get together with buddies to share hard-to-get bottles, and seek out beers of exquisite quality and flavor.

North Park founder Kelsey McNair has become one of the country’s most influential brewers, thanks to his process-oriented approach to saturating beer with hop flavors. Here, he goes back in time to reach for six IPAs that still inform how he brews them today.

From enchanting drinking experiences to inspirational breweries, Josh Pfriem, cofounder and brewmaster at pFriem Family Brewers, takes us on a rollicking tour through Bavaria, California, New England, and Belgium for his selected six-pack.

Sam Calagione, founder of Dogfish Head in Milton, Delaware, focuses on beers that stand out in his memory for their flavors, for their times and their places, and for the people with whom he enjoyed them.

From New Year’s Eve to breakfast to making new best friends, New Belgium’s Lauren Woods Limbach guides us through six beloved beers that represent excellence as well as those moments that remind you what it’s all about.

This longtime luminary of the San Diego scene reaches for foundational beers that inspire his approach to the classics while also evoking a time when the industry was smaller and more tightly knit.

Jess and Doug Reiser, cofounders of Asheville’s Burial Beer, share a thoughtful six that have inspired their own personal journeys and shaped the beers that they now produce.

As Mike Saboe was embracing craft beer and homebrewing in the early ’00s, he sought far and wide for inspiration. Looking back now, as brewmaster at Toppling Goliath, he recounts six beers that had an outsized influence on his approach to everything from hop-forward beers to burly barrel-aged stouts.

One of the most accomplished brewmasters in America and founder of the Pink Boots Society, dedicated to supporting women in the beer industry, Teri Fahrendorf shares six beers and memories from a career of defying expectations. Although recently retired from brewing, she’s not done with Pink Boots or with continuing to leave her mark on beer.

For their six-pack, J.C. and Esther Tetreault of Trillium select some firmly hoppy beers that reflect memories and collective experiences as well as shared approaches to brewing and hospitality.

The highly respected brewmaster from Wisconsin’s New Glarus guides us through six monumental beers that always lead to disappointment—because, inevitably, your glass is empty too soon.

Beyond his in-house emphasis on barrel-aging, Kyle Harrop takes traveling and collaborating to new heights, tag-teaming on a variety of projects with fellow brewers across the country. His selected sixer speaks to his deep beer-geek roots, his love for seeking out obscurities, and his great appreciation for technical proficiency.

This six-pack from Heater Allen’s Lisa Allen is filled with formative beers that she’s stuck with through the years as well as inspirational lagers connected to specific beer-hall memories that have influenced the way she brews today.

Before her @ratmagnet Instagram stories and the industry reckoning that followed, Brienne Allan was, and remains, very much a brewer. Her chosen six-pack—all lagers, all decocted—are all beers that have played pivotal roles in her professional journey.

For Chris Lohring, founder of Notch Brewing in Massachusetts, there is real beauty to be found in beers that follow known traditions while offering character that makes them uniquely loveable.