Recent Articles

Behind the brews with Big Grove Brewery and Chafunkta Brewing Co.

Has craft beer reached its apex? We’re confident that the answer is an emphatic No! Many people have yet to find a beer that they feel was made for them. Hop varieties abound; however, a broader array of hop profiles (both in flavor and structure) will help brewers reach these untapped consumers.

Give those barrels plenty of time before tasting, says New Image founder Brandon Capps, and be open to new possibilities when tasting different components for blending.

One of the world’s most respected brewers of dry, rustic farmhouse ales, Daniel Thiriez of Brasserie Thiriez, shares the story of his brewery, his yeast, and their place in the small northern French town of Esquelbecq. As told to Ryan Pachmayer.

Fermented with Thiriez’s house saison yeast, this ambrée has a complex, malt-forward flavor with aromas of citrus peel, hazelnut, caramel, and gingerbread.

For years, Notch Brewing in Salem and Brighton, Massachusetts, has been spreading the lager gospel through refined yet characterful iterations of Czech- and German-inspired beers. His challenge to American brewers who want to follow that path: Ditch the 34/70, rethink your mash and fermentation schedules, decoct with intention, and embrace concise flavor over “crispness.”

From planning to decision-making to quality and innovation to building a network, here are some useful strategies for building and sustaining a profitable brewery in the ever-changing craft-beer industry.

When it’s time to pull nails and evaluate components for blending, New Image’s Brandon Capps recommends including tasters who are less familiar with the style, while also ensuring that tasting happens blindly and individually.

Looking for something fresh to give your beers an edge? Check out these new yeasts, hops, and flavor extracts.

How much time you got? Time enough, maybe, to consider Sweden’s exceedingly rare, little-known hundred-year beer—a solera-method manorial ale that can keep going for as long as you’re dedicated to the care and feeding of the family barrel.

From Sandy Valley Brewing in Hillsboro, Missouri, Mariposa is a softly textured yet vibrant raspberry ale that gets thoughtful additions of Tanzanian honey, Tanzanian vanilla, cacao nibs, and cacao husks, as well as added fruity oomph from Omega’s Cosmic Punch yeast. It’s also a beer with a personal back story.

This fresh and peachy poke bowl gets a quick splash of classic saison or mixed-culture farmhouse ale—and it’ll taste great alongside the rest of it, too.

The brewery that got its start as a mobile draft trailer and beer bus has now won back-to-back small Brewery of the Year honors at the Great American Beer Festival—but the Quinlan brothers won’t tell you there’s anything special to their winning ways.

In the ring of brewing anarchy, be in the know, armed with the knowledge of which cleaners work and why they work—because in this fight, ignorance is the first-round knockout.

Brandon Capps, founder of Colorado’s New Image Brewing, explains how adding different types of new wood to barrel-aged barleywines can add depth and freshen their flavors before packaging.

Dubbed a “pumpernickel stout” by Atlas Brew Works in Washington, D.C., this 2023 World Beer Cup gold medal winner gets a portion of rye malt and the flavorful addition of blackstrap molasses.

At last year’s World Beer Cup, the team at Atlas Brew Works brought a gold medal home to the nation’s capital with Silent Neighbor—a “pumpernickel stout” brewed with rye and blackstrap molasses. Here’s how they put it together.

From our Love Handles files on the world’s great beer bars: In the characterful Trúc Bạch neighborhood of Vietnam’s capital, Standing Bar is an ideal spot to relax and get a taste of the country’s independent brewing scene.

Jan Chodkowski, head brewer and co-owner of Denver’s Our Mutual Friend, highlights the challenges and rewards of mashing, brewing, and drinking their all-wheat grodziskie.

Beer as a whole may be navigating rough seas in 2024, but New Belgium has found a map to growth with flavor-forward hazy IPAs in their Voodoo Ranger family. In this episode, lead R&D brewer Kelly McKnight sheds light on the team and process behind these industry-changing beers.