Expert interviews, brewing insights, and industry trends.
Whether or not fruit-smoothie sours are your thing, there’s no denying that Indiana’s 450 North has carved out a reputation for making great ones that tend to be highly sought by beer traders. Sales director (and recipe writer) Stephen Boardman shares their approach to these playful crowd-pleasers that appeal to a nostalgic sense of whimsy.
A federal ban on hemp-derived THC products will take effect in months unless this young, $30 billion industry can find a way forward. Christopher Lackner, meanwhile, is making the case for common-sense rules that build trust in a product that—if properly regulated and produced—is “no big deal.”
Khristopher Johnson of Green Bench, Bob Kunz of Highland Park, and Evan Price of Green Cheek share thoughts on building texture and body, controlling sulfur character, and maximizing hops in West Coast pils.
Andrew Foss of Human Robot, Matt Manthe of Dillon Dam, and Moh Saade of Fermentis discuss pathways to characterful lagers, both classic and modern, through workhorse 34/70 yeast and other strains.
In our annual Best in Beer 2025 critics’ roundtable episode, our editorial team goes beyond the unabashed popularity contest and thorough blind-judging process to share their own personal favorites of the year, connecting the dots to suss out the contours of craft beer’s today and possible tomorrows.
In this once-a-year episode, Jamie Bogner and Joe Stange share Craft Beer & Brewing’s Best 20 Beers in 2025, as selected by our judges and editorial team—plus, the results of our Readers’ Choice survey for best breweries, beer cities, bars, and more.
Table beer and mixed-culture beer only account for 2 percent of sales at the Establishment in Calgary, Alberta—but cofounder Mike Foniok says its takes up about half their floor space and half their time. That attention is paying off with awards at the highest level.
Recorded live at the Alberta Craft Brewing Convention in Red Deer, this panel discussion centers on the ways that creative brewers in the province use locally grown and malted grain to craft unique beers that tell relevant stories for their customers.
Founder Matt Storm and head brewer Stefano Annicchiarico share their approach to drinkable and (mostly) dry hazy IPA and hoppy pils, using an array of New Zealand hops and a healthy dose of the experimental U.S. variety they sponsored and named five years ago—Anchovy.
There’s a deceptive simplicity to cask ale, but for this Seattle brewer, the keys are great ingredients, close attention to the highly manual process, and conditioning for longevity in cask or can.
You can make medal-winning helles and modern West Coast hoppy beers many different ways, but for the head brewer of this suburban Seattle brewpub, there’s no rushing the mash and no substitute for time in fermentation and conditioning.
Years of iteration combined with several stints interning at a Franconian brewery helped hone Howe’s approach to flavorful, fulsome lager—and the counterintuitive methods rooted in an older style of German brewing contribute to a character that’s difficult to achieve any other way.
Can barley farming practices help mitigate the increased risk from climate chaos? And how can breweries articulate the value of regenerative practices in their beer? In this conversation with New Belgium and Bell's environmental program director Walker Modic, farmer and brewery owner Derek Heersink, and Proximity Malt commercial director Zach Gaines, we ponder the answers to those questions and more.
In this special episode, recorded out in the experimental hop fields of Perrault Farms, Russian River’s Vinnie Cilurzo and hop breeder and grower Jason Perrault tell the story of Simcoe—from the early days of breeding through its near disappearance to the current context, where it’s used in Pliny the Elder in modern flowable formats.
The eight World Beer Cup and GABF medals earned over their first four years of existence isn’t the first thing people mention when talking about Craft Coast—it’s the tacos. But whether they’re making Mexican-style lager, dark lager, XPA, West Coast IPA, or even hazy IPA, they won’t stop iterating and improving as they blend brewpub flexibility with production brewery rigor.
The head brewer of this Brooklyn craft beer innovator brings an iconoclastic approach to hoppy beer honed through years of brewing in Southern California.
Putting intention aside and embracing immediate inspiration is not a practice most associate with brewing, but at Long Island’s Noble Savage, the practice results in inspired hazy IPAs that make waves.
Brooklyn’s Kings County Brewers Collective, or KCBC, embraces the frenetic pace and ranging influences of life in the city that never sleeps. But the beer they brew continues to speak in its own voice, running alongside their New York peers rather than trying to chase them.
Running the bar at a Michelin-star restaurant in NYC instilled a spirit of constant exploration in the founder of this vibrant Brooklyn outpost. Now, innovation means everything from developing meaningful supply chains to approaching brewing like a jazz musician.
Breweries are using real taproom data to answer the question “what do people want to drink” and brew what sells. From tracking style velocity to spotting daypart trends, learn how these breweries translate point of sale insights into production plans that make sense for their business and their fans.
It may not be “beer,” per se—the beverages being produced by Connecticut’s Float House cannot legally be labeled as such. But one look at the packaging of their “THC IPA” tells you everything you need to know.
Just how much impact can malt make in märzen? Moontown’s contrasting approach with different malt sources for two of their top award-winners offers a glimpse into the flavor possibilities and the process tweaks that each require.
Whether he’s bittering with early-pick Columbus, dropping a hefty dose of CO2-extracted Simcoe at five minutes alongside T-90s, or knocking out onto flowable hop products, Shaun Kalis of Ruse has found that the key to long-lasting flavor and aroma in West Coast IPA is to include a little something old with a little something new.
As today’s drinkers become more health-conscious and watch both carbohydrate and caloric intake, it becomes more and more important for craft brewers to deliver compelling and flavorful beers that fall within these drinkers' parameters. This episode focuses on how leading brands address the market, and how brewers can use familiar brewing techniques and ingredients to make better low-cal and low-carb beers.