Rather than run away from crystal malt, Kyle Harrop of Horus Aged Ales in Oceanside, California, embraces it fully with this deviant barleywine-strength ale.
Barleywines and wheatwines explore the boldest flavor frontiers of their respective grains. Now, daring brewers are applying that maximalist approach to wine-strength beers brewed with millet, rye-wheat hybrids, smoked malts, and more.
At San Francisco’s Bartlett Hall brewpub, head brewer Nick Mamere has built an award-winning program that includes this porter—winner of GABF silver in 2019, gold in 2022, and one of our Best 20 Beers in 2023.
While the recipe is big for a Czech pale lager—it’s really 14°P rather than the typical 12°—it drinks well below its strength and makes a bright showcase for that floor malt and ample Saaz hops.
The von Trapp family history is well known thanks to the prominence of a certain Disney film, but their dogged approach to brewing lager, just down the hill from the family lodge in Stowe, Vermont, has earned them fans throughout the region and beyond.
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.
Toby McKenzie, owner and brewer at RedWillow Brewery in Macclesfield, Cheshire, England, shares this beefed-up version of their Heritage Porter, inspired by 19th-century recipes. Its layered malt bill gets added complexity from malt made from Chevallier, a landrace barley variety.
With Great Notion’s flavored stouts, it’s “go big, or go home.” Lead brewer Lara Hargrave explains their approach to building decadent, dessert-inspired recipes from base to adjuncts.
In the noble quest for variety and character, British maltsters and brewers have been resurrecting and experimenting with previously vanished yet intensely flavorful heritage barley malts—and they are increasingly available to brewers everywhere.
Crisp, dry, herbal-bitter, and clean, this is a lager you’ll want to have on tap all year long—but especially as the weather starts to warm.