Courtney Iseman

Courtney Iseman


Gut Check: Gauging the Potential of Probiotic Beer

Functional beverages—those that claim a positive effect, usually health-related—are booming. It’s a challenging area for beer, legally and scientifically, but could gut-friendly, probiotic beers win people over?

Critic’s List: Courtney Iseman’s Best in 2023

The New York City–based writer, tarot enthusiast, author of the Hugging the Bar newsletter, and noted metalhead shares her beery high points from the past year.

Balance & Danger: Brewing Heavyweight IPAs

Whether aiming for soft and hazy or lean and bitter, successful brewers rely on some bedrock strategies for building higher-strength IPAs with sneaky drinkability.

Brooklyn’s BierWax Gives Beer a Great Soundtrack

From our Love Handles files on beer bars we love: This community-minded, audiophile bar stacks the walls with vinyl and the taps with quality.

The Cider World Is Hopping

One of beer’s signature ingredients is adding interest and depth to one of the world’s great fermented drinks. Here’s how and why some cidermakers are embracing hops.

Meet Makgeolli

In Korea, a new generation has revived a folk drink made from rice and mixed-culture fermentation. Now, two small-batch producers are making makgeolli on American shores, celebrating their heritage while introducing many more to its depth of flavors.

Critic’s List: Courtney Iseman’s Best in 2022

New York City–based writer Courtney Iseman, a Craft Beer & Brewing contributor and author of the newsletter Hugging the Bar, shares her highlights from the past year.

Pushing Hop Flavor to Its Outer Limits

Brewers are experimenting with a variety of ways, old and new, to squeeze even more aroma and flavor from their hops and cram it into their beers. But how much hop saturation is too much for drinkers?