Jamie Bogner

Writers and critics Stan Hieronymus, Kate Bernot, Alex Kidd, Samer Khudairi, and Joe Stange share their favorite beers and noted trends from the past year.

You have spoken! And so have we. In this once-a-year special episode, Joe Stange and Jamie Bogner share Craft Beer & Brewing’s Best 20 Beers in 2021 and the results of the annual reader survey.

Amid the ups and downs and gradual, stutter-step return to social life, we experienced some transcendent beers—beers that shone, beers that enlightened, beers that made us stop and remember what it’s all about. Here are the pinnacles of the craft.

In Longmont, Colorado, this small passion project devoted solely to spontaneously fermented beers trusts in data and science to better understand and guide their fermentation, aging, and blending.

From the rolling hills of Kansas, Central Standard has embarked on an ambitious program to explore everything from mixed-culture grisette to Norwegian-inspired farmhouse ales, including a range of styles brewed with kveik.

This Northwest Arkansas brewery strives for a threefold balance, focusing on agreeable beer for those new to craft as well as distinct character and technical function.

Beale Street Brewing in Memphis has a focus on culinary- and cocktail-inspired beers that evoke poignant flavor memories while connecting with drinkers through the city’s rich musical and cultural history.

In rural southern Illinois, Scratch may be America’s most compelling example of farmhouse brewing. In this episode, the cofounders explain their methods for adding natural, foraged ingredients, as well as the work-intensive process of wood-fired brewing.

Simultaneously pursuing great lagers alongside a two-pronged approach to hazy IPA—with both sweeter and drier iterations—has established this Kansas City brewery as a creative force in the Midwest.

The cofounder and brewer for the suburban Chicago powerhouse of progressive styles makes coveted beers with a workmanlike, no-nonsense approach.