Jeff Alworth
Style School: Classic Saison Is Something You FeelBy Jeff AlworthWhile modern brewers continue to push the creative envelope with their evolving takes on farmhouse beers, there is nothing quite like the old-fashioned Wallonian ales that inspired them in the first place.
Style School: The Greenest Beer of AllBy Jeff AlworthThis style-spanning yearly celebration of the harvest is brewed in many ways and in many places—but the best place in the world to appreciate fresh-hopped beers is the Pacific Northwest.
California’s Uncommon: A Steamy Story from the Old WestBy Jeff AlworthA type of beer peculiar to American history has managed to survive, if not always thrive, as this New World style steams into its third century.
Cask Bitter, Refreshed for the 21st CenturyBy Jeff AlworthToday’s British brewers are melding traditional cask bitter with brighter, modern hopping for a crushable alchemy greater than the sum of its parts. Will the rest of us ever catch on?
Style School: The Hard-Earned Indulgence of Dessert StoutsBy Jeff AlworthFrom cocoa to coconuts via lactose and long boils, brewers are shaping today’s dessert stouts for easy appeal. Just don’t say they’re easy to make.
Style School: The Mysteries of PolotmavýBy Jeff AlworthIt’s Czech, it’s amber, and it’s a lager—but where did it come from? Nobody seems to know the origin story of polotmavý, or even whether it has one. Yet it’s here today, and the traditional Czech brewing process defines it every bit as much as that rich garnet color.
Brewing the American Black AleBy Jeff AlworthWhether you call it black IPA, Cascadian dark, or something else, this unholy union of hops and darkness enjoys a cult following that continues to watch the style evolve.
The Soul of WitBy Jeff AlworthOne of Belgium’s most broadly appealing styles is a reincarnation and a reinvention, inspired by a tradition that disappeared more than 60 years ago. Today it’s enjoyed around the world and ubiquitous in its home country—and in Maine.
Schwarzbier: The Enigmatic Dark LagerBy Jeff AlworthLike a social chameleon, Germany’s unusual black lager—easy-drinking yet richly flavored—seems to adapt to your needs depending on the weather or the season. Jeff Alworth looks closer at the style and its story.
The Reinvention of the American Amber AleBy Jeff AlworthA ruddy ’90s pint is reappearing with modernized flavors—and it has a lot to say about the evolution of American craft brewing.
Fruit Without Fear: Embracing Natural InoculationBy Jeff AlworthBorrowing a page from winemakers, some brewers are pitching freshly picked fruit instead of slurry, taking advantage of the natural yeast and bacteria on their skins—a process that requires a leap of faith and the best, ripest fruit you can find.
From Pub to Pastry: The Surprising Evolution of Porter and StoutBy Jeff AlworthAdjuncts and oak are nothing new to the world’s darkest beers, whose twists and turns over the past three centuries tell a story of constant—and ongoing—reinvention.