Jeff Alworth
Style School: Authentically American WheatBy Jeff AlworthBased more on an ingredient than an existing tradition, American wheat is arguably the United States’ first truly native modern beer style. Refreshing and easygoing, attractive and flavorful, it arrived just in time to help American craft beer grow.
Grodziskie: Polish Champagne Pours AgainBy Jeff AlworthAll but extinct before Polish homebrewers revived it, grodziskie is now more than a decade into its second life. Here are the elements that come together to make this smoky yet delicate style so beguiling.
Mixed-Culture Saison Is the Brewer’s HandshakeBy Jeff AlworthInspired by Wallonian farmhouse brewing yet distinct from classic saison, today’s modern, funky, mixed-culture creations—whatever you call them—enjoy a refined niche.
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.