There are so many versions, varieties, and approaches here that it would be arrogant to claim this will be your best American IPA—but it’s a very, very good one that’s held up well to the test of time.
The style parameters here are actually pretty simple: high bitterness, intense hop aroma and flavor, and just enough malt character to provide some background.
Give this one some time. After about three months, you’ll find that the malt and hops are so perfectly integrated that you’ll want to just sit and smell this beer for a while.
With this relatively obscure historical style, you can think of it as a fresher, drier, slightly lighter version of a clean bière de garde—or you can go for a more lambic-inspired version, bringing in some mixed cultures to have a say.
Mild wasn’t always dark, smooth, and low in strength, but that modern incarnation is one well worth brewing and appreciating. Rich in flavor yet drinkable in quantity, mild is a tradition waiting for its next evolution.
Dry and lively with earthy-herbal hop flavors, saison should be refreshing, with any spicy character better driven by yeast and hops than by actual spices.
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.
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.
Kentucky common is a smooth, drinkable, light-amber hybrid that’s closer to Kölsch, cream ale, and California common than it is to Jack Daniels.
At last year’s World Beer Cup, the team at Atlas Brew Works brought a gold medal home to the nation’s capital with Silent Neighbor—a “pumpernickel stout” brewed with rye and blackstrap molasses. Here’s how they put it together.