Finally, after years of watching brewers chase IBUs, shop for adjuncts in bakeries, and develop new techniques to balance drinkability with murk, there is an observable trend I can get behind. More of a return to a form once scorned, the “crispy boi” is the best thing to happen to American craft beer since Ken Grossman’s Pale Ale.
I don’t like that meme-ified name any more than you, but it’s a necessary evil. We need to call it something. The crispy boi is here to stay, and thank Dionysus and Ninkasi and Siduri and all the other goddesses and gods of brewing for that. I may not love the modern term-of-art, but I have a deep reverence for the crisp, clean, and—if you’ll excuse more cringy slang—crushable lager beer.
Many brewers clearly share that reverence, and these easygoing lagers arguably have been a brewer-driven trend. Greater attention to them—and to elevating crispness itself—has led to some different processes and kit in the typical American craft brewery. As always, it’s worthwhile to think about the sensory goal.