It wasn’t intentional, necessarily, but as Brienne Allan looked back at this six-pack of beers, there was a common thread.
“There definitely is a theme,” she says. “I believe all of these beers involve a cereal cooker and/or a decoction mash. And they’re all incredibly balanced, which is what I look for in beers that I drink.”
Formerly the head of production at Notch Brewing in Salem, Massachusetts, Allan’s passion for the deepest corners of lager brewing continues to drive her. (Her next project: Launching lager-focused Sacred Profane Brewing later this year in Biddeford, Maine.) She is drawn to beers that require effort, attention to detail, and a fine-grained understanding of the brewing process. The challenges involved with brewing exceptional lagers thus offer the perfect allure, and these six showcase their inherent breadth and possibility.