Features
The New Age of Lagers
by Jeff AlworthTrend spotting in the city of Portland, OR, is tricky business. The most enduringly popular beers, as they are up and down the Pacific coast, are hoppy ales. Breweries and bars make sure there are always several choices at hand for the legions of hop heads who have come to populate the left bank. But […]
Coming of Age
by Peter RoweOn a cool Saturday night nearly a year ago, a mixed group of wine and beer fans was invited to a gracious Craftsman-style home in San Diego’s tree-shaded Mission Hills neighborhood. The guests gathered around the dining room table, which was crowded with 750-mL bottles and pint glasses, all in 11 neat clusters. The hosts, […]
Best Beers for Collecting
by Patrick DawsonThinking about hosting your own vertical tasting? Here are 25 beers to consider collecting. Readily Available Rodenbach’s Grand Cru: Sweet and fruity initially, but dries out and becomes winelike with time. Stone Brewing Co.’s Double Bastard Ale: The annual malt-bomb offering is a steal at $8/bomber. While it may not get super complex, it transforms […]
Betting on Sake
At a small restaurant and brewery in Minneapolis, a line of taps behind the bar keeps patrons’ glasses filled with a variety of freshly fermented beverages, each named and described on the ever-evolving menu. The food here at Moto-I is Japanese, and the accompanying decor is rather typical of a sushi restaurant. It’s an unusually […]
All About Beer’s World Beer Festivals: Not Your Average Beer Fest
Experience this beer fest just once, and you’ll become a regular. With a mix of local, national, and international breweries, combined with educational seminars, and hearty local fare, All About Beer Magazine’s World Beer Festivals are among the country’s premiere beer events. Currently held in four cities—Cleveland, OH, Columbia, SC, Durham, NC, and Raleigh, NC—the […]
Stone Vertical Epic Tasting Notes
by Peter RoweEditor’s Note: The following tasting notes are from a 2013 vertical tasting of the Stone Vertical Epic series at the home of Tom and Susan Brown in San Diego. The Browns were joined by a few of their friends and Stone’s research and small batch director Steve Gonzalez. Read more about this tasting and the history […]
Columns
The Next Big Thing
I had my first tastes of beer as a child early on Saturday mornings. My grandfather—whom we all called Poopsie for some reason—was a prodigious beer drinker. And when I say prodigious, I mean he started drinking beer on Saturday mornings at around 7 o’clock. He’d wake up at 6, eat a big pile of […]
Industry Insights: Beer Bait
by Christopher ShepardChoosing a beer story to spend time with is getting as tough as choosing a beer, it seems. Fascination with beer isn’t new: Beer stories, often juicy, full of colorful characters and best served with a pint to match, have captured attention for generations because they often deliver. When I tell people I write about […]
Another 35 Years
byNearly 35 years ago this magazine began its journey chronicling the activity of the beer community. It began with a focus on imports, the first wave, then added the second wave, the brewing renaissance that encompassed the burgeoning craft movement, domestic and international. Now, in addition to those two powerful influences on beer culture, All […]
As Time Goes By
by John HollWe tend to mark milestones. Candles on a cake, a celebration with the flipping of a calendar page to the New Year, anniversaries of deaths and important events are all part of the general consciousness. There has been a shift here after Daniel Bradford’s sale of All About Beer Magazine and our World Beer Festivals […]
Departments
The Evolution of Dry Stout
Thanks to brewing giant Guinness, stout is one of the most far-reaching and recognizable types of beer in the world. The brewery’s global march began more than 200 years ago, and the influence and pervasiveness of dry stout is still vigorous, especially among the new wave of brewers. Though dry stout is synonymous with Ireland, […]
Brewing Sour
We have become rather smitten with sours in recent years, an affair that shows no sign of waning. The venerable examples are more attractive than ever, and brewers are embracing them passionately. This, in turn, has piqued great interest from homebrewers, who now have at hand the necessary design and ingredients. Brewing sours by traditional […]
Pull Up A Stool With Jaime Jurado
With a background in chemical engineering, Jaime Jurado has worked at large and small breweries, including The Lion Brewery, England’s Courage Brewing and Truman Hanbury & Buxton Ltd., Stroh Brewing Co., The Gambrinus Co. (comprising Trumer, Spoetzl and BridgePort breweries) and Susquehanna Brewing Co. He recently brought his three decades of technical brewing experience to […]
Falling in Love with Italian Beer
The Italian brewing industry has grown up. Ten years ago it was a boisterous infant, noisy and colorful in the beers it made, spices, herbs, fruit and vegetables chucked into the mix with willful abandonment. It was not all tantrums, though. Some of the beers, packaged in wine-sized bottles with prices to match, were calmer […]
48 Hours in Tampa Bay: Florida’s Biggest Beer Attraction
by Sean NordquistIn just a few short years, Florida—with Tampa Bay as the epicenter—has seen explosive growth and expansion in brewing, accompanied by exciting new restaurants, cultural events and a populace that is increasingly demanding local quality. Tampa Bay is generally considered the collective of Hillsborough County (which includes Tampa) and Pinellas County (St. Petersburg and Clearwater), […]
Feeding Frenzy: Avoiding Gimmicks in Culinary-Themed Beers
by Jeff CiolettiWe’ve all seen the T-shirt, Beer Is Food. A growing number of brewers have taken that sentiment to near-literal levels by concocting recipes strongly influenced by culinary creations, be they breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert or between-meal snacks. Of course, any time a brewery attempts a beer designed to evoke a certain edible, it walks a […]
Drinking Near European Christmas Markets
‘Tis the season for folks named Old St. Nick, Rudolph, Frosty and Jack Frost. Contrary to what some people say about Christmas being a way bigger event in America than it is in Europe—and while it’s true that you don’t see nearly as much commercialism splattered in each store aisle, painted on all shop windows […]
California Fights Back Against Keg Theft
by Heather VandenengelCalifornia keg thieves, you’re on watch. California Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a bill, sponsored by the California Craft Brewers Association, that makes it illegal to obliterate, mutilate or mark out a manufacturer’s name on metal kegs. It is already illegal to recycle kegs inscribed with the name of the manufacturer without its written consent, […]
18th-Century Campus Brewery Uncovered
by Heather VandenengelMany universities are offering brewing programs today, but a discovery at The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, VA, predates them all—by a few centuries. While working on widening a sidewalk outside the Wren Building, the oldest college building in America, 18th century remains of an on-campus brewery were unearthed. According to the Associated […]
Universities Archiving Beer’s Past and Present
by Heather VandenengelAs the American brewing industry surges forth, university archivists are hoping to record brewing history from pre-Prohibition to the modern age—and they want brewers’ and drinkers’ help. At Oregon State University in Corvallis, OR, the Oregon Hops and Brewing Archives (OHBA) has been seeking operational or administrative records from breweries, beer recipes, oral histories, photographs […]
Purified River Water Inspires Homebrew Contest
by Heather VandenengelA homebrew competition held in Hillsboro, OR, required brewers to use a unique ingredient in all of the beer: river water. In June, 1,000 gallons of water from the Tualatin River was purified for use as an ingredient in the Pure Water Brew competition, sponsored by the Oregon Brew Crew (a Portland, OR, homebrewing club), […]
FDA Revises Ruling on Spent Grain
by Heather VandenengelThe U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has relaxed packaging and disposal requirements of spent grains, allowing smaller brewers to continue donating or selling spent grain to farmers for animal feed. The previously proposed rule under the Food Safety Modernization Act required brewers to dry and package their spent grain, a byproduct of the brewing […]
Gilroy was Good for Guinness
Visit the gift shop at the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin and you’re likely to find all sorts of breweriana based on the great series of animal advertisements Guinness produced between 1934 and 1961. You’ve undoubtedly seen a lot of them: the toucan flying with two pints of Guinness on its beak, the ostrich with a […]
The Brewer’s Tale: A History of the World According to Beer
by Andy CrouchAt times channeling Ken Kesey, Bruce Chatwin and Charlie Papazian, William Bostwick, in his new book, The Brewer’s Tale: A History of the World According to Beer, intersperses a keen understanding of the nuances of modern craft beer culture with detailed historical narratives. Meticulously researched and often possessing fresh and unrecycled references, the book is […]
Beer Talk
Chateau Sour
Chateau Sour Redoak Boutique Beer Cafe Sydney, Australia Chateau Sour was named Supreme Champion at the 2014 International Beer Challenge in London. ABV: 5 ABW: 4 COLOR: NA BITTERNESS: NA ORIGINAL GRAVITY: NA AVAILABLE: AUSTRALIA
Guinness West Indies Porter
Guinness West Indies Porter Guinness Dublin, Ireland One of two recently launched porters from the Guinness Brewers Project in Dublin, West Indies Porter is based on an 1801 diary entry for the first Guinness purposely brewed to maintain its freshness on long seas voyages to the Caribbean and beyond. ABV: 6 ABW: 4.8 COLOR: 53 […]
Montezuma’s Chocolate Lager
Montezuma’s Chocolate Lager Hogs Back Brewery Tongham, Surrey, United Kingdom Hogs Back collaborated with Montezuma’s, a chocolate company, to create this lager. ABV: 4.5 ABW: 3.6 COLOR: NA BITTERNESS: NA ORIGINAL GRAVITY: NA AVAILABLE: UK
Evolver IPA
Evolver IPA The Wild Beer Co. Evercreech, Somerset, United Kingdom Evolver IPA is brewed with Chinook, Summit, Magnum, Herkules, Sorachi Ace and Centennial hops. It is fermented only with Brettanomyces. ABV: 5.8 ABW: 4.6 COLOR: 8 BITTERNESS: 77 ORIGINAL GRAVITY: NA AVAILABLE: UK
MacFannyBaw
MacFannyBaw Against the Grain Brewery Louisville, KY Aged in Angel’s Envy Bourbon barrels, this rauchbier features Munich malt as a base with copious amounts of beechwood and peat-smoked malt, as well as alderwood-smoked salt. ABV: 8.5 ABW: 6.8 COLOR: 10 BITTERNESS: 25 ORIGINAL GRAVITY: 1067 AVAILABLE: Denmark, KY, IL, IN, NY, UK
Here GOSE Nothin’
Here GOSE Nothin’ DESTIHL Brewery Bloomington, IL One of four beers from DESTIHL’s Wild Sour Series, Here GOSE Nothin’ is made with Munich malt, wheat, oats, Crystal hops, sea salt and coriander, and it is spontaneously fermented. ABV: 5 ABW: 4 COLOR: 6 BITTERNESS: 12 ORIGINAL GRAVITY: 1050 AVAILABLE: AZ, CO, FL, IA, IL, IN, […]
Blazing World
Blazing World Modern Times Beer San Diego Blazing World is brewed with two-row pale, Munich and Midnight Wheat malts and hopped with Nelson, Mosaic and Simcoe hops. ABV: 6.8 ABW: 5.4 COLOR: 9 Bitterness: 65 Original Gravity: 1067 AVAILABLE: CA
Freak of Nature Double IPA
Freak of Nature Double IPA Wicked Weed Brewing Asheville, NC Freak of Nature is dry hopped with 3.5 pounds of hops per barrel. ABV: 8.4 ABW: 6.7 COLOR: 6 BITTERNESS: NA ORIGINAL GRAVITY: 1073 AVAILABLE: NC
Mars
Mars Bell’s Brewery Galesburg, MI The first of seven limited releases in Bell’s Planet Series, Mars is a double IPA hopped with about 3.4 pounds of hops per barrel. ABV: 10.1 ABW: 8 COLOR: 19 BITTERNESS: 85 ORIGINAL GRAVITY: 1094 AVAILABLE: AL, AZ, CA, FL, DC, GA, IA, IL, IN, KY, MI, MN, MO, NC, […]
Forbidden Root
Forbidden Root Forbidden Root Chicago Forbidden Root is brewed with a generous addition of botanical ingredients including wintergreen, vanilla, cassia cinnamon, fennel, nutmeg, cardamom, black pepper, ginger, clove, star anise and more. ABV: 5.5 ABW: 4.3 COLOR: 27 BITTERNESS: 7 ORIGINAL GRAVITY: 1064 AVAILABLE: IL
Ebenezer Ale
Ebenezer Ale BridgePort Brewing Co. Portland, OR Ebenezer is a holiday ale brewed with caramel and chocolate malts and hopped with U.K. Goldings and Chinook hops. ABV: 6.4 ABW: 5 COLOR: 25 BITTERNESS: 35 ORIGINAL GRAVITY: 1065 AVAILABLE: AK, AZ, CA, CO, GA, ID, IL, KS, MO, MT, NC, NM, OK, OR, TN, TX, WA, […]
Oaked Wee Heavy
Oaked Wee Heavy Mad Fox Brewing Co. Falls Church, VA Oaked Wee Heavy is boiled for a minimum of three hours to intensify the malt character (English pale and crystal with a touch of roasted barley) and aged for more than six months in white oak barrels. ABV: 8.6 ABW: 6.8 COLOR: NA BITTERNESS: NA […]
Ojos Negros
Ojos Negros Rivertown Brewing Co. Lockland, OH Ojos Negros is a sour ale aged in red wine barrels for more than two years. In the first year, the beer ages with 40-45 pounds of blackberries in each barrel. ABV: 6.3 ABW: 5 COLOR: 7 BITTERNESS: 8 ORIGINAL GRAVITY: 1052 AVAILABLE: FL, KY, IN, OH, MI, […]
Golden Export Lager
Golden Export Lager Gordon Biersch Brewing Co. San Jose, CA The latest release from Gordon Biersch is brewed with Pilsner malt and Hallertau and Tettnang hops, and uses bottom-fermenting yeast from the Weihenstephan yeast bank. ABV: 4.9 ABW: 3.9 COLOR: 4.2 BITTERNESS: 20 ORIGINAL GRAVITY: 1046 AVAILABLE: CA, HI, NV
Rye Pale Ale
Rye Pale Ale Mavericks Brewing Half Moon Bay, CA Rye Pale Ale is one of three beers from Mavericks, each of which are 3.75%. It is brewed with Two-Row, Rye, Munich, Crystal and Amber malts and hopped with Chinook, Cascade, Summit and Northern Brewer hops. ABV: 3.75 ABW: 2.89 COLOR: 10.5 BITTERNESS: 53 ORIGINAL GRAVITY: […]
Harpoon Leviathan IPA
Harpoon Leviathan IPA Harpoon Brewery Boston This imperial IPA is brewed with Chinook, Centennial, Simcoe and Amarillo hops. ABV: 10 ABW: 8 COLOR: 12 BITTERNESS: 90 ORIGINAL GRAVITY: 1098 AVAILABLE: AL, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, PR, RI, SC, TN, TX, […]