Author: Jason & Todd Alström

Brewed with cocoa, coffee, pasilla peppers, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and lactose, with English Challenger and East Kent Golding as featured hops.

We recently gazed into our Magic 8 Ball and asked, “What will 2018 bring to the wonderful world of beer?” To which it replied, “Outlook hazy, try again.”

Many beer scores follow a dated, A-F standard borrowed from the wine and spirits world that was basically designed for marketing.

Changes in the beer industry and the beer media landscape show no signs of slowing down.

So are you a beer geek? If any of the following applies to you, the answer is probably “yes.”

Rather than call for a boycott, we’d rather bring some awareness to the issues, share our opinion, host the discussion, and allow consumers to decide what’s best for them.

Something that’s not discussed often enough about the impact of independent (indie) brewers selling out to megacorps is where we as consumers see it the most: on menus and shelves.

It’s easy not to care about the seemingly arbitrary definition of “craft brewer.” So long as the beer tastes good, right? Wrong.

Like it or not, the New England India Pale Ale is a style, and one that you’re going to see much more of as brewers continue to jump on the hazy hype train.

It might sound silly or even sacrilegious to some, but the concept of taking a break from beer has been a frequently asked question in our forums since the late ’90s.

Regardless of what you’ve heard or read in the past, there are only three things you need to know to master the art of the shower beer.

In countless posts across the internet we see “overrated” used (and misused) as a default reference to beers and brewers, usually with no substance to back it up.

It’s a fact: 2016 sucked for too many reasons, so let’s make 2017 an awesome year; at least beer-wise. Here are our tips to help achieve that goal.

Back in December 2006 the first copies of the inaugural issue of BeerAdvocate magazine shipped to thousands of founding subscribers around the globe. Today, we continue to publish award-winning content, each and every month, for those of you who enjoy professional coverage of beer and its culture in tangible form.

The rumors are true. Extreme Beer Fest cometh to Los Angeles, Calif., on Saturday, December 9, 2017.

While Gose’s triumphant return is most welcome, we’d love to see more brewers offering a traditional version, too.

There are no more excuses for ignorance. We’re not talking about becoming an expert, but rather getting informed with the basics and understanding beer and the core brewing process.

Too many taprooms put too much focus into the sampler paddle, which is often more impressive than the beers themselves.

Far too many beer drinkers are obsessed with a handful of brewers who create hype. Don’t get sucked in, try this instead: Try something new or unfamiliar and then talk about it, because you’re definitely missing out otherwise.

There is now a plethora of companies and people who are more than willing to offer their services and resources to help nearly anyone succeed. But it’s apparent that far too many brewers aren’t utilizing them as the same issues that everyone has bitched about for years still persist.

There’s a disturbing trend in beer journalism. In fact, unbeknownst to most readers, it’s lurked in the global beer scene for decades.

Brewers and their distributors need to stop saturating markets, brewers need to date stamp their packaged beers, stores need to get control of their inventory and consumers need to look for dates and buy accordingly.

BeerAdvocate has hosted over 50 festivals since 2003. We also take pride in the fact that our fests offer attendees a chance to meet their favorite brewers and fellow beer advocates.

If you don’t like a beer, don’t drink it. Life is too short and good beer is too plentiful. But do you really need to brag about your drainpour like a cretin?