BeerAdvocate magazine #128

While everything from yoga to CrossFit has popped up in taprooms across the US, trainers have taken the concept to the next level by looking around the brewhouse for inspiration when designing routines.

Maine’s reputation as Vacationland, and millions of yearly tourists, have allowed a food and beverage scene to flourish here in a way normally reserved for huge metropolises.

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

Unlike taproom releases, which are open to the public and often attract long lines, breweries with bottle clubs promise special releases to consumers who have purchased memberships.

Learn the origin stories of the 11 current Trappist breweries, as told by the monks themselves, and go back in time with “Dr. Pat” to unearth and recreate eight ancient ale recipes.

The spent grain in the bars comes from six breweries in the San Francisco area, including Fort Point Beer Co. and 21st Amendment Brewery.

Tampa’s Coppertail Brewing has created its own nautical mythology based around a 4-year-old girl’s imagination and the creativity of illustrator Evan B. Harris.

Forced to chart a new course amid the industry’s double-digit growth, “big craft” breweries have resorted to fleeting trends and gimmicks to stay afloat.

Grape must—either a canned concentrate or direct from a local vintner—mingles with Belgian yeasts to create a magical Saison with little extra effort.

Learn to layer Stout’s smoky, roasty flavors with recipes for a zesty citrus marinade, an earthy ham and bean side dish, and a savory blackberry jam.

In the face of heightened competition, breweries are finding new ways to attract and reward loyal customers by modernizing the “mug club” concept.

While the Fuller’s London Pride poured at pubs across London may appear unchanged over the decades, there was tinkering going on behind the scenes.

By making slight deviations in traditional cooking methods, The Shaved Duck has developed its own distinctive flavors that pair well with high-quality beer.

Determined to connect farmers and brewers, third-generation hops farmer John Segal rebuilt his family’s business—the first to commercially cultivate Cascades.

Chocolatier David Briggs, known for incorporating savory ingredients like bacon, Parmesan, and olive oil into his bittersweet confections, pairs sweets with a tart wheat, an Imperial IPA, and a Flanders Brown Ale.

At Brick and Barrel, the Cleveland neighborhood taproom that launched in 2014, Karl Spiesman applies his wine-making background to classically inspired European ales executed with a creative American sensibility.

Oro Nero is quite drinkable for a slightly bigger beer; the dryness sets in but the flavors don’t fade as quickly as they do in other beers.

Part of the Yard Beer series from Highland Park Brewery, Batch 4 is inspired by ingredients found growing in neighborhood yards, including black limes and sour flowers.

Good Nature Farm Brewery’s dedication to local ingredients has been key to its success.

After putting in a decade or more at successful companies, a growing number of lauded brewers are fleeing the daily grind to launch their own operations. But why would they want to leave, and why now?

While most Asian cultures make alcohol from rice, the Bhutanese farmhouse ales Sin Chang and Bang Chang start with 100 percent raw wheat. Reserved for religious and special occasions, these Wheatwines are a part of life for many.

Before Yazan Karadsheh could come up with a name for his startup, he had to figure out how to translate words like “brewer,” “brewery,” and other beer terminology into Arabic.