The most popular BeerAdvocate stories in 2018 covered a fairly wide range of topics, from the polarizing subject of kids in brewery taprooms, to the best beer pairings for Nashville hot chicken, and a deconstruction of common myths about lager.
Unsurprisingly, many of the most popular BeerAdvocate stories in 2017 focus on hops, while a nearly equal number of popular stories explored the meaning of “craft beer” as Big Beer continued its aggressive takeovers.
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.
Three years after opening in Gary, Ind., across the Indiana state line from Chicago, 18th Street Brewery has torched any skeptics with founder Drew Fox’s hard-charging, heavy metal brand of brewing.
Brian Trout’s homebrewed DIPA is rich, and coats the tongue with hop flavors; playful, with the mango-pineapple of Citra, and bitter enough to remind you that it means business without being obnoxiously teeth rattling. He calls it a “San Diego Sunset Golden.”
With little brand loyalty among craft beer consumers, knowing the brewer’s name or even the style seems less important than being drawn in by the creativity of an engaging brand name or story.
Bootlegger’s Brewery, which produces the much-hyped Knuckle Sandwich Double IPA, put out its first keg of beer in April 2008 after Aaron Barkenhagen and his father assembled the previously owned brewhouse equipment and constructed the brewery themselves in order to save money.
If India Pale Ale gets its name from its legendary ability to withstand the month-long sea voyage from England to Bombay some 200 years ago, what should we call the new breed of super-hoppy American IPAs?
Let’s hope that for JL, this return starts like Jordan’s baseball “career” and ends like his perfect championship fadeaway with the Bulls. (Let’s ignore the whole Wizards period.)
Ten years ago, Vinnie Cilurzo and his wife, Natalie, brought aggressively hopped beer to the heart of California’s wine country. Since then, they’ve taken Russian River Brewing Company independent, won an unimaginable number of awards and launched a revolutionary line of barrel-aged sour Belgians.
There are really only two ways to blow the mind of an experienced, worldly beer drinker: Make a classic style to absolute perfection or make a beer that is unlike anything brewed before.
