What will be the next style to explode, and why?

Native American/American Indian...

 

The next trend will be local affordable options once India & Asian countries get interested, see:Scotch.

 

N/A beers aren't very popular.

 

Sessionable barleywines...wait what

Jk, definitely wouldn't mind seeing BA IPAs..was lucky enough to try jai alai white oak recently(thanks Dave!) was very impressed

 

Nailed it. Barrel aging will absolutely dominate over the next few years. Barrel-aged beers are easy to sip and have a depth of flavor that can go up against any top tier wine. As far as the lines blurring, both beer and wine enthusiasts are recognizing that while taste is the main factor in our preferences, we were originally enamored by these drinks for their intoxicating qualities. To wit: It's fun to get a little fucked up sometimes regardless of what you choose to drink to get there.

In that vein, when it comes to the general public, hobbyist trends invariably carry over to the mainstream. Since barrel aged beers will be the rage due to depth of flavor, I'd make a (uneducated) guess that dark beers like chocolate and coffee stouts and porters will start popping up over the next 5-10 years. IPA has only recently gained a foothold on grocery store shelves where a majority of Americans buy their beer and it's going to take just as long of a wait to get enough people to create a demand and bring other styles up to that level. If flavor depth is the main goal, different styles of hops and malts won't offer enough variety to joe schmo consumer. He'll need something more, like fruit/floral sweet, or coffee/cocoa bitter.

 

Hoppy ciders. Because they will provide more hipster cred than craft beer very soon.

 

Pliny the Elder is brewed with corn sugar. Same idea.

 

I think about a lot of things.

I like a good session IPA. It's perfect for cans and thus great for doing pretty much anything. I cannot wait until Deschutes puts River Ale into cans.

 

probably Randall infused beers

 

Not really new style's but, making any beer style hoppy and calling it a "______ IPA" will continue to be a growing trend.

 

Kuhnhenn Double Rice IPA. Look for it when they expand, or trade for it. They are not very big right now, but this won a gold at the last WBC.

 

Maybe Shandy's for the masses?

For the BA crowd definitely we're trend towards the wild's/sours just because how many variants it can produce.
Kentucky Common gets my vote! Never even heard of the style until today doing some internet reading on different sour styles as its usually classified as "American Wild Ale". I think we'll be hearing more with the "Kentucky Common" subtitle on the label in the future.

 

All I know is, if I don't start seeing more smoked beers, I will be very sad.

 

I going to say the IPL. Interesting style which I feel can appeal to the seasoned craft beer drinker but also serve as a gateway beer for macro and BMC drinkers.

 

What I would like to see are some honestly rendered English style ales, with wonderfully fresh rich malts tempered just right with varying hop mixtures through the brewing. Some American brewers make decent beers, English-style, but the easy drinking nature of the originals is a marvel. I doubt this will happen, but marketing and packaging work wonders, so look out Lime-a-rita and Clamato! Bull City Burgers in Durham does a nice job with these styles.

 

Sour anything is consistently gaining popularity. Mead also seems to be becoming increasingly cool to drink. Both are something new for the introductory/novice consumer and are gaining popularity amongst female drinkers.

 

I think it's Saisons for similar reasons IPA's are so popular. They can be really dry and drinkable and pack a strong floral, aromatic punch. They also have a cool historical story attatched to them like IPA's, and they don't have to take a ton of money or tank space from brewers.

 

I'd love to see more Berlinerwiess, or better yet, Gose.

Gotta love session able sour beers. And salty really hits the spot during Minnesota summers.

 

There won't be. India pale ales area simply the perfect style of beer.



Or maybe berleiner weisses/fruit beers

 

Any style in a plastic keg?