new trends in 2013

More cans
More session beers ie. alpha session by Drakes.
More beers that are hard to fit in a certain style. x-1 from Duclaw . The puzzler from Great lakes/ Phillips
More oatmeal in the mix such as Fort George Sunrise OPA ( in cans )
More inventive use of fruit , veg etc. including Tea. Watch City Senchual Green Tea IPA, Liquid Breadfuit by Maui/ Dogfish Head. Even Rogue Bacon Maple was a conversation starter.
More Collabs

and the continued rise of BC to becoming the most innovative Province for beer in Canada.

 

What beer is that in your avatar?

 

I fully support the Imperial Red movement...and will also request more hoppy wheats of the Gumballhead/Sumpin Sumpin variety.

 

I support the movement of cedar aging IPA's with fruit. I also think we will see an influx of BA stouts.

I also think every Midwest beer release will immediately become a whale-purchasing event; the tides of beer are vast, but the thirsty lines of Chicagoans will dry even the mightiest of rivers.

 

I love Black IPAs so it'd be really nice to see more breweries making them

 

As the number of breweries continues to grow, I know there have been several threads on reaching a 'saturation point' for craft beer. I'm not sure that will happen, but I do think you will start to see more localized brewing - start-up breweries designed to serve their specific community with small batch beers, and not as interested in expansion/distribution. One example that comes to mind is One Barrel brewing in Madison - very small brewpub, no distribution...basically operates as a local bar that happens to make their own beer. I think we'll see more of this....craft beer will become increasingly associated with place, and local scenes will be defined by beers that are only available therein.

 

I think more breweries will move to distilleries and/or blending with spirits and wine. And of course, barrel aging.

 

Prediction 1: MillerCoors will buy a big name brewery in an attempt to balance out the acquistion of Goose Island by Ab/Inbev. Maybe the brewery they buy isn't going to be as big as GI, but it'll be sizeable.

Some craft brewery owner out there is thinking about that $38 million dollar check Goose Island got and is mulling it over as we speak. As soon as they decide to go for the money MillerCoors will be right there with the check book.

Prediction 2: Beeradvocates will react to said takeover just as they reacted to the GI takeover: a minority will swear them off while the majority will line up and empty their wallets into the hands of the same companies making it more difficult for the small-time brewer to get a tap handle on a draft system in your local bar.

 

Miller 32 as opposed to 64
2 packs
bottle caps with codes for halo or COD experience points

 

More 4 packs, More cans, barrel aging with wine barrels and gin barrels, new companies making sours, and brett infiltrating different styles of beer.

 

Cascade has been all over that trend since day 1. It's a shame they don't use any other wild yeasts, because their beer has all started tastings "same-y" to me. Obviously the different fruit and barrel treatments provide their own bit of character, but the one dimensional lactic tartness would be greatly enhanced with the addition of brett or pedio.

 

Yeah, higher rices for less beer has already been happening. look at Green Flash, beer used to be in 6 packs, they moved to 4 packs while keeing the same price, or in some cases raising the price. Check out Goose Island, the Christmas beer used to come in 6 packs, now it's in 4packs and it costs ~$12 when I've seen it.

 

Brewers Association, brewers, and beer geeks getting more and more scared that big brewers will shut down craft brewers as if the increasing demands for full flavored beer over the last 30 years never happened.

 

Every year when a thread like this pops up, I mention Belgian IPAs. I think 2012 had some decent additions to the style. I'd still love to see more uber hoppy Belgian IPAs brewed by American brewers, like Sumpin' Wild and Raging Bitch..

 

Midnight Sun M

 

Alpine brewing Bad Boy exclusively for my home kegerator.

 

I'm seeing more smoked beers lately- keep 'em coming.

 

Please this

 

2013 is the year of the weird IPA variant- the half-mast imperial (session beer or imperial session beer), and the year the adjuncts took over.

 

After having The Bruerys Humulus Lager & Jacks Abbys Wet Hop Lager. Ill drink till I drank em all and am drunk.

Cheers!