What beers are the latest craze?

Doesn't the Top Beers listing cover that?

I've only had 23 of the top 250 so I guess I'm out of it too.

 

It seems in my area (Southeastern PA) the "latest craze" is Cloudy IPAs (i.e., the so called 'NE' style IPA). Tired Hands has been making these sorts of beers for a number of years but all of the other new small, local breweries are making them now: Levante, Stickman, Forest & Main, Hidden River,...

Cheers!

 

Perhaps what you want is a look at the Top New Beers list:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/lists/new/

 

Ha ha! That's the ticket! I've only had 4 of them

 

That many? Your count is higher than mine....

 

As @JackHorzempa mentioned, NE-style IPAs are a big thing now, as are IPAs that are double dry hopped and/or that feature lupulin powder - and you can get a feel for that when viewing the Top New Beers list cited by @drtth - breweries like Trillium and Other Half stand out for me in that regard....

 

I'm not a tick-er type of guy, I don't chase beers really but just speaking very locally - saison seems to be enjoying a surge in local popularity.

I live in a small town of 2500. There are literally 5 bars in town and 2 of those are really restaurants. There's only 1 bar I go to and like. The bar owner recently kicked Bud Light off the tap tower to make room for more local beer. A brewery just 10 miles up the road in the bigger town of 3000 people.

A lot of people come in, ask "What's that new one there?" and then try and drink it all night long. She has 3/6 taps as what I'd consider small/craft and one of the remaining 3 is Guinness. Then it's Leinies Summer Shandy and Miller Lite IIRC.

Don't misunderstand - this is a small town whose local economy is a pots and pans mfg, salmon fishing, farming and a welding shop. That's it. It's not a hip, college or arts community.

Saison and to a degree amber ales seem to be the most popular I'm seeing of those that want craft.

 

I think Bud Light might fit the bill here. Better rephrase.

 

Broadly speaking, NE IPAs. More specifically, milkshake themed IPAs.
To a lesser degree, barrel aged stouts and dessert beers are also big.

 

There seems to be a lot of talk lately of drinking fresh from locals. I have been getting into that scene since I always look for new beers to try and the local small breweries are continually coming out with something new - of about any style. Just last night I had a crowler of Remedy Hefe-metal, and I found it better than Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier, partly since it was only days old vs the shelf-aged Weihenstephaner in the stores. Remedy is a local brewery that just opened in the last month. Give those locals a try if you aren't already.

As far as specific beers, that depends on your tastes. Are you into IPAs, sours, stouts, etc?

 

I can only speak to what I'm seeking and my current interest is lagers.

 

I would think that trend would come more to the forefront here in another month or two, when stouts start dominating shelf space again. I suppose we'll see if it's as big as last year, although I'd be shocked if it wasn't.

NE IPAs is exactly what I'd say the current overall trend is in the beer world. Even some Midwest breweries are starting to churn those out with more regularity.

 

I think lupulin powder in beers will become more widely accepted and used. Also agree with the dessert beers trend noted in other posts.

 

Agreed.

Leading, very unfortunately, to the trend of people thinking that cloudy beer is better beer.

 

Gluten-free beers are catching on, which is great news for the few people that are gluten-intolerant.

 

From locals or otherwise, fresh beer is a happy thing.

While I initially had a bit of a giggle about that, your point is well taken that a well-made fresh beer might be better than an excellent beer that has spent a lot of time in transit and storage.

FWIW, got a chance to check out a new (-ish) local brewery that is about 15 minutes from my home. Cool little place and while the beers were basic and the brewer was using old-school recipes, they were solidly made. Kinda hurt them that their beers were also on the expensive side. Expensive for the city and they are in a small suburb. I'm sure I'll be back, but I'm in no hurry.

 

Wow tons of other half. Being that I've had over 60 unique other half beers, I've put quite a dent in this list