From our Love Handles files on the world’s best places to drink great beer: Steadily approaching four decades in operation, this influential bar continues to combine unpretentious atmosphere with a powerhouse selection of independently brewed beers.
By: Joe StangeRELATED:
Spring is full swing, so fire up the grill and break out the lagers. These three tasty dishes—honey-helles shrimp skewers, dunkel-braised bratwurst, and grilled bock pizza—are designed for cooking over fire and for sharing.
By: Justin Kruger , Justin WrightRELATED:
Lessons learned from many years of saison brewing have informed Freak Folk’s signature approach to brewing Vermont’s marquee style—hazy IPA.
By: Jamie BognerAnd pistachios seemed like such a good idea. Great Notion lead brewer Lara Hargrave shares some tips on things to look out for when flavoring and finishing dessert-inspired stouts.
By: Lara HargraveRELATED:
With this relatively obscure historical style, you can think of it as a fresher, drier, slightly lighter version of a clean bière de garde—or you can go for a more lambic-inspired version, bringing in some mixed cultures to have a say.
By: Josh WeikertRELATED:
Here’s a recipe from mid-19th-century Scotland that makes a point: British milds weren’t always dark and low strength.
By: Ron PattinsonRELATED:
Mild wasn’t always dark, smooth, and low in strength, but that modern incarnation is one well worth brewing and appreciating. Rich in flavor yet drinkable in quantity, mild is a tradition waiting for its next evolution.
By: Josh WeikertRELATED:
Dry and lively with earthy-herbal hop flavors, saison should be refreshing, with any spicy character better driven by yeast and hops than by actual spices.
By: Josh WeikertRELATED:
Brewed with barrel-aging in mind, this barleywine-style ale from Lumberbeard Brewing in Spokane, Washington, leans heavily into locally malted triticale—an unusual wheat-rye hybrid.
By: Bret GordonRELATED:
In a fast-moving era, Switchback founder Bill Cherry bucks the trend by choosing slow growth and less-popular niche styles—such as smoked beer—that afford time to learn and focus through iterative brewing.
By: Jamie BognerSponsored
The “happy-hour crowd” was once a main source of revenue for many craft-beer bars and breweries. However, the landscape is changing, and event programs such as bar trivia can help these bars and taprooms adapt and cultivate community.
By: Geeks Who Drink (Sponsored)Great Notion lead brewer Lara Hargrave offers some useful advice for using flavor extracts, graham crackers, almonds, and more in your pastry- and dessert-inspired beers.
By: Lara HargraveRELATED:
Rather than run away from crystal malt, Kyle Harrop of Horus Aged Ales in Oceanside, California, embraces it fully with this deviant barleywine-strength ale.
By: Horus Aged AlesRELATED:
Barleywines and wheatwines explore the boldest flavor frontiers of their respective grains. Now, daring brewers are applying that maximalist approach to wine-strength beers brewed with millet, rye-wheat hybrids, smoked malts, and more.
By: Kate BernotRELATED:
Join Lara Hargrave, lead brewer at Great Notion in Portland, Oregon, as she takes us on a journey through the brewery’s method of producing whimsical, indulgent, childhood-nostalgia-inducing sweet stouts.
From selecting malts with intention to deploying Madeira-inspired macro-oxidation, finishing on different woods, and blending to taste, New Image founder Brandon Capps outlines a technical approach to crafting characterful barrel-aged barleywines.
Jan Chadkowski, head brewer and co-owner of Denver’s Our Mutual Friend, outlines his approach to brewing historically inspired, smoke-forward beers of high drinkability.