Beer Trends

SPRING

Springtime may be a little chilly but it reminds you of sunshine and outdoors. The best spring beers include dry beers, Saisons, fresh hops, and bocks.

SUMMER

Beaches, warm weather and long days are synonyms to summer. This is a season to have light beers like fruited sours, wheat beer, pale ale and classic pilsner.

AUTUMN

Autumn is the season where things start to cool down. This is the time for thanksgiving and seasonal flavors. Pumpkin, maple, amber, Belgian and Oktoberfest are some types of beers and tasting notes that we can look forward to.

WINTER

Winter Beers tend to be heavy and dark and are the best when you want to get into the holiday spirit. Some of the best winter beers and tasting notes include stouts, porters, chocolate and coffee, bourbon and eggnog.

India Pale Ales

The fastest growing subcategory of ales are India Pale Ales. India Pale Ales or IPA’s originated when long sea voyages were making it hard to keep beer fresh for extended periods of time, so hops acted as a preservative for the long trips. The trend over the past decade has been these very hop heavy beers in all different styles. In America, the quickest growing style of IPA is the New England style IPA. This style focuses on the complexity of the beer, not just the bitterness of the hops. In addition, light malt characteristics add to the well-rounded and smooth experience. To add to the experience, New England IPA’s are hazy and have a lot of fruity characteristics that are provided by the hops. West Coast IPA’s are traditionally more bitter due to the additional hops that are used in the boiling process of the beer. This process gives the beer a perceived bitter taste and almost drowns out the malt flavors. West Coast beers are extremely popular, and most breweries have their formulas down to a science. Example, Sierra Nevada, Lagunitas and Stone brewery are some of the largest most exciting producers of this very popular style and continue to thrive in the ever expanding world of IPA’s.

Beer Companies

Lagers are much easier to mass produce and they have become the American most stable staple of beer drinking for the last century. The largest beer companies in the world such as Budwieser, Coors, Heineken and Miller all have used this style to their advantage to become the powerhouse giants of the beer industry. The Industry will never see these businesses dwindle but the new up and coming star of the last couple of years are not necessarily beers but the low carb healthy option of spiked seltzers and spritzers, these carbonated alcohol infused drinks have taken the industry by storm reaching vast demographic from coast to coast. These easy drinking tasteful refreshing beverages serve as the best alternative to the carb heavy beers we have all grown to know and love.