What were the big beer trends last year?
The biggest news in beer remains the explosion of craft beer and its move into the mainstream. The most telling thing is that the casual-dining chains—the Applebees and Red Lobsters of the world—are starting to realize that they need craft beer too.
What beer-industry gimmicks are ready for retirement?
For craft brewers, it’s the manufactured hype of super-scarce “rare beers.” For the big industrial brewers, it’s pretending to be craft brewers.
What will the new beer trends be in 2013?
India pale ale will solidify its position as the lead style of craft brewing, but there will be increased interest in very flavorful beers with relatively low alcohol.
Any other predictions for beer in 2013?
Sour beer styles, which until now have had a sort of cult status, will start to show up in unexpected places, such as airport bars. The massive success of Ray Daniels’s Cicerone beer-training program will press top cooking schools to finally build credible beer modules into their course work. Right now, professional students will get many weeks of wine training and perhaps a few hours of beer training. This bears no resemblance to real life, and people will start demanding real-world training.
Forecasting aside, what would you like to see more of in beer culture?
Increased understanding and respect for beer as a great partner for food. Beer has a much wider range of flavor than wine does and as a result, it’s more versatile. I find it strange that Italy has more than 400 craft breweries, but the average Italian restaurant still serves the same bland mass-market beers.
New beer trends are a mixed bunch, so to separate the wheat from the chaff, we enlisted the help of five professionals, including Brooklyn Brewery’s Garrett Oliver and Taproom No. 307’s Hayley Jensen. Living and breathing craft beers, these brew pros know what to sip and what to toss. Click through to see their predictions—from complex session beers to black ales—for 2013.
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