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Out with the old, in with the brew

Use this handy chart to check the beer trends of tomorrow against the fads of yesteryear.

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RECOMMENDED: This year’s guide to the best beer in NYC

From Williamsburg lounges (Donna) to East Village bistros (Calliope), this classic New England lager is the nouveau brew of choice for penny-pinching twentysomethings. Clean and well-balanced, the $4 tall boy is cheap enough to have supplanted the watery, tired hipster icon—a fact we expect few to shed tears over.

Toss that oversize glass jug in the recycling bin. Top craft breweries like 21st Amendment and Oskar Blues have anointed the humble aluminum can as their favored modern beer receptacle, prized for its ease of production (meaning brewers can experiment with more small-batch lines) and freshness (the metal is ideal for blocking light and oxygen).

With the explosion of beers on the market—and so many of them carrying fearsome ABVs—the 16-ounce pour can prove unduly limiting. At suds destinations like Proletariat and the Pony, the eight-ounce version has gained ascendance among in-the-know drinkers, who favor the new serving size for encouraging a wider sampling of drafts and being easier on the wallet and liver.


Gluten-free beer is the new organic beer

With the diet-conscious customer in mind, dozens of brewers have begun attacking the challenge of making a beer without staples like barley and wheat—just as organic beer eschewed conventional fertilizers and pesticides. For proof of their success, look no further than the guys unknowingly sipping on gluten-free hits such as Red Bridge at Dram Shop or Brunehaut Bio Blanche at the Double Windsor.

 

Craft-brewery collaboration is the new craft brewery

If the past year has demonstrated anything, it’s that two hopheads are better than one. Newly minted classics like Brux (jointly produced by Sierra Nevada and Russian River) and Liquid Breadfruit (made by Dogfish Head and Maui Brewing Co.) were the products of brewers putting aside competition to combine resources and ideas, allowing them to take more risks with popular, limited-run concotions.

 

Smoked is the new sour

One Northern European style usurps another on cutting-edge taps around town. Harkening back to the days when malts were dried over a fire, recently launched smoked beers like Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier at Blind Tiger Ale House suggest a charred, slightly burnt flavor that’s in vogue with well-informed palates.

 

Hard cider is the new lambic

The fermented colonial beverage, long a mainstay of European drinking, is making a comeback in the U.S., providing a hint of fruity sweetness to those who might normally opt for a framboise-based Belgian lager. Get a taste of the renaissance at spots like the John Dory Oyster Bar, which pours Dooryard from Farnum Hill in New York, or the Narrows, where you can sip on Crispin Cider, made in Minneapolis.

 

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