Our annual issue on the very Best in Beer today hits subscribers alongside this special, once-per-year episode of the Craft Beer & Brewing podcast. Hosts Jamie Bogner and Joe Stange reveal results from our annual Readers’ Choice survey—including your favorite breweries, beers, bars, and destination cities—as well as our Best 20 Beers in 2024, decided through a year of blind judging, and finally culminating in careful consideration by our editorial team, including Stan Hieronymus and Kate Bernot. It’s an episode filled with insight, experiences, trends, memories, and even a few hot takes, as we take a closer look at the absolute Best in Beer today. This episode is brought to you by: G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): At G&D Chillers they always strive to Build Great Chillers. Partner with them as you Build Great Beer. Choose G&D Chillers on your next Expansion or Brewery start up and receive 1 free year of Remote control and Monitoring of your new G&D Chiller! ProBrew (https://www.probrew.com) “ProBrew is excited to now offer 2-4 week lead times on all in-stock ProFill Rotary Can Filler and Seamers. This special lead time is only while supplies last, so send us an email at contactus@probrew.com or call us at 262-278-4945. ProBrew, Brew YOUR Beer.” Old Orchard (https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer): Berry Blend, Blood Orange, Lemonade, and Tart Cherry are the latest additions to our lineup of flavored craft juice concentrate blends. To learn more and request your free samples, head over to oldorchard.com/brewer Omega Yeast (https://omegayeast.com): Experience distinct transparency and juiciness with Omega Yeast’s DayBreak-V. We've genetically eliminated haze in the popular British-V strain, allowing you to preserve the fruit-boosting prowess while achieving crystal clarity. Learn more at info@omegayeast.com. Five Star Chemical (https://fivestarchemicals.com) Our cleaning solutions are specifically formulated to meet the unique needs of breweries, ensuring that your equipment stays clean and free of harmful bacteria and contaminants. From cleaning fermenters to kegs, we have a solution for every step of the brewing process. RSS Maclin (https://RSSMACLIN.com) provides the training and resources breweries of all sizes need to ensure the exceptional quality of your product remains the same from beginning to end. For more information, visit RSSMACLIN.com or email Service@rssmaclin.com Indie Hops (https://indiehops.com) breeds new hop varieties to help brewers captivate beer lovers. Brewers worldwide trust Indie’s unique varieties — Strata, Lórien, Luminosa, Meridian and Audacia — to modernize, brighten and diversify their beer lineup. Visit indiehops.com/podcast to discover what’s new in hop flavors. Berkeley Yeast (https://berkeleyyeast.com). Superbloom strains make classic hops flavor; Fresh strains keep diacetyl low even with large hop additions; Tropics strains make a tropical bouquet reminiscent of the finest southern hemisphere hops. Mention this podcast for 20% off your first order. FOBAB (https:fobab.com). Sample more than 350 one-of-a-kind barrel-aged beer, cider, mead and perry from 13 style categories and cheer on your favorite breweries as they compete for top honors in the nationally recognized competition. It’s all happening at the Festival of Wood & Barrel-Aged Beer in Chicago November 22nd and 23rd. Get your tickets now at fobab.com.Support Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine Podcast

Steve Parker, co-founder of Fidens, shares insights on crafting award-winning hazy IPAs. Kelsey McNair of North Park Beer Company discusses the unique flavor profiles of West Coast and East Coast iterations. Scott Janish from Sapwood Cellars delves into the evolution of New England-style IPAs and balancing bitterness in hazy brews. They explore innovative dry hopping techniques, maximizing hop extraction, and optimizing haze while minimizing off-flavors. Join them for a deep dive into the art and science behind one of craft beer's most popular styles!

In this engaging discussion, Vinnie Cilurzo, Brewmaster of Russian River Brewing, Doug Reiser, Head Brewer at Burial Beer, and Khris Johnson, Head Brewer at Green Bench Brewing, share their expertise on crafting West Coast IPAs. They dive into innovative dry hopping techniques and the significance of lesser-known hop varieties. The brewers discuss balancing body and hop intensity, optimizing water chemistry, and the impact of using flowable hop products. Their collaborative spirit shines as they explore the complexities of brewing while answering audience questions.

As a trained food scientist with 20 years of experience in the field, Eric Tennant entered the brewing world with a bit more background than most. And that background has served him well, as he considers both ingredients and processes required to achieve the beer flavors he envisions. Over the past few years, he’s focused Benchtop around foeder-aged lagers, but the constraints of the small brewery have led to a number of innovative process solutions. The techniques that he applies are making award-winning beer, too—Benchtop just recently took home a silver medal in Zwickelbier or Kellerbier at GABF, and their barrel-aged barleywine, Old Wooden Ship, was one of Craft Beer & Brewing’s 20 best beers of 2023. In this episode, Tennant discusses: crafting a hybrid approach to lager that’s part Czech, and part German decocting in a brewhouse not designed for it polishing beer through lagering without head pressure in oak foeders increasing IBUs in lager recipes to offset the mellowing effect of foeder aging double batching with different recipes optimized for two different mash processes checking COAs and manipulating mashes to fit the malt protecting foam potential when wood aging brewing barrel-aged English barleywine And more. This episode is brought to you by: G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): At G&D Chillers they always strive to Build Great Chillers. Partner with them as you Build Great Beer. Choose G&D Chillers on your next Expansion or Brewery start up and receive 1 free year of Remote control and Monitoring of your new G&D Chiller! ProBrew (https://www.probrew.com) “ProBrew is excited to now offer 2-4 week lead times on all in-stock ProFill Rotary Can Filler and Seamers. This special lead time is only while supplies last, so send us an email at contactus@probrew.com or call us at 262-278-4945. ProBrew, Brew YOUR Beer.” Old Orchard (https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer): Berry Blend, Blood Orange, Lemonade, and Tart Cherry are the latest additions to our lineup of flavored craft juice concentrate blends. To learn more and request your free samples, head over to oldorchard.com/brewer Omega Yeast (https://omegayeast.com): Experience distinct transparency and juiciness with Omega Yeast’s DayBreak-V. We've genetically eliminated haze in the popular British-V strain, allowing you to preserve the fruit-boosting prowess while achieving crystal clarity. Learn more at info@omegayeast.com. Five Star Chemical (https://fivestarchemicals.com) Our cleaning solutions are specifically formulated to meet the unique needs of breweries, ensuring that your equipment stays clean and free of harmful bacteria and contaminants. From cleaning fermenters to kegs, we have a solution for every step of the brewing process. Indie Hops (https://indiehops.com) breeds new hop varieties to help brewers captivate beer lovers. Brewers worldwide trust Indie’s unique varieties — Strata, Lórien, Luminosa, Meridian and Audacia — to modernize, brighten and diversify their beer lineup. Visit indiehops.com/podcast to discover what’s new in hop flavors. Berkeley Yeast (https://berkeleyyeast.com). Superbloom strains make classic hops flavor; Fresh strains keep diacetyl low even with large hop additions; Tropics strains make a tropical bouquet reminiscent of the finest southern hemisphere hops. Mention this podcast for 20% off your first order.Support Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine Podcast

Alex Lawes is the cofounder of Whiplash, a Dublin brewery famous for its low-ABV beers and innovative techniques like the mash press filter. Grzegorz Ziemian co-founded Stu Mostów in Poland, known for reviving historical beer styles. They delve into advanced brewing techniques, such as achieving concentrated flavors without extended boils and managing low-ABV recipes. Ziemian discusses recreating historical brews like schöps and expanding the range of grodziskie. The conversation is a captivating blend of tradition and innovation in the craft beer scene.

John Hoolihan, founder of Brewlihan Meadery and a leader in innovative mead-making, shares his journey of transforming a homebrewing hobby into a top-ranked meadery. He dives into the science behind creating the perfect balance of flavors, using diverse honey varieties and tweaking acidity and tannins. Hoolihan discusses the challenges of fermentation with multiple yeast strains and highlights the importance of local ingredients in crafting unique mead profiles. His insights shed light on scaling production while maintaining quality and flavor.

Andrew Foss, head brewer of Human Robot, shares insights into crafting unique lagers with character rather than just cleanliness. He discusses the art of decoction mashing and a direct-fire brewhouse, which allows for complex flavors through innovative mash strategies. Foss highlights the importance of 'the wave' for mouthfeel and embraces using inconsistent malts for richer taste. He emphasizes intentional brewing practices that shape aroma and flavor, pushing past traditional definitions of lagers to create something truly exceptional.

Garrett Oliver, a brewing legend at Brooklyn Brewery, and Vinnie Cilurzo, renowned for his work with Russian River, explore the innovative use of fonio grain in brewing. They discuss the sustainability and nutritional benefits of fonio, its historical ties to African culture, and its unique flavors that can enhance beer, including a Belgian Blonde. The conversation touches on the challenges of processing fonio and its potential as a revolutionary ingredient in the brewing world, making a case for more sustainable practices in the industry.

Paul Schneider, head brewer at Cinderlands in Pittsburgh, dives into innovative techniques for brewing fruit beers and IPAs. He discusses a shift from sweeter, thicker fruit beers to flavorful light lagers, aiming to balance process and taste. Schneider emphasizes the importance of ingredient sourcing, achieving genuine fruit flavors, and layering hops for unique flavor profiles. He also reflects on adapting brewery strategies to consumer trends, showcasing a commitment to quality and creativity while navigating the evolving craft beer landscape.

Great Lakes in Cleveland is an American craft beer institution—a brewery that got its start in the late ’80s, when the concept of smaller breweries still seemed foreign to most drinkers. Now, 36 years later, the scale is much larger than it was in those early days on the seven-barrel pub system—yet some of those early brands persevere. While those beers inevitably evolve amid shifts in scale and tastes, the core ideas that inform them haven’t changed. In this episode, longtime brewmaster Mark Hunger and co-CEO Steven Pauwels, the former brewmaster at Kansas City’s Boulevard, talk about that evolution as well as new developments in hop-forward beers. Along the way, they touch on: brewing lager with proprietary yeast for a signature brewery flavor using pressurized fermentation and warmer temperatures for faster lagers using automation while double-checking with human testing adding a touch of dryness and drinkability through sparge pH adjustment using sulfur as a tool for flavor and shelf stability Oregon-grown Mt. Hood hops for American lager character evaluating Munich malt for their annual Oktoberfest beer using public variety hops such as Triumph, but not Centennial, in Midwest-style IPA brewing filtered, clear IPA with London Ale III yeast And more. This episode is brought to you by: G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): At G&D Chillers they always strive to Build Great Chillers. Partner with them as you Build Great Beer. Choose G&D Chillers on your next Expansion or Brewery start up and receive 1 free year of Remote control and Monitoring of your new G&D Chiller! ProBrew (https://www.probrew.com) “ProBrew is excited to now offer 2-4 week lead times on all in-stock ProFill Rotary Can Filler and Seamers. This special lead time is only while supplies last, so send us an email at contactus@probrew.com or call us at 262-278-4945. ProBrew, Brew YOUR Beer.” Old Orchard (https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer): Berry Blend, Blood Orange, Lemonade, and Tart Cherry are the latest additions to our lineup of flavored craft juice concentrate blends. To learn more and request your free samples, head over to oldorchard.com/brewer Omega Yeast (https://omegayeast.com): Experience distinct transparency and juiciness with Omega Yeast’s DayBreak-V. We've genetically eliminated haze in the popular British-V strain, allowing you to preserve the fruit-boosting prowess while achieving crystal clarity. Learn more at info@omegayeast.com. RSS Maclin (https://rssmaclin.com) offers audits and repairs for can seamers and can integrity training. We provide solutions for can damage, seam training, and help your facility become self-sufficient without relying on OEMs. Questions about your can line? Call us at (330) 299-8210 or email at service@rssmaclin.com Indie Hops (https://indiehops.com) breeds new hop varieties to help brewers captivate beer lovers. Brewers worldwide trust Indie’s unique varieties — Strata, Lórien, Luminosa, Meridian and Audacia — to modernize, brighten and diversify their beer lineup. Visit indiehops.com/podcast to discover what’s new in hop flavors. Berkeley Yeast (https://berkeleyyeast.com). Superbloom strains make classic hops flavor; Fresh strains keep diacetyl low even with large hop additions; Tropics strains make a tropical bouquet reminiscent of the finest southern hemisphere hops. Mention this podcast for 20% off your first order. Brewery & Distillery Workshop (https://breweryworkshop.com): If you’re a brewery or distillery in planning, or interested in adding a brewery or distillery to your existing craft beverage business, visit breweryworkshop.com now and secure your spot in our upcoming Brewery and Distillery Workshop, this September.Support Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine Podcast