OnTap Magazine

A fter a two-year pandemic-induced hiatus, this year the Great American Beer Festival celebrated its 40th anniversary. It began back in 1982 with 24 breweries, 47 beers and 800 visitors. The latest edition welcomed 500 breweries, pouring 2,000 beers enjoyed by 40,000 visitors and that’s 25% less than normal due to refurbishment works at the festival’s home, the Colorado Convention Centre. How times have changed! It’s not only a beer lover’s paradise but a world of entertainment with crazy costumes, a silent disco, huge pretzel necklaces, Paired - the unique beer and food pairing experience – a ‘backyard’ games area, a Brewers’ Studio for talks and tastings andmuch, muchmore combining to make an all-round unforgettable experience. But American craft beer is undoubtedly the star of the show. Tickets are all-in, allowing attendees to sample as many different beers – served as one-ounce (30ml) pours – as they like in a 4.5- hour session. Long queues develop for ‘hype’ beers and the beer-savvy, well prepared festival goers have this down to a tee. For example, Sierra Nevada attracted crowds for their new collaboration with Buffalo Trace’s Colonel EH Taylor Bourbon and their Bigfoot Barleywine, which had been aged in bourbon barrels for seven years and came in at a whopping 15% ABV. Samuel Adams launched the 2022 version of Utopias, a mind-bending 28% ABV barrel-aged beer that consists of blends dating back as far as 16 years. Fresh Hop beers were also in high demand following the perfect timing of the festival following the September harvest. American craft brewers have long been considered the pioneers of the current craft beer world we see around the world today. Ground-breaking innovation and an unswerving commitment to quality are hallmarks of this industry and the festival had both in abundance. Here are some of this year’s top trends: IPAs in their many iterations continue to dominate the American craft brewing scene with approximately one third of all sales. Well-made, high quality, classic IPAs featuring punchy, flavoursome American hops were highly prevalent at the festival as both brewers and drinkers alike sought a return to traditional flavours and styles such as Breakside Brewery’s IPA or Coronado Brewing Co’s Weekend Vibes. The latest trend in the IPA world is the new-ish Cold IPA, a heavily dry-hopped ale/lager hybrid made using bottom fermenting yeast at warmer temperatures to give a clean, crispness with hop intensity and supreme drinkability. Gone is the pre-pandemic trend for Brut IPA, while milkshake IPAs were visible but few and far between. Within the IPA category, Imperial IPAs are driving much of today’s growth and this was reflected on the festival floor. Hazy/juicy IPAs were also popular but slightly less so than 2019 levels when some brewers offered three or four versions of this one style. Good examples included Melvin Brewing’s Back in Da Haze or Migration Brewing Co’s MoHazeIc. IPA Gone is the pre-pandemic trend for Brut IPA All images © Brewers Association ontapmag.co.za | Summer 2022 | 27