OnTap Magazine

Alcohol-free beers account for a small but rapidly growing sector of the American craft beer with 0.5% of the total market. This may seem small but compared to other sub-sectors of craft beer it’s a big chunk. There were more examples of low and no alcohol beers than ever before with brewers showing high levels of ingenuity and imagination, such as Athletic Brewing Co’s medal winning Lemon Radler. Although not necessarily a trend, American craft brewers love pushing the boundaries of creativity. Examples of ground-breaking wackiness that all tasted better than they sound included a carrot and turmeric saison, a gose with marsh salt and spirulina, a food-grade algae that gave the beer a green hue, and a peanut butter hefeweizen. Low and No Weird and Wacky Lighter and more approachable styles were much in evidence with a return to less palate-challenging and more easy-drinking beers. Lagers including Helles, Pilsner, Oktoberfest, Festbier, Marzen, Bocks and much more all featured heavily. Lagers and Lighter Styles Pastry stouts were less of a thing this year but intense, high ABV, rare beers were much sought after, including Firestone Walker’s Parabola, an imperial stout aged in Bourbon barrels for a year, and The Bruery’s Ivoire, a Bourbon barrel-aged ale. Wood & Barrel-Aged Strong Beers 28 | Summer 2022 | ontapmag.co.za