What will the new year in beer look like? What will stay the same, and what new delights will 2019 bring?
Last year, I predicted that IPAs would continue to grow and subdivide. Given the rise of Brut IPAs, Hazy and others, I think I did OK with that one. I also thought sour would go mainstream. And while I think it definitely has gained popularity, I’m not sure it has reached the widespread acceptance I thought it might.
With that, here are my five predictions for the new year in beer.
1. Lager love
It feels like 2019 will be the year that craft lagers really take hold. There’s a reason that pilsners (the most popular type of lager) are among the most loved beer in the world. They’re easy-drinking and thirst-quenching. Unfortunately, over time, most of the largest beer company’s version of a pilsner has become a less distinct and more commodified beer, differentiated more by marketing than taste. But these days small and medium-sized breweries are making an effort to craft memorable, full-flavored pilsners, or other lager, that I believe we’ve reached the tipping point.
2. Drinkability
Maybe this is simply wishful thinking on my part. I certainly love hop-forward beers, and have been drinking them for decades. But sometimes too much is too much, and you just want an easy-drinking beer. Obviously, that can include pilsners and lagers, but it can also be a well-balanced IPA or Pale Ale. Session beers would also fit the bill, but almost any strength can, and should, be balanced and drinkable. I don’t think bitter hop bombs are going anywhere anytime soon, but the rise of smoother, less in-your-face hazy IPAs and Brut IPAs also suggests that people increasingly want a beer that doesn’t assault their taste buds.
3. Novelty
This, I say with tongue firmly in cheek, is nothing new. With so many breweries now clamoring for your attention and dollars, it’s no wonder we’re seeing so many experimental, unique beers. California alone is poised to reach 1,000 breweries in 2019, so they need to get you to try their beer. What can they do? How about a dessert stout or glitter beer? We’re going to see more beers brewed with coffee, grapes and who knows what else. We’ve seen beers recently brewed with corn flakes, ghost peppers, coconut flakes, and even one brewed with super-sweet, high-fructose, blue-raspberry-flavored Little Hugs Fruit Barrels instead of water, yielding a bright blue color.
4. Beer-focused bars
There have always been bars whose main focus was beer. Some had multiple tap handles, a large bottle selection or both. But usually there was only one or two in a given area, and that’s where you went to find the latest beers or special releases. But paralleling the growth of the number of breweries, the number of beer bars is catching up. That definitely makes it harder for breweries trying to decide who gets their unique, seasonal or special releases, but it’s great for beer lovers who don’t have to cross town or be limited by one or two local watering holes. Beer bars are cropping up everywhere, and since more and more people are drinking beer made locally, often from smaller breweries, it’s great that they have an increasing number of places to sell their beer.
5. International influx
I travel the globe to judge, drink and learn about new breweries and beer, and there has been a huge shift in influence. It used to be that nations with new craft-brewing scenes looked to Belgium, Germany, Great Britain and the Czech Republic for inspiration. Now, they always want to hear about what’s going on with American beer. In a few short decades, our brewing industry has become a world leader and influenced countless brewing renaissances, from Argentina and Denmark to New Zealand and Spain. And their brewing scenes, having gotten started years later, are still up and coming, in varying degrees. But the best of these new international craft brewers have started to import their beer to the U.S. Keep an eye out for them.
