In 2018, after being open barely a year, Kros Strain took home silver in the brand-new hazy/juicy IPA category at GABF, establishing a reputation they’ve been working to expand and develop ever since.

From Kros Strain Brewing in La Vista, Nebraska, here’s a recipe based on the mixed-culture saison that thrilled our blind review panel and went on to become on of our Best 20 Beers in 2021.

Which beers do you love the most? We polled thousands of our magazine and newsletter subscribers on their favorites, and here are the results.

A year of focused tasting panels plus two full days of blind judging and lively discussion among our editorial panel—including Kate Bernot and Stan Hieronymus—culminates in this: the roll of honor. Here are the 20 beers that awed, delighted, and inspired us the most, representing the pinnacle of the craft today.

From malt-forward bières de garde to New World hoppy takes dripping in fruits from the bine, the approaches are myriad and the influences widespread. But which do brewers themselves love? We asked five for their favorites.

Crack a craft-brewed light lager and embrace some unconventional fall flavors in your kitchen via this fish dish with bacon-studded sweet-potato succotash and savory corn puree.

From more than 1,000 beers winnowed down via blind judging throughout the year—and then winnowed further by more blind tasting with our top writers and editors—here are 20 beers that represent the very finest in brewing today.

Amid the ups and downs and gradual, stutter-step return to social life, we experienced some transcendent beers—beers that shone, beers that enlightened, beers that made us stop and remember what it’s all about. Here are the pinnacles of the craft.

De Dolle Brouwers has a reputation for colorful branding and characterful, high-gravity beers that hold up beautifully in the cellar. Yet their process is intentionally laborious and layered, from the coolship and Baudelot cooler to the open copper fermentors and more in an old, classic Flemish brewhouse.

As Mike Saboe was embracing craft beer and homebrewing in the early ’00s, he sought far and wide for inspiration. Looking back now, as brewmaster at Toppling Goliath, he recounts six beers that had an outsized influence on his approach to everything from hop-forward beers to burly barrel-aged stouts.

Belgian stout has its own special history and a distinctive strut. What sets it apart? Breandán Kearney, award-winning beer writer and a brewer at Siphon in West Flanders, reports from Belgium.

Beer and travel writer Heather Vandenengel spent a few days in Chittenden County, Vermont, to learn what the new craft-beer scene is brewing . . .

No beer from Alesong Brewing & Blending in Eugene, Oregon, has won more accolades than Touch of Brett, even though the saison is constantly evolving. Here’s how they put it together.

The team at Peaceful Side in Maryville, Tennessee, shares the process behind the Blackberry Farm Classic Saison—including how they work with a notorious finicky yeast strain.

Taking cues from modern Belgian pale ales such as Taras Boulba and XX Bitter, Sanguine is a balanced expression of ample hops and yeast character. “We chased this beer for four years, trying to find the flavor profile,” says Halfway Crooks cofounder Shawn Cooper. “This is where we ended up.”

From the Hércules brewery in Querétaro, Mexico, here’s the lowdown on Pueblito, the export stout that won gold at the 2024 World Beer Cup—including the brewery’s German-inspired method for bottle-conditioning, which kept the beer in top form at the judging table.

Fat Head’s Brewery in Middleburg Heights, Ohio, has won more than its share of medals over the years. One of its most decorated beers is Goggle Fogger, the Bavarian-inspired hefeweizen that’s won three major gold medals in the past four years. Here’s how its pieces fit together.

From hop selection to dry hops, finishing gravity, and mouthfeel, Other Half cofounder and brewmaster Sam Richardson isolates the key elements of their popular, year-round imperial hazy IPA.

Pale, hoppy, smoked, or strong—brewers’ favorite lagers run the gamut. Yet drinkability and balance are primary traits that tie them all together.

Now that hazy IPA is ubiquitous, brewers are working harder than ever to make novel examples that stand out in the crowd. From hopping to yeast selection, here’s how a few of the pros are leaving their unique thumbprints on the style.

From Atlas Brew Works in Washington, D.C., here’s a recipe for their popular pilsner, a bronze medal–winner at the 2022 Great American Beer Festival. Easy-drinking yet flavorful, this pils gets subtle extra character from its Cal Common yeast strain.

Looking to brew a beer with haze that’s ready to commit to the long-term? We asked Zach Coleman, head brewer and co-owner at TRVE in Denver and Asheville, for some clarity on haze stability, and he turned to fellow pros for their best advice.

The first pumpkin beer arrived in our office recently, so we thought we’d repost this popular article in which Tom Wilmes got the scoop on successfully spiced beers from three pumpkin pros.

Even homebrewers who consistently ace their ales can get intimidated by the prospect of fermenting a lager. Here, Josh Weikert demystifies what makes it different and shares advice from some pros.

Brewing a great higher-gravity IPA demands more from you than simply going bigger. The ingredients and their tendencies are all against you doing this and making it drinkable—but it can be done. Here’s your battle plan, based on advice from the pros.

The arts of brewing, cellaring, and serving cask ales can elevate subtle, elegant recipes into brilliant showcases of great character and drinkability. Here, five pros share their top picks.

Brewers who want to build an enjoyable level of acidity into a beer have a growing number of options. Gordon Schuck, who cofounded Funkwerks as well as Jessup Farm Barrel House in Colorado, digs into those techniques and explains the pros and cons.

This German-style helles is a year-round beer for the lager specialists at Enegren Brewing in Moorpark, California, and a favorite of cofounder and head brewer Chris Enegren and his team.

From Josh Brengle and his team at Cervecera Hércules in Querétaro, Mexico, here’s a recipe for the export stout that won gold at the 2024 World Beer Cup—plus, a method for adding fresh wort at packaging for a beer that lives longer in the bottle, cask, or keg.

Brooklyn’s Kings County Brewers Collective, or KCBC, embraces the frenetic pace and ranging influences of life in the city that never sleeps. But the beer they brew continues to speak in its own voice, running alongside their New York peers rather than trying to chase them.