One of the major takeaways from craft beer’s enduring haze craze is that many drinkers are creatures of habit. They fall in love with a few styles and often ignore the unknown in favor of familiarity whenever they visit a bar or taproom.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, but there’s a lot of opportunity for discovery in the beer space, and many incredible styles go largely ignored in the thickets of hazy IPAs, stouts, and macro lagers. Luckily, brewers are well acquainted with these lesser-known styles, love drinking them, and want the masses to enjoy them, too. So what kinds of brews do industry folks wish people would order more? We tapped 11 beer pros to find out.
The beers people should order more, according to beer pros:
- Braggots
- Traditional British pub beer styles
- Brown ales
- Helles lagers
- Ordinary bitters
- Saisons
- Fruited sours
- Beers that use alternative grains
- Extra special bitters
- California commons
- Pale ales
“I wish people ordered braggots more because it is the most challenging style of beer to brew in my opinion. The large honey component makes for a slow and tricky fermentation. However, with patience, braggots can be as complex as beer gets, especially with barrel aging. I like to take them a step further and add different fruits as well as wild yeast sometimes. I also love how high you can push the ABV in this style. It has been very rewarding to watch my bottle club members who predominantly drink big stouts start to enjoy these over the years, too!” —Kyle Harrop, owner and founder, Horus Aged Ales, Oceanside, Calif.
“In general, I wish people had a better understanding and appreciation for traditional British pub beer as a whole, whether it’s styles like extra special bitter, mild ale, or dry Irish stout. I just wish English style pub beer was given more of a chance by the American beer drinking audience as a whole.” —John Aravich, brewer, Five Dimes Brewery, Red Bank, N.J.
“Brown ale is the style that I wish people ordered more because then more breweries would brew it, and I could enjoy it more often. Unfortunately, ‘brown ale’ sounds like a boring beer, but I assure you it is not! The flavor can be a sublime meld of light, roasty chocolate with some hop balance and aroma. Its story goes back to the 1700s when malting was done with fire. This produced brown-colored malt, which gave brown ale a dark amber to brown color, yet the body is light enough to be refreshing and paired with lots of foods. A brown ale would round out a beer sampler set and make it more beautiful, too. I love to see a rainbow of beer colors on my table.” —Teri Fahrendorf, founder, Pink Boots Society, Portland, Ore.
“I would say helles lager. I’m in Münich right now, and I can say that a simple, dry helles filtered to absolute brilliance is a treasure we don’t share. Americans are too often chasing ‘flavor’ instead of chasing what beer does best: bring us humans together for conversion or a meal. I’ll miss it when I return.” —Kevin Davey, co-owner, Heater Allen Brewing and Gold Dot Beer, McMinnville, Ore.
“A beer style that I think deserves more love is ordinary bitter. I think that ordinary bitter is a full-flavored, malt-forward style with just enough herbal hop character to tickle your nose and a low ABV perfect for social sipping. It’s a nostalgic style that can transport you to a specific time and place in the history of beer, and it’s best enjoyed in volume and in group settings when beer isn’t the focus, but merely a vessel for creativity and connection.” —Michael Roberts, director of marketing & social media, New Terrain Brewing Company, Golden, Colo.
“I wish people ordered more saison. The style brings me back to my travels in Belgium enjoying amazing mussels and frites. I love the balanced blend of citrus and peppery spice character and subtle, earthy hop flavors. With its higher carbonation level, I often feel that this beer is the Champagne of beers and perfect for special occasions or everyday celebrations.” —Pamela Brulotte, founder, Icicle Brewing Company, Leavenworth, Wash.
“The style I wish people would order more is fruited sours. Granted, I am biased because our SeaQuench Ale is the beer that I drink the most. It sells well in summer months and slows down in cooler months, but these beers drink great year-round, are super refreshing, and make awesome partners for seafood, salads, and oysters. Lots of breweries make great sours year-round coast to coast, but they are hard to find in retail distribution. I hope someday that can change and sours can become as ubiquitous as IPAs.” —Sam Calagione, co-founder, Dogfish Head Brewery, Milton, Del.
“The style of beer I wish people ordered more is beers that use alternative grains. Whether it’s sorghum, Kernza, Sonoran white wheat, or blue corn, experimenting with an alternative grain base can be a surprising experience as it may lend to a unique body, color, or flavor.” —Missy Begay, co-founder and creative director, Bow & Arrow Brewing Co., Albuquerque, N.M.
“I always take the position that people should order what they want, but if it comes to a style I really like that could resonate with more people — especially those that love hops — I would want them to try an extra special bitter. They definitely offer a different drinking experience than an IPA, but I just love how the hops balance out the malt character in this style.” —Sam Richardson, co-founder and brewmaster, Other Half Brewing Company, Brooklyn
“The team at Mash Mechanix wishes guests would order more California commons. It’s a traditional American beer style with a rich history that gets overlooked by the more recognizable lagers and ales. California commons are unique, but can easily go toe-to-toe in appearance and flavor with other lagers and ales.” —Leif Anderson, co-owner and head brewer, Mash Mechanix Brewing Co., Colorado Springs, Colo.
“I wish people ordered more pale ales. They’re flavorful, dry, and have a low alcohol content that makes them perfect for a long night of drinking.” —Derek Gallanosa, director of beer operations, GOAL. Brewing, San Diego
*Image retrieved from Drazen via stock.adobe.com
