Craft Beer Trends - The Beer Thrillers

Craft Beer Trends to Watch in 2024

B. Kline — Mon, 01 Jan 2024 07:56:58 +0000

Craft Beer Trends for 2024

As craft beer enthusiasts, we are constantly on the lookout for what’s next in the vibrant world of brewing. This year, we’ve seen brewers push the boundaries of creativity and innovation, bringing forward bold flavors, sustainable practices, and surprising collaborations that have captivated our taste buds. Here are the top craft beer trends to watch in 2024.

1. Rise of Non-Alcoholic Craft Beers

Non-alcoholic (NA) beers have been gaining traction over the past few years, and 2024 is poised to see an explosion of options in this category. Brewers are perfecting techniques to brew NA beers that retain the complexity and depth of their alcoholic counterparts. From hoppy IPAs to rich stouts, alcohol-free no longer means flavor-free. This trend caters not only to health-conscious drinkers but also to those looking to enjoy beer flavors at any time of the day without the effects of alcohol.

2. Local and Hyper-Local Ingredients

Sustainability continues to be a key focus, and more breweries are turning to local and hyper-local sourcing for their ingredients. This practice supports local economies and reduces the environmental impact associated with transportation. Expect to see more beers proudly advertising their use of local grains, hops, and adjuncts like fruits and herbs, which can also provide unique, regional flavors that set these brews apart from the pack.

3. Experimental and Hybrid Styles

Brewers are not just sticking to traditional styles; they are increasingly experimenting with hybrid beers that blend the lines between established beer categories. Think lagers with ale-like hopping levels, or stouts brewed with wild yeast strains typically used in sour beers. This experimentation is also seeing the rise of ‘fusion beers’ that incorporate elements from different brewing traditions, culinary techniques, or even other beverages like cocktails and wines.

4. Revival of Historical Styles

While innovation is key, there is also a growing interest in historical beer styles that had previously fallen out of favor. Styles like Gruit, made with herbs instead of hops, or traditional farmhouse ales from various European regions, are making a comeback. These beers offer a glimpse into the past and celebrate the rich history of brewing.

5. Craft Maltsters on the Rise

As craft brewers look to distinguish their offerings, there is an increasing focus on the role of malt in flavor profiles. Craft maltsters are popping up, offering malts that are not only locally sourced but also crafted to provide unique colors, flavors, and aromas. This trend is pushing brewers to explore new malt varieties and push the envelope on what malt can contribute to beer beyond the basic foundation.

6. Sour Beers Continue to Sour… and Evolve

The sour beer category continues to expand, with more nuanced and complex sour offerings hitting the market. Brewers are moving beyond basic kettle sours into more sophisticated fermentation techniques, including mixed fermentation and the use of wood aging to introduce deeper flavors. Additionally, the use of non-traditional fruits, spices, and even vegetables in sour beers is on the rise, creating endless possibilities for innovation.

7. Eco-Friendly Brewing

Finally, sustainability isn’t just about local sourcing. Breweries are increasingly adopting eco-friendly practices across their operations, from solar-powered breweries to water reclamation and waste reduction techniques. Consumers are more conscious than ever about their environmental impact, and supporting breweries that share these values is becoming a significant factor in purchasing decisions.

As we continue through 2024, these trends suggest that the craft beer industry will remain as dynamic and exciting as ever. Whether you’re a brewer or a beer lover, there’s much to look forward to—new flavors, old classics revisited, and innovative practices that make us proud to be part of this community. Here’s to another year of great beer and great company! Cheers!

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Brewers and the Industry Look Into 2023

Tyler Budwash — Thu, 05 Jan 2023 02:07:29 +0000

Tyler Budwash asks some of his friends and co workers in the industry what they foresee for 2023.

A Look Into the Future

Let’s take a look into the future and see what the crystal ball sees. Its the start of a new year and with that comes ideas of what the future might hold. People start resolutions (and quickly drop them), people try new habits, people (the horror… the horror…) do “Dry January”, people work out more (for a week or so), etc.

Every year its a time of reevaluation, looking at the past – in this case the year of 2022 – and looking into the future – 2023 and beyond. Seeing what the new trends will be, and having interviews and articles like this let us take a gauge of all of that. It also then lets us look back at the end of the next year to see what we got right, what we got wrong, and why. Its a great launching point for speculation and thought, as well as serving as a great look back and retrospective and way to see the changes in trends, in the business, in brewing and craft beer in general.

Tyler Budwash – co owner of the Pilger Ruh Brewing Company out of Pottsvillle Pennsylvania, was nice enough to reach out to me with his chats and interviews with some of his friends and co – workers in the industry. He chatted with the brewers from Robin Hood Brewing Company, Bright Path Brewing Company, Mount Gretna Craft Brewery, Copperz Brewing Company, as well as the labelist and artist for Rotunda Brewing Company, and they all graciously allowed us to share their thoughts on 2023 and beyond.

I want to say thank you to all involved for this. I will make sure to thank you each individually at the end of the article. Also, if you like the breweries involved here in the article, be sure to check to the bottom where I will have a list of other articles with each of the breweries involved. Thank you.

Robin Hood Brewing Company

Caleb Peachy is the head brewer of Robin Hood Brewing Company. As per Untappd, they are a Brew Pub out of Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. They have 212 unique beers with over 33,000 ratings and a global average rating of 3.7 (as of 1.4.23). Their Untappd description reads: “Robin Hood Brewing Co. is a small-batch brewpub in Bellefonte, PA specializing in IPA’s and high quality experimental brews.”

When asked about future trends, Caleb Peachy said:

I think we will still see the trendy beers continue to be king. Such as the hazy IPA’s and fruited sours. But I do think we will start to see some fatigue with the hazy’s. Instead of having all IPA’s on tap, taprooms are going to need to have a variety. We will also continue to see breweries push creativity with what can be put into beers. I’d personally like to see more west coast IPA’s and easy drinking lagers become popular throughout the year. Nothing beats a crispi boi anytime of the year.
Caleb Peachy

For more information on Robin Hood Brewing Company:

For more articles about Robin Hood Brewing Company, see the end of this article.

Pilger Ruh Brewing Company

Tyler Budwash is the co – owner of Pilger Ruh Brewing Company. According to Untappd they are a nano brewery out of Pottsville, Pennsylvania. They have 159 unique beers and over 6,000 ratings with a global average rating of 3.87 (as of 1.4.23). Their Untappd description reads: “Community Crafted Nano Brewery in Pottsville PA with 12 rotating taps, local wine, spirits, and cocktails. Beer to go available. Ask about our food menu!”

I’m not sure how the conversation went, but I like to think Tyler Budwash asked himself out loud what his thoughts were going to be on the trends of 2023. This is what he had to say:

Well let’s start with saying, I don’t think hazy IPAs, fruited sours, pastry stouts, or seltzers are going anywhere and we can officially say lagers are “back”. So in 2023 I think we will continue to see more approachable beers hit taps, as in lower abv and more of the classic styles returning. I’d personally like to see more milds.
Tyler Budwash

For more information on Pilger Ruh Brewing:

For more articles on Pilger Ruh Brewing please check the end of this article.

Bright Path Brewing

Alex Franco is co – owner and brewer at Bright Path Brewing Company. According to Untappd they are a micro brewery from Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania. They have 20 unique beers and 2,900 ratings with a global average rating of 3.7 (as of 1.4.23). Their Untappd description reads: “Small craft brewery located in Jim Thorpe, PA focusing on lagers and session ales.”

Tyler Budwash asked Alex Franco what he foresees in 2023, and this was his response:

For 2023 I think lagers continue to grow but I hope that beer drinkers catch up to brewers. Hazy IPAs are everywhere and hard to distinguish between most of them so I hope beer drinkers start to see the wide array of beer styles and branch out to try different things.
Alex Franco

For more information on Bright Path Brewing:

For more articles on Bright Path Brewing, please see the end of this article.

Mount Gretna Craft Brewery

Brad Moyer is the brewer of Mount Gretna Craft Brewery. According to Untappd they are a micro brewery from Palmyra, Pennsylvania. They have 193 unique beers with a total of 19,000 ratings and a global average rating of 3.64 (as of 1.4.23). Their Untappd description reads: “Hand-crafted beer inspired by a place where people share culture, art and ideas amid the lakes, trails and forest – historic Mount Gretna.”

When asked by Tyler Budwash what he saw coming in 2023, Brad Moyer said:

I think the thing I see most coming is diversification of Beer styles there’s been a lot of breweries recently, who hang their hat on 1 to 2 styles and that’s all they do. Now I’m not saying that they don’t do them well , it’s just people are demanding more these days and we are seeing a resurgence of lots of lagers and other styles that were one time not so sexy to brew. In a market where there is literally a brewery every 5 to 10 miles you have to be doing something that sets yourself apart and if you hang your hat only on, let’s say hazy IPA people will come but ultimately will want different choices and venture up the road.
Brad Moyer

For more information on Mount Gretna Craft Brewery:

For more articles on Mount Gretna Craft Brewery, please see the end of this article.

Rotunda Brewing Company

Stevie Glick is the artist and can labelist for all of the beautiful can art you see from Rotunda Brewing Company. Their logos, artwork, and can labels adorn their social media and their promotional material as well as both brewery locations (the brewery and restaurant in Annville and the brew pub in Hershey). Rotunda Brewing Company is a micro brewery out of Annville Pennsylvania with 458 unique beers, 83,000 ratings and a global average rating of 3.94 (as of 1.4.23) according to Untappd. Their Untappd description reads: “Stop by at 11am on Saturdays to get your RBC 32 oz Crowlers TO GO! Quantities are limited and go fast! We are conveniently located at 245 West Main Street, Annville PA. Parking is available in the back. Call us today with any questions as we have a very knowledgeable staff on hand that can handle any beer questions you may have!”

When confronted by Tyler Budwash and asked about the future, this is what Stevie Glick had to say:

I don’t see much changing at all honesty.
Maybe everyone fine tuning their skills with heavily fruited sours.
We’re adding nitrogen to a lot of things – especially the Swheat Tart series

I most definitely see the bigger craft brewing company’s from the surrounding states are either setting up shop in PA or are finally getting some stretch with distro into their surrounding states.

Covid brought us Aslin Brewing Company, Trillium Brewing Company, and Other Half Brewing; and that’s amazing but may also bring the little breweries competition selling out of six pack shops.

I’m hoping to see more collaborations between little brewing companies and bigger ones.

And lastly. no one’s ever going to stop trying to push the boundaries of what should or could be in beer or what can be made from it – so who knows maybe a new unique style may pop out again that no one thought of.
Stevie Glick

For more information on Rotunda Brewing Company:

For more articles on Rotunda Brewing Company please see the end of this article.

Copperz Brewing Company

Justin Kershner is the brewer for Copperz Brewing Company, a brew pub out of Hamburg Pennsylvania. Based on Untappd they have 38 unique beers, 2,100 ratings, and a global average rating of 3.68 (as of 1.4.23). Their Untappd description reads: “Opened in December 2021, our 5bbl brewhouse supplies 10 rotating taps with a wide variety of styles. Full kitchen offering great food and a limited bar featuring PA liquors.”

When asked by Tyler Budwash what he thinks 2023 will hold, Justin Kershner stated this:

Ha, I wish I knew where it was heading. That’s kinda the fun part right? We don’t know. Just gotta roll with it.
Justin Kershner

For more information on Copperz Brewing Company, check out their social media pages:

Looking for more articles we’ve written here on The Beer Thrillers about the above breweries? Check these out below:

Robin Hood Brewing Company

Our Trip up to Bellefonte and Beyond (Hiking James Cleveland Trail, Visiting Axemann Brewery, Robin Hood Brewing Company, Short Bus / The Bus Brewing Company, and Shy Bear Brewing Company) (December 10th, 2021)

Bright Path Brewing Company

Visiting Jim Thorpe with Friends (Bright Path Brewing Company and Stoker’s Brewing Company) (June 25th, 2021)
Brewer Interview: An Interview with the Bright Path Brewing Brewers
Bright Path Brewing Company Opens in Jim Thorpe

Pilger Ruh Brewing Company

Mount Gretna Craft Brewery

Rotunda Brewing Company

Copperz Brewing Company

Hike: Pinnacle Rock (Hamburg, Pennsylvania)

Brewer Interviews

One of my favorite (B. Kline writing here) features of the blog, and one of my favorite things to do is get to interview brewers, people in the industry, and just people in general for the blog. The following is a list of interviews we’ve done for the blog.

Brewer Interview: Tyler Budwash (Pilger Ruh Brewing)
Brewer Interview: Rod Stahl (Axemann Brewery)
Brewer Interview: Sean Gorzynski (Logyard Brewing)
Brewers Interview: Alex Franko and Dillon Smith (Bright Path Brewing)
Interview: Ryan Galiotto (Fueled by Hops)

Thanks For Reading

Firstly I’d like to thank Tyler Budwash who reached out to me and did ther interviews and talked to his friends and co – workers. He messaged me wanting to do this end of the year / looking forward to 2023 and reached out to the fine folks above about it. We are always glad here at The Beer Thrillers to showcase and support the brewers and breweries that don’t always get ‘mainstream’ attention, and the attention and support they deserve. Especially with some of these being local and Pennsylvania based breweries, its nice to give them the attention and shout outs that they don’t get from other blogs and sites and groups on the web. Thank you Tyler for reaching out to them and for writing the article. (I, as B. Kline, did just editing, and adding this ending to the article.)

With that, I would like to thank Caleb Peachy, Brad Moyer, Alex Franco, Stevie Glick, and Justin Kershner for answering Tyler’s messages and questions.

Peel back the cover of the blog a bit, I started editing and formatting the article this morning at 8AM to try and have it done by 9AM so I could get ready for work… when 9:20AM rolled up and I realized “oh crap I’m gonna be late” and had to put it on hold to after work. So my apologies for not getting this out this morning, but I jumped on it right after work, and despite WordPress’s best attempts at being super slow and glitchy for some reason at just the moments I didn’t need or want it to be, here it is.

I hope you all enjoyed the article. Please make sure to stop out at these great breweries. We will be definitely hitting some of these places in the near future.

Let us know in the comments what you think will be the trends of 2023 and going forward in the world of craft beer. Think it will eventually become “The Year of the Lager” despite a big blog and group saying for four years that it will be? Think we’ll get even heavier stouts? More fruity sours? Who knows! Let us know your thought and opinions.

Also, please like, subscribe, and follow the page. Also make sure to check out our social media pages and follow us on there. Thanks so much for reading!

Cheers All! And a very Happy New Years!

-B. Kline

You can check out our different directories here: Beer Reviews, Hike Reviews, Book Reviews, Brewery News, Brewery Openings, Brewer Interviews, and Travelogues.

Please be sure to follow us on our social media accounts – Facebook, Facebook Group, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Influence. Please be sure to also follow, like, subscribe to the blog here itself to keep updated. We love to hear from you guys, so be sure to leave a comment and let us know what you think!

The Beer Thrillers are a blog that prides itself on writing beer reviews, brewery reviews, travelogues, news (especially local to the Central PA brewery scene), as well as covering other topics of our interests – such as hiking, literature and books, board games, and video games which we sometimes stream with our friends over at Knights of Nostalgia. We are currently listed as #7 on FeedSpot’s “Top 100 Beer Blogs” and #9 on FeedSpot’s “Top 40 Pennsylvania Blogs”. Thank you for reading our site today, please subscribe, follow, and bookmark. Please reach out to us if you are interested in working together. If you would like to donate to the blog you can here: Donate to The Beer Thrillers. Thank you!

Craft Beer Trends - The Beer Thrillers

Craft Beer Trends to Watch in 2024

1. Rise of Non-Alcoholic Craft Beers

2. Local and Hyper-Local Ingredients

3. Experimental and Hybrid Styles

4. Revival of Historical Styles

5. Craft Maltsters on the Rise

6. Sour Beers Continue to Sour… and Evolve

7. Eco-Friendly Brewing

Thank You For Reading

Brewers and the Industry Look Into 2023

A Look Into the Future

Robin Hood Brewing Company

Pilger Ruh Brewing Company

Bright Path Brewing

Mount Gretna Craft Brewery

Rotunda Brewing Company

Copperz Brewing Company

More Articles

Robin Hood Brewing Company

Bright Path Brewing Company

Pilger Ruh Brewing Company

Mount Gretna Craft Brewery

Rotunda Brewing Company

Copperz Brewing Company

Brewer Interviews

Thanks For Reading