Eight Colorado Beer Insiders offer Thoughts on What’s Next in the State of Beer

By Kyle Kirves

Brewing craft beer is an exercise in creativity. To be a successful brewer one has to be part artist, part scientist, and something of a fortune teller – seeing into the minds of beer lovers everywhere. Formulating notions of “what’s next” in brewing culture is also important. It’s exactly what brewers have been doing for generations: inventing new beers via technique, technology, or terroir. 

Fiction Beer Company had long lines during GABF. Photo Neill Pieper

What better place to rap about brewing innovation than at Great American Beer Festival, where talent meets taste, and where brewers can get immediate feedback from the beer lover on the street. I asked several Colorado brewers to offer glimpses into their own crystal ball as to what they thought the future of beer is – whether for the industry generally or their brewery specifically. The answers, as you might expect, were as wide-ranging and varied as the brewers themselves.

“Brut IPA,” says Rachel Gibbons of Jagged Mountain in Denver, citing the brewery’s already on-tap offering. “Extra dry. It’s going to be a bandwagon style in the near future. We’ve done a lot of experimentation with Pinot Grigio grape juice and it’s really interesting and with a dry, clean finish.” No fewer than three other brewers cited Brut IPA as a 2019 trend to watch for. 

Some 2018 trends will undoubtedly continue into 2019. New England-style IPA - a brand new award category at GABF this year – had more entries than any other single category. “We have been a big advocate of New England-style IPAs and that will continue to grow,” says Neil Fisher of WeldWerks brewing in Greeley. “We’ll continue to refine there and play with the hop balance.”

Fisher also contends that – in an “everything old is new again” kind of way – that lagers are going to make a comeback. “Brewers are creating more classic styles on the lager front and experimenting with more sessionable lagers as alternatives to big, hoppy double IPA-styles.”

Brian Hutchinson of Cannonball Creek Brewing Co. in Golden, home of the GABF award-winning Netflix and Pils, seconds that sentiment, saying the next big thing is “lagers, specifically pilsners. And I’m not just saying that because we won. I’m really excited about it this style’s return. My dream is to have more than one (pilsner) on tap at any one time.”

Barry Bialik of Thirsty Monk Brewing pouring at GABF. Photo Neill Pieper

There is always, though, the juxtaposition of light and dark, of drinkability versus full-bodied dark beers. “A challenge to brewers is brewing tasty and satisfying light beers,” says Barry Bialik, owner of Thirsty Monk brewing in Denver. “I could see that trend continuing.” 

The other side of the coin? “Dark, fruity beers and stouts,” says Titus Bentley of Horse and Dragon in Fort Collins. 

“Barrell-aged stouts,” says Christa Kilpatrick of Denver’s Fiction Beer Co. (home of bronze medal winning, Madame Psychosis hazy IPA). “We could see a time when barrel-aged stouts are released year round.” Husband Ryan Kilpatrick, co-owner and head brewer, agrees but also cites approachability and redefining styles as the next wave. “That’s the reason hazy and juicy IPAs have taken off,” he said. “They appeal even to people who say, ‘I don’t like hops.’” 

Left Hand Brewing’s GABF booth. Photo Neill Pieper

Longmont stalwart Left Hand Brewing Co.’s Carl Rose suggests experimentation will continue to rule the day, even to the point of reimagining some of their flagship ales. “Ingredients used in different ways is trending. We’ll be fermenting stuff or putting stuff right in the brew kettle,” Rose said. “We’re going outside the bounds. In the U.S., we’re not locked in to the same culture of doing things the same way as they might be in Europe. We’re going to see a lot of people doing things that have never been done before. Not sure what that might be. We’ll be taking some our bases – like our Milk Stout – and maybe try new adjuncts like peanut butter or whatever.” 

Barry Watkins of Crazy Mountain Brewing Co. in Denver suggests that what he’s hearing most from beer lovers everywhere is a desire to see more small batch beers and specialty reserve beers – treasures that can only be found in the tap room or via very limited release. “We’re recommitting to true craft brewing and original recipes,” he said. “And you’ll be seeing more of our limited ‘local stash’ series.”

Still others refuse to pigeonhole themselves into trending styles or the latest head-turning experiment, instead preferring to focus on interesting collaborations. “We want to work with people who are as passionate about what they do as we are about what we do,” said Mike Bristol of Bristol Brewing Co. in Colorado Springs. Citing their own coffee-infused dunkelweissen, he said, “There’s more to brewing a great coffee beer than just calling a roaster and asking for 20 pounds of coffee. We looked at five or six different roasts and then tried to match is with a beer style. We wanted to work differently and find things that worked together well.”

What I think all of these brewers and the thousands upon thousands of fans GABF would agree on is that the future is wide open and there is still a wild and wooly frontier remaining when it comes to craft brewing. As long as there is exploration and experimentation, there will always be innovation … and an eager flock of connoisseurs ready to try what’s next, on tap.