Top Beer Trends Everyone Should Try

The glorious world of beer is changing at an ever increasing pace. Every week we see more and more new beers come through our shops. Being a part of the culture is exciting but sometimes it’s easy to miss the boat with new trends in beer. Here’s a list of trendy beer styles that you should definitely try right now.

– Milkshake IPAs

Yes, you saw that correctly and yes, they taste like what they sound like. Milkshake IPAs are basically a regular IPA that are brewed with lactose and vanilla. Then it’s up to the brewer on what to do from there. Many go ahead and add a boat load of fruit. Others decide to go right off the deep end and put lord knows what in there! Either way, you end up with a smooth and sweet beer with a citrusy hop. Bitter? Nah. These IPAs are going for something totally different. They can be fun, delicious, and in some cases, downright strange. Here are some of the best we’ve seen in MO recently;

4 Hands Smooth Operator – Milkshake IPA with mango and guava
Omnipollo Shploing – Milkshake IPA with vanilla, graham, marshmallows, salt and mango.
Evil Twin Every Day Once a Day Give Yourself an IPA – Milkshake IPA double dry hopped.

– Pastry Stouts

You might not know that you know what these are, but you do! Pastry stouts are both the bane of and reason for super hyped excitement in the craft beer world. One of our favorites is made right here in St. Louis, Perennial Abraxas anyone? It’s a mexican cake style Imperial Stout! (See, we told you that you know what these are.) Any time you find a big, thick Imperial Stout modelled after a bakers confection, you’ve likely got yourself a pastry stout. They can range from simple cake style beers to over the top concoctions with Oreos floating right in them. Here are some that you should try RIGHT NOW;

Perennial Abraxas – Imperial Mexican Cake Stout
Omnipollo Noa – Pecan Mud Pie Imperial Stout
Stone Xocoveza – Imperial Stout with Cinnamon and Chili Peppers
Prairie Bomb – Imperial Stout with Vanilla, Cacao Nibs, Coffee & Chili Peppers

– Hazy IPAs

What can only be described as “juice bombs”, Hazy IPAs burst onto the scene a few years ago as the new kid on the block and have firmly cemented themselves into the top of the pop charts. (Woah, way too many jokes in there..) Hazy IPAs are unfiltered IPAs. But more than that, they’re made with flaked oats (in most cases) and have a hazy and glorious appearance. On the IBU scale, these are generally extremely low bitterness. If you find one that’s super bitter, it’s likely not REALLY a Hazy IPA but just unfiltered. If you’ve never tried one before, just imagine a glass of grapefruit juice that gets you drunk! But be sure to check dates on these bad boys. More than a month old? Bah!! Here are some that you should stop what you’re doing and try right now;

2nd Shift Little Big Hop – Session Hazy IPA
Narrow Gauge OJ Run – Imperial Hazy IPA (Worth the drive for sure!)
Evil Twin Ceci N’est Pas A NE Style IPA – Imperial Hazy IPA
New Holland Tangerine Space Machine – Hazy IPA with Tangerine

– Craft Lagers

It started slowly with a lager here, a pilsner there. Nowadays it seems that EVERY brewery has their staple lager ready for us. If you really don’t know what a lager is, maybe you have never had a beer before? Or maybe you have tried some of the big Macros and you just don’t like them. Well, it’s time to give them another shot because there are some truly talented brewers out there making this classic style exciting again. Here are some that you should taste today;

Uinta Lime Pils – Yep, it’s like Bud Light Lime but way better.
2nds Shift Technical Ecstasy – Czech Pils
Perennial Pils – Dry hopped and unfilitered
Urban Chestnut Urban Underdog – Corn-based recipe which tastes strangely like Busch…

– Brut IPAs

The NEWEST new kid on the block. You might not have heard of this style even if you’re knee deep in the beer scene. But rest assured, this one is going to be jammed down everyone’s throats very soon. As crass as that statement comes off, we’re actually pretty excited about this style. The problem is that no brewery wants to miss the boat this time around so everyone’s coming out of the woodwork with their own already. (Not everyone can be the next Treehouse, guys!) A Brut IPA is a super dry beer with most or all of the residual sugars fermented away. Everything we just told you about Hazy and Milkshake IPAs? Just imagine the exact opposite.

This style is so new that we don’t have any in our store yet. Perennial and 2nd Shift recently released Brut IPAs. However, you have to go there to get it. Of the others that are commercially available, we’ve decided not to bring them in to the store just yet. (Hope that doesn’t sound too snobby!)