John M. Verive

Amid craft lager’s surge, smaller maltsters are sending up signals for an unlikely trend, producing small batches of unusual smoked malts made with a variety of woods. Brewers dig it, too—but will drinkers follow?

Craft breweries are awash in raw data, and the road to higher quality and wider margins begins with making better use of it.

With costs up and growth flat, here’s how skilled brewers are making the most of every brewhouse turn.

The old tech of the oak barrel still works beautifully in the brewery—but it does need a nice, solid thwack with the mallet now and then. Brewers are already janitors, plumbers, and microbiologists, among other things. Might as well add coopers to the list.

As demand grows for nonalcoholic craft beer, brewers and manufacturers are answering the call with a new wave of innovations—and the results have never tasted better.

While the tech is still young, the digital printing of cans is growing in capacity and becoming more accessible—and it can be done quickly, in batches as small as a half-pallet.

What does it mean to worship at the altar of crisp? For brewers, it means special attention to technique, fermentation, and clarification.

The beating hearts of a brewery aren’t glamorous and won’t impress casual visitors, but they can do a great deal to improve how brewers do their jobs. They can also make a lot of noise.

Brewers don’t make beer, yeast do—but they also make a lot more yeast. Here’s a look at some of the specialized gear that brewers use to propagate and ensure consistent pitches from batch to batch.

These entrepreneurs outfitting classic hot rods and fire engines with draft lines and cold boxes say they’re in the business of spreading joy—and in the meantime, they’re winning new converts to craft beer.