Flavor

When done thoughtfully, fruited sours, spiked sodas, and even hard seltzers can address many of the same drinker demands as RTD cocktails.

Your brewery has the potential to tap into a wider audience, bearing in mind that today’s typical drinkers aren’t beer geeks. Here’s how to grab their attention with flavor descriptions that resonate.

These self-described “coyotes” are always on the hunt for the next improvement and next opportunity—a drive that’s led them to medals, expansion, and the flavorful grounds beyond beer.

Chasing flavor-driven trends on retail shelves is certainly one way to pursue growth. Yet smaller breweries may find more success by recommitting to an identity grounded in intentional brewing.

Understanding this off-flavor, how to test for it, and how to reduce it is key to producing commercially viable beer.

You don’t have to join ’em to beat ’em. Trends in flavored malt beverages, canned cocktails, and even nonalcoholic products suggest new ways to develop and market beer that connects with today’s exploratory drinkers.

It’s an immensely complex task, but sensory science and chemical analysis are bringing us closer to understanding the relationship between barley genetics and beer flavor.

For Ninkasi Brewing in Eugene, Oregon, the benefits of developing hard seltzer expertise and its Pacific Sparkling brand far outweighed the product’s perceived lack of romance.

Donna Wamsley of Seattle-based SoRSE Technology—a specialist in figuring out how to get flavors into our foods and drinks—talks consumer trends and what’s on the horizon for the beer industry.

There are “cheater” hops and there are “cheaper” hops, but the latter can also offer the big exotic aromas and flavors that are popular today. Stan Hieronymus has specific suggestions for varieties and how they might be employed in the brewhouse.