Robotics in large breweries is already operational reality rather than near-future technology, and the applications have expanded beyond the obvious (packaging line automation) into brewing process operations that require environmental sensing and ad
New hop hybrids are something I follow closely because the variety pipeline determines what will be available to brewers in 3–5 years — hop breeding programs have a long lead time between variety development and commercial availability.
Low-alcohol beer through gene editing is an application where the technology has progressed faster than consumer awareness, and the commercial beers already on the market using engineered yeast for alcohol reduction are some of the better-tasting low
Essential oil additions to beer are something I’ve experimented with carefully over several years — carefully because the margin between “interesting botanical complexity” and “soap/cleaning product” is narrow with many essential oils, and the concen
Alternative bittering agents in beer is a topic I’ve explored both from historical curiosity and practical necessity — there are periods when hops become expensive, scarce, or simply when I want to experiment with what beer tasted like before hops …
Centennial is the hop I associate with the generation of American IPAs that came just before the Citra revolution — the Sierra Nevada Torpedo era, when grapefruit-forward, assertive, floral-citrus was the definition of American craft.
Citra is the hop I use more than any other in modern IPAs and pale ales — it’s become essentially the default for tropical citrus character in American craft brewing, and for good reason.
Mosaic is the hop that changed how I think about complexity in a single variety. Before Mosaic, I assumed an interesting IPA needed three or four different hops to build layered character — then I made a single-hop Mosaic NEIPA …
Cascade is the hop that defined American craft brewing — before Citra, before Mosaic, before the explosion of specialty varieties, Cascade was the hop that made American ales taste American.
Saaz is the hop I use in every Czech Pilsner I brew, and I’ve never found a substitute that fully replicates what authentic Bohemian Saaz does in the finished beer.