Beyond Beer

Beer purists might look down their noses at the humble radler and other shandies, but crafting your own soda to blend with your own beer is a flavor-driven project any brewer can appreciate.

Tepache is the fast, fun, and nearly foolproof fermented drink you’ll want to blend into your next brew—or sip solo.

In Korea, a new generation has revived a folk drink made from rice and mixed-culture fermentation. Now, two small-batch producers are making makgeolli on American shores, celebrating their heritage while introducing many more to its depth of flavors.

The rising interest in hard seltzer and other not-so-beery beverages has led to new looks at existing gear in the brewhouse—as well as investments in equipment or partnerships that could have wider benefits.

If your hard seltzer fermentation gets sluggish toward the end, there are things you can do—such as check and adjust pH—and there are things you shouldn’t do. Chris Colby explains.

Hard seltzer isn’t hard to make—unless you want to do it well. Like all the pro brewers across the country who went from turning up their noses at the stuff to embracing its popularity, you too can do the same crowd-pleasing 180° in your home brewery.

Beer? No. Craft? Yes. These drinks outside the beer space have grown exponentially over the past year. They’re hitting their stride. From the sublime to the absurd—and from cider to mead via seltzer and kombucha—here are some of our favorites.