Was at a 25th Anniversary tasting for the Milwaukee micro Lakefront recently, and a question was asked of founder/owner Russ Klisch: What do you see as the next big thing in craft brewing?
Russ Klisch is a bit excited about this.
"I think more sessionable, lower alcohol, but highly flavorful beers are what you'll see next. We're planning a highly hopped beer with a low ABV." (Not verbatim, but the gist of his answer.)
To which I replied, "That's great to hear."
Yeah, I know: he said "sessionable," and that's verbo non grata around here, but it's the gist of what he said -- as Steven put it -- that's important! That's another solid craft brewing figure who's of the opinion that session beer is the hot trend. Of course, Lakefront's summer seasonal, Wisconsite, is already at 4.4%, so he's putting his malt where his mouth is.
And let me just tell you...there's a LOT more people going to drink (and buy, brewers...buy) session beers than there are ever going to be drinking sour beers, the beer that most alpha beer geeks would note as the hot trend. Sours have their place, and they're trending, and I love 'em (especially now as the weather's heating up again), but it's a niche. Session beer could blow things wide open.
