As taprooms reopened and supply chain woes persisted, the beer industry worked to navigate the realities that 2021 had to offer. Many searched for ways to prepare for another unpredictable year, making Joshua Bernstein’s beer industry trends report an invaluable resource—and our number one beer feature—this year. Readers also dove into Tara Nurin’s overview of the craft beer industry’s quest to diversify across its trade and consumer base. Features detailing the industry’s many product innovations—from cartoon labels to winemaking crossovers—were also popular in 2021.

5.How to Identify Off-flavors in Beer (2019)

Graph courtesy of Jeff Quinn.

Beer experts discuss common beer flaws and what servers need to know to recognize them

At times, bar and restaurant patrons send back a beer not because they don’t like the style but because they claim it contains an “off-flavor”—an unpleasant taste or smell that in most cases shouldn’t be present. Although brewers do their best to release perfectly made products, sometimes a beer can develop an unintended flaw at some point during brewing, packaging, storing, transporting, or serving. So how do servers know if a beer is, indeed, tainted? 

Don’t miss the latest drinks industry news and insights. Sign up for our award-winning Daily Dispatch newsletter—delivered to your inbox every week.

Here’s a guide to eight of the most common off-flavors associated with beer and what servers should know about them—with a reminder that most off-flavors have their place in at least one or two beer styles. [Read more]

4. For Many Craft Breweries, Winemaking is the Next Frontier

Photo courtesy of Odell Brewing.

To broaden their sales base, breweries are reaching beyond the beer drinker by producing natural wines, piquettes, fruited spritzes, and more

Several years ago, Odell Brewing sought internal input on how to repurpose an underused building. The employee-owned brewery in Fort Collins, Colorado, empowers its owners to generate business ideas, and a maintenance team member proposed winemaking. 

Wine? Hmm. Odell has brewed beer since 1989, back when the brand was a pioneer in a wide-open craft market that has, over the decades, steadily become congested with competition. Making wine could widen Odell’s potential audience, building a broader customer base beyond the IPA crowd. “There’s a portion of the community that either can’t or chooses not to drink beer,” says director of marketing Alex Kayne.

In fall 2019, …….

Source: https://daily.sevenfifty.com/our-top-beer-stories-of-2021/