The Most Popular Beer Styles To Brew in 2024

The craft beer movement has inspired brewers to push the boundaries of traditional beer-making. From experimenting with unconventional ingredients to reviving old methods and implementing modern brewing techniques, the variety of beers available is more diverse than ever.

The upcoming year promises an even greater expansion of this trend, with several distinct styles gaining more traction. These popular beer styles to brew in 2024 will help you keep your customers engaged, interested, and happy.

Hazy IPAs

Hazy IPAs, sometimes known as New England IPAs, keep growing in popularity. These beers are well-known for their cloudy appearance, juicy hop flavors, and low bitterness compared to traditional IPAs. The haze occurs due to specific yeast strains and brewing techniques, which preserve hop oils and proteins. Hazy IPAs offer a fantastic canvas for experimenting with different hop varieties.

Sours and Wild Ales

Sours and wild ales keep capturing the imagination of brewers in 2024. These beers are distinctive for their tart and tangy flavors thanks to wild fermentation and the use of cultures like Lactobacillus and Brettanomyces. Wild ales rely on the unpredictable nature of fermentation, resulting in unique and complex flavor profiles. The trend toward more adventurous and bold flavor explorations in craft beer will continue to drive the popularity of sours and wild ales.

Stouts and Porters

Stouts and porters are two of the most popular beer styles to brew in 2024, offering rich, robust flavors and versatility. These dark beers range from sweet and creamy to dry and bitter, often featuring notes of coffee, chocolate, and caramel. The ability to build layers of flavor makes these styles irresistible to brewers seeking to innovate and move beyond the boundaries of standard beer-making.

Lagers

Lager, a classic beer style, is seeing a resurgence as brewers look to master its crisp, clean, and refreshing characteristics. Unlike ales, lagers ferment at cooler temperatures using bottom-fermenting yeast. This process requires precision and patience, often taking weeks to months to perfect. The result is a beer style that, while traditional, offers a rewarding brewing experience and a versatile, crowd-pleasing end product.

Session Beers

Session beers, characterized by their lower alcohol content and balanced flavor profiles, are becoming more popular. These beers focus on drinkability, allowing beer enthusiasts to enjoy multiple servings without overwhelming their senses or impairing their judgment. The growing trend toward health-conscious consumption habits aligns perfectly with session beers. Brewers focus on creating flavorful yet lighter options, ensuring that these beers remain appealing and satisfying.

The brewing landscape in 2024 combines a blend of traditional favorites and bold, experimental styles. These beer options promise to captivate the palates of beer enthusiasts around the globe. Fortunately, incorporating modern brewing equipment like reliable unitanks, which combine fermentation and maturation processes in a single vessel, will streamline production and maintain quality across these popular beer styles.