From the Editor (Issue 47)

As the glacial gaze of winter finally begins to dim, we once again welcome a new season and, with it, a new issue of The Beer Connoisseur!

This Spring 2020, Issue 47 packs in plenty of powerful prose on your favorite topic: Beer! That’s right, it’s time for all the brew that’s fit to drink in this issue, which is headlined by us naming who we believe to be the Best Brewery in the World: pFriem Family Brewers of Hood River, Oregon!

We do not make this claim lightly, but pFriem’s sterling pedigree and 31 world-class and exceptional beer reviews in our Official Review made them our top choice for the honor.

Then, Stan Hieronymus delves into the sticky issue of What Are Noble Hops? Do the hops truly come from noble foliage? Or is this simply a trumped-up marketing term? Stan provides all the details and more in this engaging education piece.

Ryan Newhouse is up next with an interesting topic of the changing beer scene in the United Kingdom by looking at how Hazy, New England IPAs are affecting the country’s craft beer landscape.

Hard seltzers are all the rage, so we asked Jonathan Ingram to pose – and answer – 10 key questions about them to help shine some light on this meteorically rising beverage. How is it brewed? Is it here to stay? Jonathan has the answers.

In an eminently competitive industry such as craft brewing, breweries sometimes have to think outside the box to attract customers. Jessie O’Brien details 12 breweries with fascinating experiential taprooms in order to help keep customers engaged.

St. Petersburg, Florida is one of the finest craft beer cities in the southern United States, and we tasked Michael Thacker with finding some of the most interesting (and best) breweries in the city in a Beer Tour of St. Petersburg.

The issue closes out with a duo of globe-trekking stories by Jim Dykstra. First off, he explores six notable Japanese craft breweries whose beers are available in the United States. Then, he heads north – way north – to Scandinavia where he finds the Top 15 Places to Drink Beer in Norway.

Of course, no issue would be complete without our Industry News, Official Reviews and Brewer Q&As, which are present and accounted for in Issue 47.

We hope you enjoy imbibing this issue as much as we enjoyed producing it. So sit back in the pleasant spring air, sip a cool brew and enjoy this, Issue 47 of The Beer Connoisseur!

Cheers!
- Chris Guest, Managing Editor