We saddled up with the masterminds behind the highest rated brews and asked them about the inspiration behind the recipes. Follow the links below to the individual Q & A's, or you may access Q & A's from all editions here.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, our beer review is much less robust than normal in Issue 48. Let's hope the fallout from this virus dissipates quickly so that we may get back to providing you with the normal volume of high-quality beer reviews you've come to expect. Cheers!

Judging Process
Our reviews are conducted in a single-blind tasting format. This method provides the best opportunity to rely on facts and to avoid favoritism, insuring a level playing field for all brewers. It serves both the industry and the consumer to have unbiased and objective scores from qualified experts. To best implement this approach, the Judges Review is open to those with established experience as a Master Cicerone® from the Cicerone® Certification Program or as a judge that has accomplished the rank of National or higher from the Beer Judge Certification Program. In the single-blind tasting format, judges are presented with a chilled, properly poured beer and given its style category. Scoring is then done on the following basis using a 100-point scale:

There is always something newsworthy taking place in the beer industry. That's why we dedicate Monday of each week to publishing the top stories from the previous week in our Industry News e-newsletter. Here you'll find a compilation of all the news we've covered since the last issue, with links to the full stories.

We are living through unprecedented times.

With the entire world being ravaged by the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, the beer world has been severely hamstrung by this highly contagious disease. The situation seems dire, but there is always hope.

Many breweries, distilleries and other related industries have come together to help make hand sanitizer or donate funds to various charitable causes as this horrid virus continues to spread throughout the world – leaving behind pain and suffering in its wake.

Though the news is seemingly all bad – in the beer industry and beyond – we hope that the shining beacon of beer is keeping you and your loved ones engaged (and sane) during these trying times.

With that in mind, our May/June Issue 2020, Issue 48 is out now with all the brew that’s fit to drink.

Seeing as the entire world is being impacted by it, our top story is a deep dive into how COVID-19 is affecting the beer industry by Jessica Zimmer. We hope this well-researched and highly sourced story answers any questions you might have about the virus situation in our industry.

We also have a wide variety of education pieces broaching multiple topics. First, Owen Ogletree takes us down to the Big Easy to outline The Rebirth of Dixie Beer, then Stephen Staples outlines the interesting theory of Lupulin Threshold Shift, which entails hoppy beers “rewriting” your taste buds in interesting and unusual ways.

PARTNERS
Tavour
The Original Craft Beer Club
Willamette Valley Hops

Everybody's Brewing in White Salmon, Washington and Stoup Brewing in Seattle, Washington has announced the release of a Hazy IPA collaboration beer called The Devil's Science Fair. Full details from the breweries are below.

White Salmon, Wash. — Everybody’s Brewing and Stoup Brewing have just released a collaborative Hazy IPA named The Devil’s Science Fair, available in 16oz cans at local bottle shops and markets throughout Washington and Oregon. The Devil’s Science Fair comes in at 6.7% ABV and 60 IBU, and pours a vibrant, hazy gold. Tropical fruit aroma and flavor can be attributed to the blend of Galaxy, El Dorado, and Citra hops as well as a unique blend of three Kveik yeast strains sourced from Sleight Labs (Seattle) and Imperial Yeast (Portland).

Kveik strains remain an intriguing ingredient and relevant player in the craft brewing industry. They have the unusual ability of running at a range of temperatures and pitch rates that would normally destroy other yeasts. Looking produce big, fruity esters, some brewers attempt to push towards the extreme ends of these ranges. The approach of Stoup and Everybody’s, was a carefully calculated technique that called for very high temperatures combined with a low pitch rate that gives Devil’s Science Fair it’s super clean, bright, fruity finish, without any hint of stress.