Year in Beer

With the country knee-deep in its nastiest recession in 70 years, Americans needed stiff drinks more than ever. But instead of drowning their economic sorrows with dirt-cheap Coors Light or Bud, droves of drinkers snagged six-packs, 22-ounce bombers and champagne-corked bottles of craft beer.

According to industry group the Brewers Association, during the first half of 2009, craft brewing grew 5 percent by volume and 9 percent by dollars, numbers made more astounding when you consider that overall beer sales nose-dived 1.3 percent.

Why are microbreweries bucking the economic trend? It's a matter of taste. Increasingly, brew drinkers "are attracted to flavor and variety, new and different products and beers made by small, local and independent companies," says Brewers Association director Paul Gatza.
And 2009 saw unprecedented growth for independent companies. The number of breweries crested 1,500 (1,525, as of July 31 -- the highest total in a century), with the brewmasters driven by wild experimentation.

This year, super-potent extreme beers showed no sign of slowing. Sam Adams released its port-like, 27 percent ABV Utopias, only to be trumped by Scotland's BrewDog, whose Tactical Nuclear Penguin stout clocked in at a mind-sizzling 32 percent ABV.

Other outfits explored the lower end of the ABV spectrum, creating flavorful "session" beers that you can drink several of without getting tanked. For example, Placentia, Calif.'s the Bruery turned out its tart Hottenroth Berliner Weisse (3.1 percent ABV), while Oregon's Full Sail cranked out the Session Black. The dark and crisp lager checks in at a way quaffable -- yet still flavorful -- 5.4 percent ABV.

Sour ales, too, finally took a starring role. California's Russian River continued to wow drinkers with its creations (Beatification, Supplication) dosed with wild yeasts such as Brettanomyces and Lactobacillus. They impart funky barnyard flavors -- in a good way. In Dexter, Mich., Ron Jeffries turned the same trick with his Jolly Pumpkin beauties, including the earthy, woodsy La Roja, which is made by blending oak-aged sour ales. And Pleasantville, N.Y.'s Captain Lawrence killed it with Rosso e Marrone, a barrel-aged ale fermented with grapes.

Still, the gorilla in the craft-beer jungle remains hoppy India pale ales. "Many beer drinkers have followed a trend toward hoppier beers," Gatza says. From California-based Lagunitas' skunky, resinous Hop Stoopid to Kalamazoo, Mich.'s Bell's HopSlam -- the bitterness is tempered by honey -- suds fans love to make the bitter-beer face.

Instead of puckering their mouths, foreign-beer importers are frowning. Overall, sales of imports such as Heineken and Corona tanked 9.5 percent. "Many imports [don't taste] that different from less expensive domestic beers in taste, and the consumer is unwilling to pay more for the perceived value," Gatza explains. "The decline of the six megabrands in the United States [Bud Light, Bud, Coors Light, Miller Lite, Corona Extra, Heineken] is a sign of the times."

With the big boys shrinking and the small fries growing, what else can we expect from the beer world in the coming year? "I expect more great beer from small and independent companies," Gatza says. "More collaborations. More varieties of variety packs. More sour beers. More innovation on beer styles."

Now that's news worth drinking to.

Any trends we overlooked? Set us straight in the comments section.

Joshua M. Bernstein has written about brews, bars and booze for New York Magazine, Time Out New York, ForbesTraveler.com and the New York Times.