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The last time the Brewers Association updated its Beer Style Guidelines in a big way was to reflect the massive popularity of the Hazy IPAs, but now it seems that serious craft beer fans are all about lagers.
Here’s the deal…
On June 6 The Brewers Association re-announced that it had added seven new beer styles to the Beer Style Guidelines in advance of registration for the 2025 Great American Beer Festival (GABF) competition which reflects growing consumer interest in lagers and more traditional beers.
Reviewed and revised annually by the BA, these guidelines and descriptions serve as a model resource for beer drinkers, brewers, beer judges, and competition organizers, and celebrate the great diversity of beer around the world. The BA has been compiling them since 1979.
The 2024 guidelines feature one newly added style, Italian-Style Pilsener. Originating in northern Italy, the beer combines what is considered a traditional German-Style Pilsener with a significant addition of noble- variety dry hops.
“We’re excited to have a new home for the many Italian-Style Pilseners we’ve seen popping up in the global beer market over the past few years,” said Chris Williams, BA Competition Director. “Giving these beers an opportunity to shine in their own standalone competition category gives us the opportunity to recognize this flavorful style.”
Adjustments have also been made to several European styles to adequately reflect traditional and current trends, particularly of beer styles originating in Belgium and Germany.
“Input and feedback from our European colleagues are particularly important,” said Chuck Skypeck, BA Technical Brewing Projects Director. “The brewing landscape continues to evolve worldwide. We want to ensure that the BA Beer Style Guidelines continue to be a trusted resource and adequately reflect current beer styles across the globe as brewers innovate and refine their beers.”
This from the BA’s announcement…
The new additions to the guidelines are:
Four styles—Light, Pale, Amber, and Dark—that represent the range of Mexican-Style Lager. Formerly rolled into larger, more ambiguous lager categories for the GABF competition, the uniqueness and growing popularity of these styles warrants individual guideline recognition for brewers and judges as subcategories of the International Light Lager, the new International Amber Lager, and the International Dark Lager categories, respectively.
Czech-Style Amber Lager and Czech-Style Dark Lager. The distinctive side-pour faucet used to dispense Czech-style beers has created renewed brewer and consumer interest in these traditional beers. Along with the addition of these two styles to the guidelines, we have included them as GABF subcategories of the new International Amber Lager category and the International Dark Lager category, respectively. Additionally, the category formerly known as Bohemian-Style Pilsener has been renamed as Czech-Style Pale Lager.
Representing the constant innovation that is a hallmark of independent brewers, West Coast-Style Pilsener is a new style that balances the fresh, assertive expression of Pacific Northwest and Southern Hemisphere hops with the character and drinkability of a pilsner. This style is a result of brewers’ recent experimentation with high hop levels in lager styles.
“We are proud to honor these traditional brewing styles with a home in the BA Style Guidelines in recognition of their continued and growing popularity here in the United States, as well as in the global beer market, “ said Chris Williams added…
“Now these beers will have a distinct home when it comes to competitions like the GABF and World Beer Cup, giving them the best opportunity to shine and showcase the artisans making world-class examples of these beers.”
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