Bottleneck’s Purchasing Manager is giving us all the insight into the beer trends still to come in 2023.

Brand Extension

 Over the past few years, we have seen guests returning over and over to their favorite beers. There is comfort in a sure thing!

Keeping that idea in mind, there is a trend towards breweries taking their most popular brands and turning those brands into a series of seasonal brews. While this has always been a local taproom happening, large breweries are now bringing this type of innovation to the mainstream.

A successful version of this is New Belgium’s Voodoo Ranger lineup, which you are likely to find in almost every grocery store and gas station across the country. With a hard-to-miss skeleton mascot, it is easy to find Voodoo IPA, IIPA, Juice Force, and Juicy Haze. Other breweries are taking notice; Founders came out with a line of All Day IPA variations in 2022, which we will feature on our City Works seasonal drafts throughout the year, and Bell’s has now experimented with a plethora of Two Hearted variants, including Light Hearted, Black Hearted, and Cold Hearted (more on that style in a bit.)

Non-Alcoholic Beer

A growing number of people are looking to cut down or cut out alcohol from their routines, even past the first of the year.

Whether you are keeping sober for health reasons, volunteering as a designated driver, or just trying to space out consumption, there are an increasing number of breweries looking to provide you with great-tasting beers that contain little to no alcohol.

Athletic Brewing Co. has seen incredible growth while only brewing NA beer, which can be purchased at retailers, as well as ordered online and shipped directly to your home. From local craft breweries like Temperence and Untitled Art, to mass market players like Guinness and Heineken, there is no shortage of NA options to help you get in on the craze.

Cold IPA

The Cold IPA trend has been brewing for a while, and it should continue to gain steam in 2023.

Originally brewed by Wayfinder Beer in Portland, OR, Cold IPA is an IPA sometimes brewed with lager yeast and fermented at cooler temperatures. This process minimizes the flavors and aromas of the yeast and helps to highlight the brightness of the hops. It should be crisper and cleaner than an IPA but of course bigger and more hop-forward than a lager.

Don’t be surprised if you start seeing Cold IPA pop up at tap rooms across the country.

Looking for more beer knowledge? Check out one of our beer-style blogs like American IPA, Double IPA, and Belgian Golden Strong Ale.