Vinepair asks What Craft Beer Style is Dead in 2026. The caveat of the idea is what styles aren’t being brewed in the United States these days. Though some argue it’s a great time for craft, the number of styles commonly available is in decline and has been for over a decade. This is a concerning trend. While most anything not an IPA or Lager are on life support in the current market, the Style Spotlights have given me insight into the state of the market.

So what are my dying styles list? 

Doppelbock – I wanted to showcase it in Winter, but I could not find enough examples. Traditionally it is said this beer was consumed by Monks during Lent for sustenance. Big malty beasts of a beer, Celebrator from Germany is most likely the one found on the shelf with the white goat ornament hanging off the bottle. Michael Jackson in Ultimate Beer describes it as “dark brown to ebony color; soft, rich, coffeeish, malt flavors, and figgy dryness in the finish.“ Locally BMC Brewing hasn’t forgotten the style, making J.S. Doppelbock which they had on draft recently and worth finding as it returns next Winter.

Saison – While often called a Farmhouse ale, documentation of the style doesn’t go back much into the 1800s and most of it is commercial brewing in origin. From Jackson again “They are firm and dry, with a yeasty, fruity acidity like that of an orange, and usually unfiltered.” Saison Dupont remains the textbook example, but Boulevard’s Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale is a solid example that can be found. I hope to be wrong and find enough local examples to spotlight this Summer.

Belgian Blonde – As much as I love a great Tripel, it would be nice to drink a lower ABV alternate that has a similar flavor profile. Back to Jackson this time in Beer Companion “It is a style similar to an English pale ale, but more aromatic and spicy in both malt and yeast character. Outside of Belgian I think this style has actually died but if you find a De Knoninck or Palm Special are a treat.

Kentucky Common – Which never really has been that common a beer hails from naturally Kentucky. While homebrewers and some modern versions can feature a tart sourness, brewing records historically don’t support such notions. Light in body, often with some corn in the mash, they do run amber or a bit dark due to a touch of Black malt in the mash. Light in body and quaffable they are a great Summer brew. I can’t think of an example in the Carolinas.

What beer style do you miss? Please leave yours in the socials.

West Coast IPAs seem to be making a comeback currently. It’s interesting that both GABF and BJCP have dropped the term in favor of American IPA. Historically you are looking at American hops dominate especially the C hops. C Hops are Columbus, Chinook, Centennial, and Cascade. Often these beers had a strong bitterness, with aromas of pine and resin, even dankness. While they can be pale some examples have a faint amber hue, with a brilliant clarity. The abv ranges from 6 to 7.5% much higher and you are into double IPA territory.

Blackbird Brewing, Squad Deep, 7.2% abv

Straw colored beer with white foam, the lightest color of the day for sure. Hazy for the style. Pine and resin on the nose, but very balanced in the flavor. It tastes more of a tropical fruit character with a background of almost bubble gum. Light in body, especially considering the abv. Brewed with Krush and Citra hops.

Edmund’s Oast Brewing Co, Plasma Gun, 8.0% abv

Has a resin pine aroma, another golden ale with light white foam, a bit hazy an appearance. Hoppy oil texture in the mouthfeel. Lacks on the bitterness for the style. Hops featured are Chinook, Citra, and Centennial.

Lenny Boy Brewing, Frank the Dank, 6.2% abv

The nose definitely leads with a dank nose. Golden hue with white foam, there is a bit of haze to the beer. Hops dominate in the aroma, with no malt character present. Hop bursts in flavor but finishes with a pleasant malt sweetness. The beer is balanced, but a little more bitterness would be nice. The hops in Frank are Apollo, Idaho 7, and Columbus.

When I think of West Coast IPA, I tend to think of more bitterness than today’s samples offered and perhaps that is just a market shift that breweries are not making the style as bitter. What’s your go to West Coast IPA?

Poor old Brown ale, it’s a fantastic style with a good range from solid English maltiness to American examples that can have a more hop forward character. For the last ten to fifteen years it’s a style that dropped off while IPAs and Lagers took the spotlight. I was brewing at a place when we saw the trend while IPAs might sell 4 half barrels (15.5 gallons) a week, it took between two to three weeks to sell one keg of Brown ale. That’s when word came down, it’s moving from year round to a Winter seasonal. I did get complaints in the taproom, but my response was “if you loved that beer you would have been drinking more of it.”

According to BJCP “A malty but hoppy standard-strength American ale frequently with chocolate and caramel flavors. The hop flavor and aroma complement and enhance the malt rather than clashing with it.” Better examples have a not just chocolate character but a malt depth sometimes from using different crystal malts. I like a Brown with a subtle English hop note. Moderate in gravity with a rand 4.0-6.2% abv.

Armored Cow Brewing, Bitchin’ Betty, 5.4% abv

The lightest color of the days beer, brown on the table but more of an amber hue when the glass was raised, with light tan foam. Low aroma with no chocolate or hop character, canned this year so still fairly fresh. It featured a light sweetness, likely the most balanced beer of the day. It reminded me of Newcastle.

Pisgah Brewing, Turtleback Brown, 5.9% abv – draft not pictured

Very roasty nose on this beer, it was a deep brown color that had an amber hue when put to the light, foam was a light tan color. The beer seemed light on the crystal character but strong chocolate character. For an American Brown the hop character was rather subdued. Quite an enjoyable draft.

Viciour Fishes Brewery, Into the Abyss Brown Ale, 5.3%

Deep brown color with light tan foam, with garnet-ruby highlights as brought to light. Aroma was a rich roasty, chocolate with a hint of hop character. The beer featured nice sweetness and the roast didn’t dominate the flavor as much as the nose advertised.

There’s something about Winter weather and Barleywine that make it a great pairing. The cold, crisp air and warming sensation of all the alcohol match well. The name is fairly obvious, a barley that nearly matches a wine in terms of strength. According to the BJCP “A very strong, malty, hoppy, bitter American ale with a rich palate, full mouthfeel, and warming aftertaste, suitable for contemplative sipping.” The American tend for more hop forward character often, where the English are more balanced or malt forward. The color range can vary dramatically from copper through brown, but today’s tasting features a black one. This is a big beer that ranges 8 to 12% abv, better examples have warmth but not a harsh alcohol character. 

When we went to Vermont on vacation a while back, we stopped in at Rock Art Brewery, and had their barleywine the Vermonster. Very American in fashion with bold hop character, but they did something very unique a cheese pairing with it. When you tried one cheese all the hops came forward, with the second malt character dominated. If you’re ever in the area it’s well worth stopping in.

We have four beers in today’s selection, but they were sampled over the course of  3 different nights, because well, moderation.

Atomic Clock Brewing Co, Bossloper Whiskey Barrel – Aged Black Barleywine, 10.7% abv

The deep black color is a stand out difference immediately, most examples are lighter. The whiskey barrel age is very present in the nose. It mentions Blackstrap Molasses on the bottle and generally that gives a nice dryness, it also mentions toasted marshmallows and caramelized dates, but those characteristics I didn’t really pick up. I think the whiskey barrel character dominated the beer. It had a nice aged character and depth came out as it warmed. It is in stores around the Triangle currently.

Fortuna Komes Barleywine, 12% abv

Based in Poland I found this at Total Wine, the only example of the style in the store. This beer featured an amber hue with light off white foam. It had a rich caramel aroma. It’s a medium body beer but had little in the way of alcoholic warmth to it. Rather one note caramel flavor, but not a depth often featured in the style.

Sierra Nevada, Bigfoot, 9.6% abv

Deep amber with light off foam. It had warmth of dried fruits and raisins in the nose, with a rich caramel character, while plum and date character didn’t seem to stand out as much as the nose presented. I think the beer was a bit young, but it’s still available in stores so I’m going to find a six pack to age and compare next year.

Trophy Brewing, Gravity Always Wins 12% abv

This was a bonus beer, I’d forgotten it was in the garage refrigerator and the Alewif rediscovered it. According to her Untappd she thinks we found it in 2023. Another barrel aged barleywine this one aged in Weller 12 bourbon barrel. It featured a light amber foam and the head disappeared so rapidly I didn’t note the color. The aroma rich notes of plum and dates with a hint of bourbon. Rich aged character with notes of stonefruit and friend cherry. The barrel character was there throughout and became more pronounced as it warmed. Alewif would have liked a little more carbonation but of the four this was our favorite. The beer is not currently in production and we kept ours cold, but worth trying if you run across it.

This week’s style is barrel aged stouts, I talked a bit about barrel aging here, but we will focus a little deeper this time. As to BJCP states “An intensely-flavored, very strong, very dark stout with a broad range of interpretations. Roasty-burnt malt with a depth of dark or dried fruit flavors, and a warming, bittersweet finish. Despite the intense flavors, the components need to meld together to create a complex, harmonious beer, not a hot mess – sometimes only accomplished with age.” The key often with these beers is aging and if your aging steel is rather boring, why not a nice bit of oak to add an extra level of complexity. Bourbon barrels are often the go to but these days there is a great range of barrels on the market from wine barrels to South American hard woods. There is enough material to write a book and in fact Dick Cantwell and Peter Bouckaert did in the great Wood & Beer: A Brewers Guide.

While high gravity beers were all the rage pre-COVID, they seem to have fallen out of favor and finding three examples took some work.

Allagash Brewing, Gatherwell, 11% abv

Deep Black hue with a chocolate foam. It featured a rich mixture of caramel and roast in the taste and a thick syrup consistency. While it says it’s Bourbon barrel aged, I didn’t really get it, though the Alewif detected it.

Goose Island, Bourbon County Brand Stout, 14.8% abv

Bourbon County Brand Stout was an original in the market, one of the first true Whales until after InBev bought Goose Island and kicked production into overdrive. Released on Black Friday each year, it used to be gone that day, but now it lingers on the market into the New Year. There are a number of variations these days but we stuck to the classic for the tasting. Black with a very dark foam. This beer had a rich roast character with notes of plum and raisin. It matched Allagash in complexity but with the Bourbon character more present. It had a nice balance, clear why it remains so popular today. If you want to learn more about the beer and Goose Island’s story check out Barrel-Aged Stout and Selling Out by Josh Noel. Lastly there is a North Carolina connection to the beer, Seth Gross of Bull City Burger and Burger worked at Goose Island around when the beer hit national fame.

BMC Brewing, Barrel Aged Manneken Stout, 10.1% abv

While barrel aged, this one had mentions of rye barrel but it had notes of vanilla the others didn’t have. I believe it was fermented on the cooler side as I didn’t have the strong phenols or spice I associate with a Belgian yeast. There was a malt complexity present and a bit more bitterness than the other two beers.

Having difficulty finding beers this week, I’ll be contrasting two Dark European Lager styles. Living in Pittsboro is great, but still rather limited to finding some styles. So the two styles are Czech Dark Lager and Schwartzbier (Dark German Lager). The Schwartzbier is better known of the two BCJP offers “A dark German lager that balances roasted yet smooth malt flavors with moderate hop bitterness.” A light to medium body beer but basically a Stout made with lager yeast. As for the Tmave Pivo (Czech Dark Lager) BJCP describes it as “A rich, dark, malty Czech lager with a roast character that can vary from almost absent to quite prominent.” In my experience the roast character is far less in this beer than the Schwartzbier. The better examples I find a rich malt character with a hint of chocolate. The ABVs are in the similar range 4.5-5.5%. Often the body is stronger in the Czech beer, but never heavy. Normally I believe in simplicity in beer, trying not to use say more than four or five malts, but in these beers use a combination of six or seven to present the proper malt backbone for the beers.

Hopfly Brewing, Prague Nights, 4.9% abv

Light tan foam with a rich dark body that swallowed the light. As it warmed chocolate, the roasty aroma was apparent. For flavor it was a chocolate followed by a sweetness and a dry finish.

Burial Beer Co, DARK Bohemian Lager, 4.9% abv

Black color with light off-white foam, with a low initial aroma. Malt flavor is rather one note, it lacks the complexity the style dictates. It’s a clean beer with a bit of roast, but I wouldn’t categorize it as a proper Czech Dark Lager.

Haw River Farmhouse Ales, The Scribbler’s Son Bavarian Black Lager, 4.9% abv

Strong herbal note in aroma, black beer with rich black foam. Steady roast character with a moderate sweetness. Alewif(aka Wife) preferred beer of the tasting. 

I went through the usual weekly prep for the spotlight, finding examples to highlight, then I opened my computer to find Vinepair had written on the same topic. Black IPAs, or Cascadian Dark ale, hit their high note in the 2010s. While the article talks about the roastiness and bitterness in the beer, Mitch Steele’s book IPA notes a number of examples that use Carafa, a debittered roast malt for the color to tone down the roast. That is my own preference for the beer as a style. BJCP notes “A beer with the dryness, hop-forward balance, and flavor characteristics of an American IPA, but darker in color. Darker malts add a gentle and supportive flavor, not a strongly roasted or burnt character.”

Carolina Brewery, Dark Saber 5.8% abv

Pine and citrus notes, it has a balanced vibe from then centennial and chinook hops, but the added twist from Elani hops brings it together. It features the Carafa malt I mentioned earlier. For now it’s mostly at the taprooms in Pittsboro and Chapel Hill, but it’s available in draft so ask for it at your local bottle shop.

Deep River Brewing, Backcountry Black IPA, 7.9% abv

This Black brew is as dark as they come with deep Brown foam with a rich hoppy aroma. The hops are apparent on the first sip but with a chocolate finish. Definitely more like West Coast but dark and as it warmed the resin and chocolate notes became more apparent.

Allagash Brewing, Haunted House Hoppy Dark Ale, 6.6% abv

This was suggested by the Lowe’s Beer Den manager; it featured Black body and lighter tan foam, it had a great hop aroma. But probably the most subdued hop flavor, probably because it was brewed as an Autumn seasonal, so that character had faded since the Summer. But it had just enough bitterness to balance the malt character of it, so I’ll check it out fresh next time.

Trophy Brewing, Come To the Coast We’ll Have Some Laughs 6.6% abv

Just to be clear, yes Die Hard is a Christmas movie. Great artwork on the can with a rich Black color and light tan foam. The bitterness is nice with a good roast too, more on the malt side and probably closer to the origins of the style.

BJCP says “A stronger, darker, spiced beer that often has a rich body and warming finish suggesting a good accompaniment for the cold winter season.” Which is to say it’s not a formal style akin to American Pale ale or Saison, it’s more of general characteristics bundled together. For appearance it could be anywhere from Amber to nearly Black. I have seen heads that were white to others that featured a deep chocolate color. The Winter Spiced character is the only unifying feature. ABV can range but most often it’s over 6%.

While officially often associated with Christmas I enjoy these beers well into Winter months as I can find them.

Fullsteam Farm’s Edge First Frost 9.7% abv

Unlike the other examples this beer doesn’t feature other spices and just mentions the use of persimmon in it. It does feature a bit of spice character to it, but I think primarily the Belgian yeast character.

Great Lakes Brewing Co, Christmas Ale 7.5% abv

Cinnamon is apparent, while you get the honey character in the flavor the ginger they use is a background note to me I wouldn’t mind it applified, it reminds me a bit like Charlie Papazian Holiday Cheer from the Complete Joy of Homebrew. 

Raleigh Brewing Holiday Bash Winter Warmer 6.6% abv

Dark and delicious it has hints of mulling spices, but which ones were difficult to pick out.

Trader Joe’s Vintage Ale 9% abv

Each bottle is marked with year, but I didn’t find it this year though Untappd seems to have a listing. It’s been brewed by Unibroue in Canada, but that may have changed. I do like to age them a bit so I enjoyed 2024. Very dark, basicly black rich brown foam. Notes of raisins and dried fruit.

According to the BJCP this style is “A malty, bitter, and often somewhat hoppy dark beer with a balanced, roasted, and frequently chocolatey character.” Usually somewhere between 5-6.5% abv, but us Americans being Americans, it can go higher often. There is a distinct difference between it and a stout. I am of the belief that the stout has a more pronounced roast character. Where the chocolate character is more a sign of the porter. Appearance wise while it’s a dark beer held to a light often will reveal a ruby character.

If you’re interested in learning more about Porter I’d recommend the book Porter and especially for homebrewers I’d recommend Ray Daniel’s Designing Great Beers, he has some great information.

Styles Examples

Edmund’s Oast Brewing Co, Leather Jacket American Porter, 6.5% abv

Appearance is black with barest hint of ruby on edges, foam of a deep dark tan bordering on brown. Roast aroma dominates with only a hint of chocolate. Tastes of rich malt character, but not a harsh bitterness, and a dry finish.

Incendiary Brewing Co, Cerberus Nocturne Vanilla Porter, 5.6% abv

Apprearance black with just an occasional hint of ruby at edge. Aroma of light tart that fades into vanilla, no roast character. Strong vanilla flavor over powers roast and chocolate character, dry finish. Post tasting note: On both Untappd and Incendiary’s website it describes this beer as an English Porter, which explains why the roast/chocolate character isn’t as strong.

Great Lakes Brewing Co, Edmund Fitzgerald Porter, 6.0%

Appearance is dark rudy hue with a rich tan foam. Aroma roasty nose with a hint of chocolate. Tastes of malt sweetness with a pronounced bitterness, finishes with mild sweetness. As it warmed it became a more uniform malt character. 

Check back next Wednesday for another style with some local options.