From the Editor (Issue 39)

Who’s feeling festive? We are! The Beer Connoisseur is returning for its 39^th edition just in time for the holiday season.

The holidays can be a stressful time for anyone, so why not stop, relax and take a break with your favorite beer magazine? We’ve got plenty of engaging and interesting stories to whet your whistle in advance of the holiday season, so sit back and sup a superlative brew surrounded by friends and family – you’ve earned it.

A sumptuous feast of beery content awaits you in this issue of The Beer Connoisseur. We aim to educate and inspire on the subject of beer and brewing, and some of our top stories typify this approach.

Owen Ogletree, an expert on the subject of cask ale and real ale, gives readers a sterling definition of one of the U.K.’s most important beer exports in What is Real Ale?

After that Jessica Zimmer, making her writing debut for The Beer Connoisseur, provides the definition of the wondrous world of gypsy and contract brewing in Gypsy Brewing and Contract Brewing Defined.

Then Jim Dykstra straps on the lupulin goggles and outlines the most interesting and popular hops to look out for in 2019 with The Hop Report: Trending Hops in 2019.

No holiday issue would be complete without a food story, and we have a terrific take on a holiday spread with Sherry Dryja’s Vegan Holiday Beer Feast – featuring delectable recipes as well as sterling beer pairings for the season.

We round out the issue with some best-of lists, including the Top US Skiing Destinations for Craft Beer Lovers by Kristen Kuchar, who provides some glistening snow-capped peaks that are in a craft beer-saturated city or have breweries on-site, as well as a lengthy list of the Top 91 Belgian-Style Beers that The Beer Connoisseur has ever reviewed.

Lastly, buying a gift for the craft beer fanatic in your life who's all over the latest whale releases can be difficult, as they seem to know more about their particular passion than anyone. Why not check out our Beer Lover’s Holiday Gift Guide, which could provide you with some inspiration for what to get the craft beer lover in your life.

There you have it! Beyond that, our usual Beer Review, Brewer Q&As and Industry News are all present as is our ever-present love of the amazing liquid that provides us so much warmth and inspiration.

The holidays are a time to appreciate what we have in our lives that brings us joy. In our case, that’s you, dear reader… as well as the amazing fermented liquid that we both love so much.

Cheers and Happy Holidays!

-Chris Guest