From the Editor (Issue 49)

Temperatures are skyrocketing across the country as summertime has finally arrived, so you know what that means: it's time for another issue of The Beer Connoisseur!

We’ve collected all the brew that fit’s to drink in this, our 49^th installment of the magazine, and we have something for everything in this summertime special.

Beer has long been a popular drink, but just how long have some breweries existed? Jessie O’Brien answers that interesting question in The Oldest Breweries in the World.

COVID-19 remains the single biggest story on the minds of everyone around the world, so we had Dean Brightman, in his BC debut, check in on three California breweries of differing sizes to see how each of them has responded to this historic pandemic.

Kombucha is another category of beverages that has gained immense popularity over the past few years. But what actually is it? Seth Levy dishes on the varieties and recent history of this fermented beverage.

In another BC first, Marty Nachel, writer of Beer for Dummies, chimes in with an education story about the six-sided Brewer’s Star, which was once the universally recognized symbol of brewers worldwide. Why is it no longer the omnipresent symbol of beerdom? Marty has the answers!

What’s a summer without summer beers? Dionne Roberts, in her debut in our pages, offers up her list of the 20 Great Summertime Beers, which features some classics as well as a few left-field choices that are sure to quench on a sunny day.

Gluten-free beers have long been gaining steam in the marketplace, so we enlisted Kristen Kuchar to provide a primer on this burgeoning segment. From sultry saisons to oatmeal stouts, being gluten-free isn’t just for pale golden ales anymore.

Want to do something proactive in quarantine using some of that built-up beer stash (other than drink it, of course)? Jim Dykstra provides an option in How to Make Beer Bread, giving you an easy-to-follow recipe along with specific brews that lend themselves to flour-slinging.

David Kriso returns with another travel-focused story about the Top 16 Places to Drink beer in New Jersey. Featuring a few under-the-radar choices and multiple famed hotspots, this list has it all for those pondering travel to the Garden State (when it is possible, of course).

Lastly, the issue rounds out with our usual collections of beer reviews and industry news to keep you in the loop on all the goings-on in beer.

One final thing, this issue marks the first that has been released after we have unveiled our Beer Buyers Club Show Livestream and Podcast.

The Beer Connoisseur, in partnership with Tavour, promotes up to five highly rated and sought-after beers every Friday that are available for purchase on the Tavour app. BJCP-certified beer & mead judge and certified Cicerone® Doug Piper moderates the livestreams, in which the featured breweries and beers are discussed along with guided tastings from the brewers. The audio is then converted into podcast episodes so that listeners may enjoy the discussion and insights shared among the brewers and attendees.

We hope you get a chance to listen to the podcast, and we thank you for checking out this, Issue #49 of The Beer Connoisseur!

Cheers!