"Now that it's 2026, perhaps you're hoping for a better year than 2025 or maybe you're celebrating the good fortune you had last year. Either way, you're going to need a beer. January is a great time to take stock of what happened in the beer world the previous year and explore how the beer scene changed, assess current trends and predict where it might actually go in the coming year."
"A lot of these shifts are driven by changing tastes, younger generations coming of age and the fact that most of us are drinking less than we used to a phenomenon that's been happening for decades. A recent Gallup poll regarding drinking patterns in the U.S. shows that we're imbibing at the lowest level in 90 years. Given that people are not drinking as much and that most breweries have not fully recovered from COVID-related economic impacts, these remain challenging times for U.S. breweries."
"Once upon a time, whales were the darlings of the beer scene. What's a whale? It's loosely defined as a beer that's hard to find, very limited in production and/or availability and only available for a short window of time, often only in a single place or a small number of spots. Whales are often also high in alcohol, and some special process has been used to make them, such aging in special wooden barrels."
Beer trends in 2026 reflect shifting tastes, younger drinkers' preferences, and overall reduced alcohol consumption. IPAs continue to dominate while brut IPAs, sour beers and pastry stouts have largely fizzled. A Gallup poll finds U.S. drinking at its lowest level in 90 years, contributing to challenging economics for breweries still recovering from COVID impacts. Highly limited, high-alcohol 'whale' beers have diminished in cultural prominence as availability and hype decline. Regional anchor beers like Russian River's Pliny the Younger retain esteem but exacting access and long waits dampen the chase for rare releases.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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