Brewers Association makes hundreds of updates in latest Beer Style Guidelines revisions

Gather round: The Brewers Association just released its Beer Style Guidelines for 2017. As always, these guidelines, assembled annually by the BA, will serve as a model resource for brewers and beer competition organizers alike, all while celebrating diverse beer styles from around the world.

The 2017 guidelines include:

· A revitalized, concise new format that removes redundant language, is easier to read and is overall more user-friendly.
· Hundreds of updates have been made to existing beer styles, underscoring the balance between classic beer definitions and current marketplace trends.

“The Brewers Association Beer Style Guidelines perennially serve as a trusted reference on beer styles for brewers and brewing competitions around the world,” said Chris Swersey, competition manager, Brewers Association. “In an effort to enhance the guidelines and more effectively showcase beer styles, this year we completely revamped the format of beer style content, making it easier to comb through and more readable.”

Since 1979 the Brewers Association has provided beer style descriptions as a reference for brewers and beer competition organizers. Much of the early work was based on the assistance and contributions of beer journalist Michael Jackson. The task of creating a realistic set of guidelines is always complex. The beer style guidelines use multiple sources from the commercial brewing industry, beer analyses, and input from Great American Beer Festival® and World Beer Cup beer judges as resources for information.

Would you like to see these changes? Well, it’s a million pages long. Peruse here at your leisure.

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