Roundtable Discussion | Favorite Added Ingredient in Beer

Oh beer. How you dazzle us with your notes of coffee, fruit, chocolate and/or herbs. Sometimes you get strange on us with your flavoring and add things like celery, squid ink or oysters to the mix.

Either way, we asked our staff to tell us their favorite added ingredients.

Stacey Goers

I’m a sucker for lemon, lemongrass, cardamom and hibiscus. Though not together.

Chris Day

It’s hard to beat raspberries in a sour beer.

Josh Ritenour

Dark fruits. Period. Kasteel Rouge, Liefmans Cuvée Brut, Russian River Consecration…

Mike Zoller

Definitely fruit. Pipeworks has an double IPA with passion fruit…it’s awesome.

Brady Akers

One ingredient that is uniquely incredible (even though I was initially skeptical) is spices in saisons. Against the Grain’s Bay and Pepper Your Bretts, Epic’s Sage Saison and LowDown’s Peppercorn Saison are all great.

Niel Stender

Haven’t had a grapefruit beer I haven’t like. Particularly Scuplin. Though grapefruit PEEL – not so much.

KC Cunilio

Salt (Paradox Skullys 25&26 and Avery Fortuna)… Ginger (Boulevard Ginger/Lemon Radler, Lefthand JuJu)… Basil (Bison Brew Honey Basil, Brewfist Basil Saison)

Chris Hollands

Habanero & Jalapeno are hit and miss, but when they hit they are great (Habanero Sculpin & Wasatch Jalapeno Cream Ale winners). I like grapefruit in everything! Well except grapefruit haha!

Holly Gerard

I love fruit in a beer for sure but definitely rosemary or basil as well!

John Pylant

I’ve enjoyed what grapefruit does in beer; i.e. Grapefruit Sculpin IPA. I also like to pour anything with Belgian yeasts like Stone’s Cali-Belgique. But, my favorite ingredient … beer. Beer is good, especially with the added adjunct, glassware. Pour chilled and enjoy!

John Amantea

Coffee is a nice addition to porters, especially in heavier ones like GLBC’s Edmund Fitzgerald, and to the extreme like Old Rasputin. I tend to think of them like an after dinner dessert/coffee combo.

Jess Baker

Raspberries are the sh*t (like my BFF Rubaeus). Did no one say cinnamon yet? Pretty sure I drank my weight in 12 Dogs of Christmas last year.

Tristan Chan

I haven’t had a bad hibiscus beer, but i’d love more cacao, cinnamon, and pepper beers… Abraxas anyone?

Chris Day

Abraxas is so good!

Corey Pelc

Blueberries are my jam! Whether it be sweet like Smashed Blueberry from Shipyard Brewing or ultra-funked out such as Council Brewing’s Beatitude Blueberry Tart Saison, I feel like it has great range. One of my favorite iterations is Loveland Ale Work’s Blueberry Sour. It has delicate blueberry flavor. Crisp and semi-dry with notable acidity on the front end. Finishes with a earthy and wild flavor. Supremely quaffable.

Corey Pelc

also, sweet potato is awesome… case in point, this new beer looks amazing… Funky Buddha Sweet Potato Casserole Coming To 12oz Bottles

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