Three of the world’s greatest beers, according to John Holl

John Holl is one of eight award-winning authors, influencers and experts who has used his expertise to compile World’s Greatest Beers, featuring 250 of the best beers from around the world.

World’s Greatest Beers, published on 1 August, is a collection of personally selected beers from across the globe that will excite, interest, and intrigue you – all of which are available here in the UK.

For nearly 20 years John Holl has been covering the beer industry as a reporter and editor. He is the editor of All About Beer. On-air he hosts the Drink Beer, Think Beer podcast, co-hosts Steal This Beer, and the BYO Nano Podcast. John reviews beers for Wine Enthusiast Magazine and his work has appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and NPR. He is the author of several books including the recently published The Craft Brewery Cookbook.

Here are three of Holl’s recommendations straight from the book:

• The Alchemist’s Heady Topper (8% ABV) – “First brewed in 2003, Heady Topper is one of the originals in the New England-style IPA category, and two decades later remains the platinum standard that brewers and drinkers alike look to on how juicy haze should be done.”
• Avery Brewing Co’s Maharaja (10% ABV) – “Long before extreme became the norm in beer, there was Maharaja. An imperial India Pale Ale, it was an early adopter of over-the-top-hops and a kick of alcohol that served as an eye-opener to many a beer drinker in the United States of what aggressive, but nuanced hops could be in an ale.”
• Beachwood Brewing’s 28 Haze Later (6.8% ABV) – “Beachwood Brewing has earned a reputation for creating well-adjusted West Coast IPAs that celebrate the clear, snappy bitterness of hops. Lessons learned over a decade of brewing and hop experimentation made them well-suited for creating and releasing a hazy, juicy New England-style IPA.”

These are just three of 31 beers selected by Holl in World Greatest Beers.

Holl says: “Books and lists like this can be polarizing but often lead to conversation. My personal favourites, the ones I enjoy drinking when I’m off the clock and out for fun or relaxing at home, are going to be different to yours, but we can still find common ground; beer that brings us together.”

To find out more, make sure to order the title from the CAMRA shop for just £15.99 – visit: https://shop1.camra.org.uk/product/worlds-greatest-beers/