Craft Beers – All You Need to Know | Instacart Guide to Alcohol

What are craft beers?

Otherwise known as specialty beers, craft beers include any beer with particular aromas, flavors, and distinct, unique taste. The craft or specialty beer concept includes pretty much any beer that doesn’t fit into other typical beer types, including session IPAs, lagers, ales, Saisons, and stouts. Specialty beers enhance a typical evening’s happy hour or meal with complex, interesting, and often local flavors to a specific region.

Craft beers differ from macro brews (sometimes) and usually are from microbreweries and local areas. The specialty beers you’ll find in Michigan will be very different from those in Colorado, California, or Georgia. However, generally, there will be lighter IPAs, sours, stouts, breakfast stouts, American amber ales, and a wide array of flavors and options to choose from.

Where did specialty beers originate from?

Specialty beers stem from American agriculture and industrialization as early as the original New York City settlers before America became a country. This age-old tradition is traced back to ancient days in Egypt but is as popular now as ever before. Today, one can find many large national breweries and offer specialty drinks, while others are local to a state, region, or town.

Popular places where breweries are located include Michigan, California, Wisconsin, and Washington state. Often, beer is made in the same places as wine. Start looking at the bottles as you begin exploring craft brews to learn more about where they are made.

How do you pick craft beers at the grocery store?

Choosing a specialty ale depends on your preferences as well as those you are purchasing for. For example, lighter ales may be best for summer affairs outdoors, so choose pale ales, ambers, sours, or blondes. For a cold evening sitting by a fire reading, a stout, porter, or brown ale may be a better match.

Many beverage and beer stores offer tastings to explore further the types and styles of beers they like most. When ordering from Instacart, add a few different types to allow you and your friends to select what is most flavorful and have fun adventuring into the wonderful world of microbrews!

Grab it now on Instacart:

St Florians Ale, India Pale, Flashover IPA (12 fl oz)

Ommegang Witte Wheat Ale (12 fl oz)

Real Ale Brewing Company El Camino Imperial Mexican Style Lager (22 fl oz)

Stone Brewing Porter, Smoked (22 fl oz)

What should I look for when buying specialty beers?

The quality of beer varies based on the company, origin, and region. You want to look for fair prices, quality, and reviews which you can find in various online outlets. We recommend trying a number of different styles to start and then narrowing down your favorite options.

If you plan to have your groceries delivered, you can easily shop for specialty beers and more on Instacart. After adding a product to your cart, use the “Instructions” option to notify your Instacart shopper about any preferences or specific directions on how to choose the best products.

Want to try an ale and compare and contrast the experience with a lager? Instacart allows you to choose from one bottle or a case, depending upon your preferences! Allow for substitutions when looking at particularly unique choices. Look at what is local to your region and talk to brewers or friends interested in specialty ales.

Do craft beers require different levels of refrigeration?

When selecting alcohol for same-day delivery or same-day pick-up, take note of what needs to be refrigerated in advance and how long it takes to cool. Some beers might even be served warm like a porter, stout, or German-style lagers.

What are popular specialty ales?

Some more common styles include India pale ales, Witte ales, lagers, and smoked porters. You may find these types of beers from local or international craft breweries. These are all great places to start and should be found in your local shopping mart or wine and beer distribution craft ale store.

What’s a good way to start trying craft beers?

Specialty beers do not come as one-size-fits-all, and a specialty blonde will be exceptionally different from a darker specialty porter. Always consider event and seasonality, and plan ahead so Instacart will provide your delivery in a timely fashion!

How to get craft beer delivered

Instacart delivers a wide variety of fresh, popular, unique, and phenomenal specialty beers. Check the availability of items prior to your order and get Instacart on the way today to deliver your hand-selected craft beer options so you can focus on entertaining your friends, hosting your party, or simply sitting back and relaxing with a cold brew on hand while watching a movie and unwinding after a long day of work. 

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