Mashing-In News: Incline Cider Acquired, Elysian Goes NA
GOOD MORNING, SOUTH PUGET SOUND!
Monday, Jan. 19, 2026 — It’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day!
From boardroom shakeups and non-alcoholic reinventions to fiery old-world rituals, revived lager techniques, and the quiet future of hops, today’s craft beer news proves the beer world is evolving as much in spirit as it is in substance.
Great Frontier Grows: Incline Cider, San Juan Seltzer Join Expanding PNW Beverage Collective
Great Frontier Beverage has expanded its Pacific Northwest craft beverage collective by quietly acquiring Incline Cider amid ongoing legal disputes with Schilling Cider, while more publicly welcoming San Juan Seltzer as a growth-driven addition that strengthens its portfolio across beer, cider, and seltzer. (The New School)
Elysian Goes NA with Easy Dust, a Space Dust for the Dry Side
Elysian Brewing has entered the non-alcoholic beer arena with Easy Dust IPA, a hop-forward, sub-0.5% ABV extension of its iconic Space Dust brand that aims to deliver bold citrus and pine character for Dry January and beyond without sacrificing the brewery’s signature attitude. (The Brew Site)
Remembering John Hanscomb, the First Voice of the Good Beer Guide
CAMRA is mourning John Hanscomb, the first editor of the Good Beer Guide, whose fearless early advocacy for real ale in the 1970s helped shape the modern beer movement and gave campaigners a rallying voice against industrialized keg beer. (CAMRA)
Pellicle Gets Hands-On with the Next Wave of Hop Varieties
Pellicle Podcast Episode 84 dives into the world of emerging hop varieties, exploring how brewers and hop merchants balance flavor innovation with agricultural realities through a live tasting and discussion of new hops like Krush at FyneFest 2025. (Pellicle)
Why Decoction Is Making a Quiet Comeback in Craft Lager
As craft lagers surge, brewers from Georgia to Maine are reviving decoction mashing through both purpose-built systems and improvised bucket brigades, embracing the labor-intensive technique as a way to deepen malt character, differentiate their beers, and showcase emerging barley and malt varieties. (Craft Beer & Brewing)
Beer Brûlée: The Fiery Old-World Ritual Heating Up Modern Taprooms
Beer brûlée, or Bierstacheln, is a centuries-old German ritual revived by Grimm Artisanal Ales, where a red-hot metal spike caramelizes malt sugars in dark beer to create warm, creamy foam and toffee-like flavors now spreading through U.S. taprooms. (Food & Wine)
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