It’s helpful to remember that we’re in a tremendous era for beer lovers. The explosion of microbreweries in the USA over the past couple of decades has been a momentous boom to the availability and variety of beer you now find in a Casey’s or a HyVee. In 1996, 1,000 craft breweries were operating in the United States. Twenty years later in 2016, that number is now 5,000, with an additional 2,000 breweries (7,000 total) operating in the USA by 2018. Now, in 2026, we’re closing in on 10,000.
This staggering growth, especially during the 5-year period of 2015 and 2020, has had two primary benefits for beer lovers. First, individuals who enjoy specific, non-lager styles of beer, such as an IPA, sour, or stout, can easily find a 6 pack wherever they shop. The second benefit is the incredible variety of beer available. Seasonal releases and small batch experiments have become the norm for microbreweries, and Dimensional Brewing Company embodies the idea that the best beer is a new beer.
Many craft breweries keep a staple lineup of four or five beers available year-round. At Dimensional, this principle is ignored. Beers frequently rotate and the entire tap lineup can be rotated in a matter of months. Still, what’s on tap isn’t completely random. Though the beer names change, the ratio of available styles stays the same. On average, there will be four traditional beers (lager, pilsner, or maybe even a Hefeweizen), four New England/Hazy IPAs, two West Coast IPAs, three sours, including a gluten free option, a heavier stout option, and a few ciders to round everything out.
For this article, I ordered a flight of 4 beers. First up was Kia Ora, a dry-hopped pilsner. “Kia Ora” is a Māori greeting equivalent to “hello” in English. It’s a fitting name due to the beer being crisp, crushable, and agreeable. Floral notes are consistent throughout the swallow, but they don’t linger. Due to the emphasis placed on the hops during brewing, I found it closer in taste to a pale ale than a traditional pilsner. It’s an excellent beer for boating or baseball games, and it has a low 5% ABV. For hop lovers, it’s a great substitution for an easy drinking domestic.
To read the remainder of this premium article and other premium articles in their entirety, pick up the Julien’s Journal June 2026 issue. Single issues are available in print for free at area newsstands, or you can click here to read the entire article for free in the digital version of the magazine.
Read Julien’s Journal, CHOICES For Fifty Plus and Tri-State Home TRENDS from the Comfort of Your Home!
Click to subscribe or call 563.557.7571 to subscribe for convenient delivery to your home or business by mail.
Comment here