Beer writers and brewers have spent the past two years making a case for styles that often get overshadowed by hazy IPAs, pastry stouts, and familiar light lagers. The result is a useful reminder for home hosts: some of the most rewarding beers on the table are also some of the least flashy.
Why bitter keeps coming up
VinePair’s February 20, 2025 survey of 12 brewers asked a simple question: what is the most underrated beer. One answer stood out for its focus on old-school balance. Jenny Pfafflin of Dovetail Brewery pointed to Coniston Bluebird Bitter and said English-style ales are often overlooked by American drinkers, even though they offer plenty of flavor without the heaviness that can wear out a palate.
That theme returned in a second VinePair feature published March 19, 2025. In that piece, beer professionals named the beers they wished people would order more often, and ordinary bitter and extra special bitter both made the list. Michael Roberts, director of marketing and social media at New Terrain Brewing Company, backed ordinary bitter, while Sam Richardson, co-founder and brewmaster at Other Half Brewing, argued for more attention to traditional British pub beers, including extra special bitter.
For home drinkers, that matters because bitter is not one narrow thing. Ordinary bitter is typically lower in strength and built for easy drinking, while extra special bitter brings a little more malt depth and structure. Neither recommendation came packaged as trend-chasing. Instead, the experts’ point was that these beers deliver character and balance, which can make them easier to pour with food than styles built around sweetness or aggressive hops.
The case for helles lager and saison
The same March 19, 2025 VinePair roundup also gave strong support to helles lager and saison. Kevin Davey praised helles lager, a style known for its soft malt profile and clean finish. In a market crowded with louder flavors, that kind of restraint is part of the appeal.
Pamela Brulotte made the case for saison in more vivid terms, describing the style with citrus notes, peppery spice, earthy hops, and carbonation. That combination helps explain why saison keeps turning up in conversations about versatile beer. It can feel crisp and lively, but it also has enough complexity to hold its own at the table.
Those qualities make both styles useful picks for anyone planning dinner at home. Helles lager can fit naturally alongside roast chicken, sandwiches, or sausages without dominating the plate. Saison can work when a meal has herbs, pepper, or a little richness. Those pairings are an editorial takeaway, not a claim that every quoted brewer named those exact foods, but they match the broader reasons the pros gave for wanting these beers back in rotation.
The broader list is bigger than three styles
The conversation does not end with bitter, helles, and saison. VinePair’s March 2025 story also included fruited sour, with Dogfish Head founder Sam Calagione discussing its place at the table, including pairings with seafood, salads, and oysters. That widens the point of the article: beer pros are not asking drinkers to follow one new fad, they are asking them to stay curious.
Daily Meal pushed that idea further in its October 18, 2026 list of underrated craft beers to try in 2026. Its picks included a barleywine, a smoked lager, and a saison. Taken together with the VinePair surveys, the message is fairly consistent. Traditional styles, and a few less-common modern ones, still have plenty to offer drinkers who want something beyond the usual lineup.
For shoppers, the practical takeaway is simple. If a bottle shop or brewery menu includes bitter, helles lager, saison, fruited sour, barleywine, or smoked lager, those beers may be worth a closer look. They are not fringe picks in these recent expert roundups. They are the styles beer professionals themselves keep bringing up when asked what deserves more attention.