Unlike many craft brewers, Sebastian Sauer isn’t looking to make the next great New England IPA or pastry stout. That’s not his style. Instead, he often looks to the past for inspiration on his next beer. His company, Freigeist Bierkultur, began brewing in 2009. What was their first beer? A pilsner? Hefeweizen? Doppelbock? No, it was a Lichtenhainer – a smokey and tart wheat beer from the Thuringia area of Germany that had been extinct for a century. Over the past eleven years he has brought a bunch of beer styles back from the abyss and is always looking for more.

**NOTE** – As of January 2022, Freigeist is available again in the US.