Our editors pick the best of the web’s booze writing. This week: the champagne of beer, a speakeasy with a 1,200-strong selection of rare, vintage spirits, and why supermarket wine is super.

The true “champagne of beer”: biere de champagne (and 6 to try) [The Beer Necessities]
No, Miller High Life isn’t the answer, but rather, a little-known Belgian beer born at the turn of this century and bottled the same way as champagne. Here’s a primer on what you need to know about this vigorous, bone-dry bubbly beer, and five styles to try.

How an LA Bar built one of the world’s greatest stockpiles of rare spirits [Punch]
A secretive bar in LA has garnered a cult-like following for its 1,200-strong bottles of rare, vintage spirits and collaborations with distillers on one-off projects. A place to try 1960s whiskies and tequilas made the old way… if you can score a reservation.

Ignore the Snobs, Drink the Cheap, Delicious Wine [New York Times]
Natural wine has turned into the wine snob’s latest weapon, but one sommelier-turned-author is arguing why supermarket bottles still matters. Due to their easy-drinking nature, she reasons, they act as an invitation for newcomers to discover more complex wines.

Secrets of a professional pub designer [Fast Company]
Think most Irish pubs look the same? You’re not wrong, as that’s one thing a Dublin-based design company is trying to do. Fast Company finds out the challenges that come from creating authenticity without falling into cliches.

Solving the riddle of Old Tom gin [The Daily Beast]
Dave Wondrich traces the story of Old Tom gin and how the spirit started off as a distiller’s tipple for his close friends, its rise, decline and subsequent climb back into our bartending consciousness.