Since 2000, Bernstein has written for scores of newspapers, magazines and websites, including The New York Times, Bon Appétit, Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, New York, Saveur, Food & Wine, Men’s Health, VinePair, Wine Enthusiast and Imbibe, where he’s a contributing editor in charge of beer coverage. Additionally, he’s a contributing editor for SevenFifty Daily and a contributing writer to Men’s Journal.

Bernstein is the author of six books. In 2011, Sterling Epicure published Brewed Awakening, his deeply reported take on the global craft beer revolution. Sterling released his follow-up, The Complete Beer Course, in September 2013. It has sold more than 100,000 copies and been translated into foreign editions for China, Japan and South Korea. Sterling published Complete IPA, his chronicle of the worldwide spread of IPAs, in 2016. Sterling released Homebrew World in spring 2018. Drink Better Beer was released in fall 2019. The totally revised and updated edition of The Complete Beer Course was released in June 2023 by Union Square & Co.

Once upon a time, he also made zines and worked as an editor and a copy editor. His clients included ELLE, Rolling Stone, Us Weekly, SmartMoney and Blender. That means he likes proper punctuation and can be counted on to deliver spic-and-span copy.