Tag: Best of

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Best Label?

Hop Culture, the allied beer writing arm of Untappd, came out with their best beer labels of 2023, which you can check out right HERE.

With a few exceptions, I was not in agreement with picks because there was a certain gothic swirly tattoo darkness to a lot of labels plus Humble Sea whose labels for sure stand out but are not for me.

But enough of my side eye, I want to point out that two of my favorites from SoCal were on the list. Brouwerij West and Everywhere Beer Co. A tip of the hat to them.

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Best of … Brewery Tour # 2 – Strong Rope

Each year Craft Beer & Brewing magazine publishes their Best of Issue. I have gone through it and plucked three breweries out of it to highlight this month, the second brewery is Strong Rope

They are all in on NY too, stating, “Strong Rope Brewery® was created in 2015 with the purpose of showcasing New York ingredients and to make truly regional beers.”

Here are my picks from recent-ish beers…

Road to Deliration American Mild Ale – “Our new take on a classic style, Road To Deliration packs large flavors in a small package with complex layering of pale, crystal, and chocolate malts held up by Cascade and Chinook.”

Grain Head Golden Ale – “Fresh baked bread with notes of honey and apricot, full bodied, herbal hop finish.”

NY Classic Pale Ale – “Floral hop with notes of lemon rind and fresh pine needle on pale, bready malt, satisfying bitter finish.”

Blood of Gods Red Ale – “Malty nose of caramel, toffee, and toast with crisp pine and citrus finish.”

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Best of … Brewery Tour # 1 – Templin Family Brewing

Each year Craft Beer & Brewing magazine publishes their Best of Issue. I have gone through it and plucked three breweries out of it to highlight this month, starting in Utah with Templin Family Brewing.

Here are my taster tray choices….

Natürlich Pilsner – “A tale as old as time. The malt bill presents subtle notes of crisp bread and peanut brittle. The hops pop with notes of grassy, white peach. 10 Weeks in the foeder give this a substantial oak presence.”

Beechwood Rauch Bier – “This Bamberg specialty is made with beechwood Rauch malts and Bavarian lager yeast. A silver medalist from the 2019 GABF, this beer balances sweet and savory malt finishes.”

Lingonberry Berliner Weisse – “American-style kettle-sour with lingonberry puree. Sour, tart, slightly sweet finish. (What does a lingonberry taste like, you ask? Think Cranberry, but slightly more bitter.”

Cold Foam Nitro Oat Stout – “Double oat dry stout. Creamy texture. Subtle roast character. Named after the brewers favorite pick me up in the morning. Cold Foam Fridays are a weekly ritual.”

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Best of Brewery # 2 – Cohesion Brewing Company

To Colorado and Czech beers at third Cohesion Brewing Company.

Let’s have some lagers, shall we?

Cohesion 10º: Světlé Výčepní Pivo (Pale Draft Beer) “Single decocted lager with a light hop flavor and touch of malt sweetness. The most commonly consumed style in the Czech Republic. Honey, refreshing, smooth.”

Cohesion Polotmavý: Ležák 12º (Half Dark Lager) “Our amber lager with a name that translates to “half dark”. Rich notes of caramel malty goodness are balanced by herbal hop flavors, and a touch of bitterness. Malty, nutty, balanced.”

Cohesion 12º: Světlý Ležák (Pale Lager) “Our version of the most famous Czech lager – the original pilsner from Pilsner Urquell falling in this style. A full bodied malty lager with a rounded bitterness. Sweet hay, herbal, pleasant bitterness.”

Cohesion Tmavý: 14º Tmavý Speciální Pivo (Special Dark Beer) “Dark brown with rich malt flavors, this double decocted lager has flavors of toffee and a touch dark chocolate, with a light finish. Rich, toasted malt, full-bodied.”

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Best of Brewery # 1 – Roaring Table

I read through the 2021 Best Of… issue of Craft Beer & Brewing magazine to select three that grabbed my attention. Let’s start with Roaring Table Brewing Co. from Lake Zurich, Illinois.

12 Degree Czech Dark Lager – “Coming in at 4.4 abv this tmavé pivo features pilsen, caramel, roasted and toasted malts. Smooth, crisp and perfect for this time in the Midwest. Na Zdravi!!! And before you ask.. no we are no fluent..”

Ex Libris Wild Ale – “This blonde mixed-fermentation beer comes Solera-style from our Foeder Crafters oak foeder, which we first filled in July 2017.”

Frequency # 2 Pineapple Soursop – “Our tart and funky foeder base aged 14 months on fruit purée in a second-use Chardonnay barrel. Big sweet-tart pineapple and subtle coconut on a dry and zesty body. “

Supergigantic Metafantastic Hazy DIPA – “Get your haze, your hazy days, your metagaze on those metaplays, the one where the one is the one. Get a turtle, get a tortoise, here we are now, thus comport us.”

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and the Best of’s Start

November is not even finished but in beer punditry world, the year is done and dusted and it is time to rank the beers!

Here are some notables (in my view) from Craft Beer & Brewing magazine and their 20 Best of 2021

Maplewood Barrel Aged Cuppa Vanilla Rye  (Chicago) That sounds like a breakfast beer.

Vitamin Sea Tropical Envy (Collaboration with Civil Society Brewing (East Weymouth, Massachusetts) Usually TIPAs don’t make the list.

Green Bench Postcard Pils (St. Petersburg, Florida) Always a pils on the list

Oxbow Crossfade (Newcastle, Maine) Oxbow is one of those who almost always make the list.

Wild Provisions Metes & Bounds: Red Globe Peach (Boulder, Colorado) Now I am interested to try a red globe peach.

Resident Culture Static God (Charlotte, North Carolina) Always a lager on the list.

Breakside True Gold (Portland, Oregon) Go Oregon!

Triple Crossing One and the Same (Richmond, Virginia) 

WeldWerks Starry Noche (Greeley, Colorado) Perennially added brewery

Green Cheek It Just Works (Orange, California)  I have had this one! Wasn’t super impressed by it.

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Best Beers of March 2021 + IPA Standings

My March Top Two come from near and far, sour and light. Tucana Tangerine Sour from Ecliptic Brewing in Portland was perfectly balanced. Tart and tangerine at once. The fact fruit had a candied peel note that I really enjoyed. Coming in a close second was the ‘Malgo Pils from Highland Park Brewery. This one just popped. Rarely do I have anything less than a great pilsner from this group.

Eagle Rock Brewery almost broke into the top three of the IPA with their anniversary TIPA Elevensies and Taste for Adventures from Pizza Port was a strong contender but the Top 3 are unchanged.

3. Societe The Coachman

2. Indie Brewing Quintette

  1. Offshoot Beer Co. DDH Visions

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IPA – Best In 2021

Followers of this Blog will know of my ambivalence to Best of… Lists. I even cast a skeptical eye at GABF medals because there is just no way of truly knowing what the “best” is, it is merely a snapshot of a small slice of “best” to me.

That being said, this year let me conduct a different way of choosing a best. It will be a year long experiment. It will be for two types of IPAs, Hazy and West Coast. I pick those two because I will more than likely drink more of them than any other style and they will be widely available as we move (hopefully) out of lockdown. It will not be exhaustive. More California with a smattering of Oregon, Washington and other states. It will be subjective. Very subjective.

Updates will arrive each month with a top three leaderboard as well as list of all the IPAs tasted so you can follow along.

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First of Best Of 2020 – Zymurgy Magazine

Beer award season is on! Of course to meet publishing deadlines, it is best of the last two months of 2019 and then ten months of 2020. Zymurgy Magazine is an interesting take….

This is a heritage list. Except for, maybe, Treehouse, this is a list filled with old school heavy hitters. I mean Zombie Dust and Old Rasputin? Classics that we should have in rotation but not Insta Darlings. I can guarantee that no other Best of will look like this.

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Sip NW Best of Brewery # 2 – Old Stove Brewing


Our second stop is by the hearth in Seattle at Pike Place Market, home to Old Stove Brewing.

Here is my idea of a great taster tray from this brewery by the bay.

The Two-Pronged Crown IPA – “This big NW IPA exudes bright tangerine, grassy pine, and complex earthy notes from our abundant additions of dank Mosaic hops.”

Idaho7 FRESH HOP Hazy Pale – “Taproom specials! Come on in and try any of our four deliciously brewed wet hops while they last!”

Downtown Freddie’s Brown – “Our Big Brown Beer we like to show off to all our friends. We aged this decadently dark ale over bourbon-soaked cacao nibs roasted by our pals at Indi Chocolates in the Market, and tossed in some vanilla beans for added controversy. Smarter than your average beer.”

Oatmeal Stout – NITRO – “A smooth and hearty stout brewed with flaked oats and roasted barley. Poured with nitrogen, this creamy chocolaty treat is lightly hopped with experimental hop HBC-682 for a well-rounded balance.”