The Best Beers Of 2012

December 28, 2012
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Alright, so I had plenty of beer in 2012. I tried a lot more than in previous years, a lot more. Thanks to Untappd, I can look back at what I drank and put together a list of my favorites from 2012. These are beers that were either new in 2012, or just new to me this year. So even though I drank plenty of Zombie Dust, Gumballhead and Heady Topper this year, they don’t make this list.

Dark Horse Bourbon Barrel Plead The 5th

bourbonplead
For a long time I thought that nobody could touch the perfection that is Goose Island’s Bourbon County Brand Stout. That is until this years Bourbon Barrel Plead the 5th from Dark Horse. It is now the 1a to BCBS in the barrel aged stout category for me.

Founders Better Half
I already love Curmudgeon’s Old Ale, so when I heard they were aging it in Maple Syrup barrels I kind of went nuts. And it lived up to the hype for me, smooth, sweet and just amazing. I drank all mine, who wants to trade me theirs?

doublecitra
Hill Farmstead Double Citra
I admit to loving most everything with a healthy dose of Citra hops but there is always something unique about a Hill Farmstead offering. It’s like a giant basket of citrus fruit in your nose and mouth, with a bitter finish that is just the right balance. Yeah, it’s that good!

Big Bad Baptist Imperial Stout
This might be the best coffee stout I’ve ever tasted. It’s dark, rich and fresh on tap. I know KBS is a coffee stout and of course Bourbon County Coffee is fantastic, but I just love this beer and pick it up whenever I see some on shelves.

Cigar City Hunahpu’s Imperial Stout
2012 was the first year I got my hands on some Hunahpu’s and man was it phenomnal. The rich vanilla and cinnamon tastes with just enough of the chile on the end made it really stand out and made me craze more of this hard to find beer.

ruination10
Stone Ruination 10th Anniversary
The best Double IPA Stone has ever released. And they put a lot of IPA’s on the market, especially this year. No offense to the 16th Anniversary and the Enjoy By releases but fresh Ruination 10th Anniversary was out of this world. A true palate wrecker that was instantly addictive.

Founders Backwoods Bastard
I’ve had Backwoods in previous years of course, but there was something about this years batch that did it for me. It didn’t feel as hot and boozy fresh as previous vintages and the smooth scotch ale flavors mixed with the barrel really made it shine.

Quaff Brothers Joseph
A bit of Cincinnati love on the list from Quaff Brothers. This bourbon barrel stout was aged in Elijah Craig barrels and had coffee added as well. It’s a mild stout that when at room temperature can stand up to some of the big boys in its category. In my opinion, it was the best thing to come out of Cincinnati in 2012. (Honorable mention to Quaff Sour Grapes and Rivertown Ojos Negros)

jackies
Jackie O’s Bourbon Barrel Nutted Brick Kiln
I’d really like to include just about everything in the Brick Kiln series, Bourbon Barrel and Rum Barrel but something about the Nutted version just stood above the rest. Jackie’s already has the market cornered on beers with walnut infusions but if you can try just one, I recommend this bad boy. Lets hope it gets bottled for a future release.

richlife
Three Floyds Live A Rich Life
Yeah, I adored this beer in 2012. The collaboration with De Struise to honor former employee, Rich Sheppard, is a Belgian IPA and might be the best Belgian IPA I’ve tasted. Tons of citrus and plenty of IBU’s to enjoy throughout this 22 oz joy.

Fat Heads Head Hunter
I had my fair share of this once it became more available in the Cincinnati area this year. It ranks right up there with the best IPA’s you can get your hands on. Yeah, on the same plain as Heady, Pliny and other world class IPA’s.

Green Flash Rayon Vert
It’s a pretty bold move to make a beer like this, full of tasty tasty brettanomyces that are constantly changing in the bottle and making it a year round offering. And since it’s bold you might not expect it to be consistently good, but it really really is.

hillE

Hill Farmstead E.
Speaking of fantastic beers with brettanomyces, Hill Farmstead knocked it out of the park with E. This funky version of Edward, their Pale Ale, gets plenty of brett, galaxy hops and is aged on stainless for four months. My favorite farmhouse pale of the year, hands down.

Alpine Nelson
The award for best use of New Zealand Nelson Sauvin hops goes to Alpine Nelson. Seriously fresh hoppy and smooth every single time. If you see it, and its summer, don’t hesitate to snatch up as much as you possibly can.

Brewery Ommegang Teaming Up With HBO and Game of Thrones

December 17, 2012
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UPDATE 12/18: Here’s the bottle:

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I love Ommegang and I love Game of Thrones, so this gets me excited. From the New York Times:

HBO is set to announce that it will team up with Brewery Ommegang, a Belgian-style brewery in Cooperstown N.Y., to create beers based on themes and characters in the fantasy series adapted from the novels by George R. R. Martin … The first beer, Iron Throne Blonde Ale, will be inaugurated nationwide in late March, to coincide with the Season 3 premiere of “Game of Thrones,” which is scheduled for March 31. (full story)

Related: a Brooklyn Brewery limited batch that I had a few weeks ago called “Winter is Coming.”

Craft Beer Glassware: Three Glasses For Every Cupboard

December 12, 2012
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Image from craftbeer.com

Plenty has been written in the past year plus about having the proper glassware to consume your craft beer in. There are some compelling arguments out there to be sure, but whenever I mention it to my friends or especially my friends and family that might not care much for craft beer, I usually get a heavy eye roll at best. Before we get started, how about a word from some craft brewers and lovers about why glassware is important.

Feeling a bit more convinced? Would you drink wine out of the bottle and not pour it in a glass? Wait, don’t answer that. I think the single most important thing you can do is get a really great Double IPA or Imperial Stout and pour it in a snifter and in a pint glass. Take a sip of each and see if you can notice a difference…and be honest. So now that we are at least a little closer to agreeing that glassware is important, lets talk about what glassware you should be using to consume that delicious craft beer.

Here are the three glasses I prefer when I drink craft beer, and in my opinion should be in every cupboard.

1) THE SNIFTER

The ole stand by, the glass I reach for nine times out of ten when I’m ready to consume a craft beer. Why? I have a bunch of them, and because they are a great choice for most of the styles I prefer. Those styles include Double IPA’s, Imperial Stouts, Barleywines and Lambics. So what is so great about a Snifter? Well, someone smarter than me at Beer Advocate explained it this way, and well, they’re right.

Used for brandy and cognac, these wide-bowled and stemmed glasses with their tapered mouths are perfect for capturing the aromas of strong ales. Volumes range, but they all provide room to swirl and agitate volatiles**.

2) THE TULIP

I have a Tulip glass from Boulevard Brewing that I use more than most of my other glasses. The others are probably jealous too. It’s a perfect choice for Guezues,Lambics, Scotch Ales, Double IPA’s and Belgians…lots of Belgians. It has similar benefits to the snifter, but can take on a little more beer and a larger head as well. From BA…

A stemmed glass, obviously tulip-shaped, wherein the top of the glass pushes out a bit to form a lip in order to capture the head and the body is bulbous. Scotch Ales are often served in a “thistle glass,” which is a modified tulip glass that resembles Scotland’s national flower.

3) THE MUG

I know, I know, not exactly the same kind of choice as the other two right? And it doesn’t boast the same qualities for enhancing your beer either, but when I want a good ole simple beer, I reach for a heavy mug. I have a couple of these dimpled ones and they are just perfect for an American Amber, a Porter, and Irish Dry Stout or something English as well. Since the main qualities are the feel in your hand and amount of beer it holds, I won’t provide any more description here, but I do love these.

**Volatiles are compounds that evaporate from beer to create its aroma, such as hop oils, all kinds of yeast fermentation byproducts like alcohol, fusels and fruity esters, spices or other additions.

Link Flight: Red Stripe’s Joyful Commercial, Homebrew Filter Testing, Josh Bernstein’s Beer App, more

November 30, 2012
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Damn you, Red Stripe, for making commercials so awesome we end up spreading your joyous advertising:

+ Does filtering effect your homebrew? Kyler Serfass does some testing.

+ We’ve written about Josh Bernstein’s book before, and now he’s released a new app that is essential for all New York craft beer fans. New York Times reports:

The app rates 122 bars, 34 shops and 22 breweries. I first tested it out in Astoria, Queens, where I live, and it seemed to get things right without just picking the most obvious places to drink. There were short entries on half a dozen establishments, including specific recommendations on which beers to order.

It is worth noting that this app is different from a guide to bars. Good spots will not show up if they have pedestrian beer selections. At the same time, bars do not automatically get good ratings for having lots of choices. Mr. Bernstein acknowledges that the Beer Authority, a 70-tap bar that recently opened on a stretch of Eighth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, is “a life preserver for folks working around the Port Authority.” But the app still sticks it with a 2 out of 5 rating because of its unimaginative décor, high prices and a tendency to play lame music. (full story)

+ Update on Long Island’s Barrier Brewery, which Sandy hit hard.

+ New beer coming soon from Dogfish: Birra Etrusca Bronze

Link Flight: Conan Visits Guinness, Hop Identification, Landing a Job at a Brewery, More

November 16, 2012
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Barrier Brewing Company (pictured above) in Long Island, NY was hit hard during Hurricane Sandy. Here’s a few events in NY that you can go and help support them.

Beertography points us today to this great video of Conan O’Brien visiting the Guinness brewery:

Wine is to sommeliers as beer is to cicerones.. From the Wall St Journal:

The title is an Italian-derived word that may not be familiar—it is pronounced “sis-uh-rohn” and defined by Merriam-Webster in more general terms as one “who conducts sightseers.” But the concept of a beer pourer with a pedigree is catching on, particularly in brew-centric establishments.

At the Public House, a restaurant in the Venetian hotel and casino, the 30-year-old, handlebar-mustached Mr. Gardner is responsible for guiding patrons through a list of more than 200 beers, helping them pick, say, the ideal West Coast-style India pale ale (he is partial to Firestone Union Jack, which “has that nice toffee backbone to it”) and then pair it with the right menu option (he recommends a Roquefort since the pale ale’s “hop bite” will cut through the pungent, salty cheese). (full story)

How to Identify Hops in Your Beer: Amarillo, Summit, Citra, Simcoe and How to Identify Hops in Your Beer: The Three C’s

Interested in working at a craft brewery? This article gives some suggestions as well as the average salary people make.

The decision to enter into the craft brewing industry is becoming more and more popular lately. Many people, fueled by a passion for great beer and backed by years of homebrewing, have decided to leave their day jobs to pursue their dreams. Some have the resources (lots of money) and the commitment (more money) to venture into the world of brewery start-up and ownership. However, most people in the craft industry are not brewery owners, but brewery employees. How did these people get their start, and what can you learn from them to help you make the leap? (read more)

Building Your Thanksgiving Beer Menu

November 15, 2012
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Photo from seriouseats.com

It’s Thanksgiving dinner time and you’ve been tasked with an incredibly important mission….to buy the beer. Whether your family and friends like good beer or not doesn’t matter, because you get to curate things. But this is also an opportunity to sway your ‘Bud Man’ uncle and ‘Jack & Coke’ cousin over to the craft beer world, so you want to do it right. After all, I’m a firm believer that people that don’t drink craft beer just haven’t tried their favorite craft beer yet.

With the holiday fast approaching, I wanted to share my process coming up with the beer menu for Thanksgiving at my home last year, and what I plan to do for this year. When I went searching for guidance last year around this time, the article I was pointed to the most, and the one that was the most helpful was this one from Beer Advocate. Sure, it’s six years old but holds up really well.

With that and other advice in mind, along with what I knew about who would be attending, I began to craft my Thanksgiving Beer Pairings.

I didn’t get too crazy because of those in attendance, I was by far the biggest fan of beer. We were probably outnumbered by wine drinkers, but I wanted to take a shot and see if I could turn anyone over to the beer side.

Pre-meal beer: At my house, Thanksgiving Dinner is really more like a mid-afternoon meal. So it’s right in the middle of all the football watching. I chose a Pilsner for this time period because I knew it would be accessible, and not overwhelming to anyone’s palate. I also knew that it wouldn’t fill anyone up before what is always a gigantic meal. So I chose one of the best American Pilsners around.

Brooklyn Pilsner

This year, I might change this up and go with Sierra Nevada Celebration. It’s a bit more palate challenging, but this years batch feels a lot less hoppy that previous years, so it’s up for consideration. I will likely also make Anderson Valley Boont Amber Ale available, which is a fantastic Amber. Here are some other Pilsners and Ambers I would recommend.

Victory Prima Pils, Brooklyn Lager, Hudepohl Amber Lager, Three Floyds Alpha King Pale Ale, or Sixpoint The Crisp.

During the meal beer: I’ll be the first to acknowledge that beer during a meal doesn’t work for some people. And those people usually just haven’t given it a chance. It might not be the highlight of the meal, but it can certainly be a really great role player on an already crowded field. My research last year suggested I go with a stronger Belgian style choice. Because of their higher alcohol percentages it can cut through fats and starches, and give just enough sweetness to make it a real winner. Last year I grabbed an easy to find Belgian Strong Dark that one of my relatives said was..’the best beer I’ve ever tasted.’

Delirium Tremens

This can be had at most grocery stores and for a reasonable price if you are trying to keep things on the cheap, and it pairs really nice with the meal. To keep it simple, it’s the bottle with the pink elephant on it.

This year, I’ll be serving another strong Belgian, but have a wild card in mind as well.

The Bruery’s Autumn Maple. Here is the description.

Brewed with 17 lbs. of yams per barrel (in other words, a lot of yams!), this autumn seasonal is a different take on the “pumpkin” beer style. Brewed with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, vanilla, molasses, and maple syrup, and fermented with our traditional Belgian yeast strain.

Yes, I think that will do nicely.

Here are some other great options for your Thanksgiving meal.
Chimay Blue, Allagash Odyssey, Unibroue Maudite, Unibroue La Terrible, AleSmith Grand Cru Ale or Jolly Pumpkin Noel De Calabaza.

Dessert beer: Now that the pumpkin pie, cheesecake, cobblers or whatever sweets you serve are on the table, it’s time to bring more beer out too. This is probably the best course to pair beer with, so if you only do one course, make it this one. Last year, I served Dogfish Chicory Stout and while I think it’s a great beer, it was the pairing I was least satisfied with. I think what I needed was something with a little more sweetness to match the desserts on my plate.

This year, I haven’t decided what I’ll choose, but here are the ones I’m considering the most.
Founders Breakfast Stout, Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout, Great Divide Espresso Yeti, Southern Tier Choklat, or Port Santas Little Helper.

After dinner beer: Yes, you can still keep drinking beer after dinner! It’s digest that huge meal time and you are feeling bloated while your stomach goes to work, this is when you reach for a smooth and boozy Barleywine or Old Ale to sip slowly and savor. Here are some great ones I’ll be choosing from.

Founders Curmudgeon’s Old Ale, Great Divide Old Ruffian, Sierra Nevada Bigfoot, Three Floyds Behemoth, Kuhnhenn Bourbon Barrel Barley Wine, Lost Abbey Deliverance or some Great Divide Hibernation.

Image via staythirstyblog.com

What Thanksgiving Beer Pairings are you planning this year?