You've seen our choice for 2008 Beer of the Year - now it's time to tell us about your favorite beer from the past year. It could be the PBR you had after you got a raise at work, the Sam Adams Utopias you bought with your Christmas bonus, or the Three Floyds Alpha King served by a waitress or waiter you ended up sleeping with. Or maybe you just had a really great beer that knocked your socks off. Let us know! Leave a comment!
I really liked the 12th anniversary Stone Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout. That's my "geek" beer. I'm also happy that Magic Hat #9 is being sold in Indiana now. That's my out with friends beer - they have it EVERYWHERE. So my friends who don't like good beer can drink their lites and I can drink happy!
ReplyDeleteI gotta pick 2. Can't decide which would be my desert island beer.
ReplyDeleteBroad Ripple Brewpub Traveling John's Best Bitter - Cask Conditioned - A true British Best Bitter in all the senses. Caramel comes through with about 40 IBU of dry finish.
Half Moon Applebottom ESB - A hint of caramel sweetness. Nice and smooth with a bright EKG bitterness at the finish.
Sadly both are seasonals.
Gordon by Oskar Blues was a big highlight of 2008. Huge and hoppy, gotta love the can.
ReplyDeleteAnother unusual and complex beer I am really glad I got to drink a few times this year was Cerise Cassée from the Cambridge Brewing Company in Cambridge, MA. Their description calls it a complex beer in both process and palate, Cerise Cassée is brewed from a 3-day sour mash, fermented with 300 pounds of sour cherries, and aged for one year in French oak wine barrels. In the wood it further ferments with multiple strains of wild yeasts, which contribute both mysterious wild flavors and a funky but smooth, oaky finish. This tart, effervescent, amber-red ale is adventurous and challenging, blurring the lines between tradition and innovation.
I'm going to break it down into 3 categories:
ReplyDeleteLimited Release on Draft: Three Floyds Oak Aged Dark Lord
Limited Release in Bottle: Jolly Pumpkin La Roja (Grand Reserve, Batch 48)
Regular Release (Rotating): Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron
Honorable Mention: Bell's Bourbon Barrel Aged Cherry Stout (in bottle).
These are what I could remember, but I bet there was a few other brews I'm forgetting about. One of my New Year Resolutions is to document all the beer I drink.
I was pleasantly surprised with this years Three Floyds Alpha Klaus. A few other favorites were Brugge Trippel De Ripple, Bell's Two Hearted Ale, and Three Floyds Dreadnaught. Yummy.
ReplyDeleteI would have to say that the beer that I enjoyed the most this year was Boulevard Brewing Co.'s Saison-Brett from their Smokestack Series. I had this when I was out in KC and brought a bunch back, but I hear starting next year they will have distribution for their smokestack series here in Indy. I urge all to try it.
ReplyDeleteForgot to also include as runners-up Dogfish Head's Palo Santo Marron and the Hopfen-Weisse from the enjoyable Brooklyn-Schneider collaboration.
ReplyDeleteI have to say New Glarus Brewing Company's Berliner Weiss was my favorite beer for this year.
ReplyDeleteAnd the Belgian Red.
I'd have to say my favorite beer of the year was Mont Juesquenne decoction mashed barrel aged double ipa pumpkin tripel bock cherry quad. Spectacular stuff. I think I had it at some Belgian joint in Broad Ripple. The guy that gave it to me was a real tool though.
ReplyDeleteOkay, Ted.
ReplyDeleteIf we're allowed to pick our favorite beer that we didn't roundtable, I'd go with Brugge's Diamond Kings 08. Too bad I got such a small dose.
ReplyDeleteAlso worth mentioning was the the small sample of Angel's Share 06 (I think?) I had at GABF, La Folie and Eric's Ale at New Belgium.. and I almost forgot the brown at Liquid Bread. That was my other favorite. Also New Glarus Belgian Red.
Agree with Mike. DK08 was some killer stuff.
ReplyDeleteAnd Schlafly ESB.
ReplyDeleteBell's Kalamazoo Stout.
ReplyDeleteI think I have collectively drank at least a growler of DK '08 this year. Ted may be the only person to have drank more than me.
ReplyDelete