Favorite Beers of the year

For my final entry of 2010, I thought I'd look back over the year at a few beers that I tried and really enjoyed.  Overall, I reviewed 43 beers this year, not bad considering there are 52 weeks in a year.  However, unless you're like me and keep an excel spreadsheet list of what you've been drinking, it can be pretty hard to keep track of them.  Unfortunately, many of the double porters and imperial stouts I tried were one offs and limited editions at bars and festivals, so I neither smart enough nor sober enough to write down reviews.  But here's a brief stroll my favorites that I was lucky enough to have a bottle of and review this year.

Snake River, Zonker Stout

HUB, Organic IPA

Brasserie d'Orval, Orval

Mikkeller, It's Alive!

Stone/Brew Dog, Bashah

Port Brewing, Hot Rocks Lager

Allagash, 2009 Fluxus

Mikkeller, Nelson-Sauvin Single Hop IPA

Rogue, John John Ale

Sierra Nevada, 30th Anniversary Charlie, Fred, and Ken's Bock

And that's it.  Not a bad list all things considered.  All these beers are four stars and above with the exception of the Fluxus, which I believe I was a little harsh on with three and a half.  The John John should get a special mention just for the creativity of using Gin barrels to age the beer, very unique and a great ale.  Of these, I'd have to say that Mikkeller's Nelson-Sauvin is my pick of the year.  This was just such an awesome beer and worked perfectly with his single hop series.  It's the only beer I gave five stars to all year.

That's it for this year of Brews Clues, hopefully you've enjoyed my thoughts, info, and reviews.  Have a great New Years party, drink lots of good beer, and look for more posts in 2011!

cheers,
Dave

HopWorks Organic IPA

Hopworks Urban Brewery, or HUB as they like to refer to themselves, is Portland’s first Eco-Brewpub to offer all organic beers using local ingredients. Brewmaster Christian Ettinger has spent the past year and half constructing his “dream brewpub," which, I might add, is a sustainable building.

Organics can be tricky to pick out. I'm not against the principle, but something about the process really adds a funk to the taste that isn't always in regular brews. That being said, this IPA seems to stray clear of that danger or at least buries it in powerful hops. This is Hopworks signature ale. It has some serious hop presence and back end kick probably due to the excellent selection of hops they use: Amarillo, Centennial, and Cascade. Grain bill, which is all organic, includes Canadian Pilsner, German munich, and Caramunich. A little lemon in the aroma adds to the flavor. I do wish there was balance to round out the front end, but all in all, a well crafted ale.

IPA: ****