I’ve mentioned it in this past, but in the U.S. alone there are over 9,000 breweries. That’s an awful lot of IPAs, stouts, fruited sours, wheat beers, pilsners, and myriad other styles being brewed around the nation. Even if you don’t live in an area littered with breweries — and so many cities are these days — there’s still a good chance you’ve got a handful in easy driving distance.
And if you know anything about these many, many craft breweries, it’s that they like to launch new beers. A lot.
The idea of trying all of the beers produced by American craft brewers each year isn’t even remotely possible. But being the responsible beer writer I am, I’ve done my best to sample as many new beers in 2021 as I could. My year was filled with countless sours, stouts, lagers, and scores of IPAs (West Coast, milkshake, hazy, and everything in between).
Throughout the year, I’ve kept copious notes and done my best to find the best possible beers to share with you as you await the dawn of a new year (and prep for the holidays). Below, you’ll find thirty of my favorite beers of 2021, ranked. Ranking them wasn’t a simple task, because different beer styles appeal to me at different times, depending on my mood, the food I’m eating, etc. Nevertheless, I persevered — keep scrolling to see which beer took home the top spot.
See also: The Top Five UPROXX Beer Posts of 2021
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- Craft Beer Blind Taste Test: Which Hugely Popular IPA Reigns Supreme?
- The Ultimate Beer-Lover’s Gift Guide For The 2021 Holiday Shopping Season
- We Blind Taste Tested Hazy IPAs To Find The Best Of The Bunch
30) Urban South Throwback Vibes
ABV: 6%
Average Price: $10 for a six-pack
The Beer:
With a name like Throwback Vibes you should be pretty sure what you’re about to get into. Created to be a classic West Coast IPA, this beer from New Orleans’ Urban South Brewery was brewed with Citra, Galaxy, and Simcoe hops.
Tasting Notes:
This is a big, brash West Coast IPA from the get-go. The nose is filled with aromas of pine, citrus floral hops, and slight bready malts. The palate continues this trend with orange peel, wet grass, caramel malts, oats, and piney, supremely dank hops. The finish is floral, citrusy, and ends with a nice kick of hop bitterness.
Bottom Line:
This isn’t a beer for people who hate IPAs. It’s a hoppy, bold, bitter, piney, dank homage to the hop in all of its West Coast glory. That said, it might be a little abrasive for some drinkers.
29) Bell’s Tropical Oberon
ABV: 5.8%
Average Price: $10 for a four-pack
The Beer:
Wheat beer fans eagerly await the arrival of Bell’s Oberon every spring. But did you know the brand also makes limited edition variations on the beloved beer? This summer, the Michigan-based brewery dropped Tropical Oberon, a wheat beer brewed with passionfruit, mango, and guava.
Tasting Notes:
This beer is like summer in a bottle. Right away, you’ll find scents of sweet wheat, mango, pineapple, and slight caramel malts. The palate is fruit-forward with lime zest, passionfruit, guava, mango, and various other juicy tropical fruits taking center stage. The finish is slightly tangy, tart, and pleasing.
Bottom Line:
This beer was released in the summer and you’ll have trouble finding a bottle now. If you manage it, you will enjoy a juicy, fruity wheat beer that will make you forget about the winter. It’s for fans of fruity beers only. Others needs not apply.
28) Ebbs Lager No. 3
ABV: 5.6%
Average Price: Limited Availability
The Beer:
Sometimes, in a world filled with IPAs and bold, rich stouts, you just want something that tastes like classic beer. Ebbs Lager No. 3 is exactly that. Released this fall, Ebbs Lager No. 3 is a Munich-style Helles lager that’s extremely crisp, refreshing, and crushable.
Tasting Notes:
This beer smells exactly like the way you imagine beer to smell. There are aromas of sweet corn, cereal grains, crisp citrus, caramel malts, and slightly floral hops. The flavor is just like the nose and that’s a great thing. It’s malt-forward, refreshing, and has notable flavors of sweet cereal, lime zest, and not-at-all bitter, noble hops exploding on the last sip.
Bottom Line:
This beer is limited edition and might not even be available anymore. But the brewery makes other lagers and they’re all equally crisp and refreshing. This classic lager could have ended up at any spot on this list. It’s just a little simpler than some higher ranked choices.
27) Hi-Wire Gingerbread 10W-40
ABV: 8%
Average Price: $15 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans
The Beer:
Released in November (just in time for the holidays), this eight percent ABV imperial stout was brewed to taste just like Christmas with the addition of ginger, cinnamon, vanilla, and lactose. It completely lives up to the hype. It’s indulgent, spicy, and sweet, and surprisingly crushable.
Tasting Notes:
This beer is as close to gingerbread in beer form as you’re likely to find. The nose begins with aromas of ginger candy, cinnamon, vanilla, and toffee. The palate is loaded with notes of cinnamon sugar, toasted vanilla beans, buttercream frosting, milk chocolate, and gingerbread.
Bottom Line:
This beer is creamy, rich, and filled with holidays flavors. If you’re not into seasonal beers filled with peppermint, this is the holiday beer for you. It’s just a very specific beer for a specific taste.
26) Allagash Woven In Time
ABV: 5.7%
Average Price: Limited Availability
The Beer:
Maine’s Allagash is a big name in the beer world. Known for its award-winning brews (especially the always amazing Allagash White), it also releases limited-edition beers throughout the year. Woven in Time is one of these beers. Brewed in collaboration with DC’s Sankofa Beer, this dark ale was brewed with millet and smoked maple syrup.
Tasting Notes:
On the nose, you’ll find notes of maple candy, bready malts, brown sugar, and cocoa powder. The palate is a symphony of milk chocolate, toffee, raisins, dried cherries, caramel, and slight campfire smoke that weaves its way throughout.
Bottom Line:
If you get a chance to try this beer, do it. It’s smoky, sweet, and a truly unique beer that you won’t soon forget. It’s complex and doesn’t really seem to fit into simply one category.
25) Pure Only Yesterday
ABV: 4.8%
Average Price: $17 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans
The Beer:
If you’ve never tried a beer from San Diego’s Pure Brewing Project, you’re really missing out. I could have easily added one of their epic IPAs to this list. But I chose its sessionable Only Yesterday Pub Ale (which features Goldings and East Kent hops) because I enjoyed it that much.
Tasting Notes:
Nosing this beer reminds a drinker of stepping into a classic English pub. There are aromas of biscuity malts, wet grass, crisp apples, and light, floral hops. The flavor is all caramel malts, shortbread, herbal tea, and stone fruits. The finish is crisp and perfectly bitter.
Bottom Line:
If you enjoy a nice, classic pub ale and you want to try something besides Boddington’s, make it a surprisingly well-crafted example from San Diego’s Pure Brewing Project. It’s just that, a simple, elegant pub ale.
24) Firestone Walker Cinnamon Dolce Nitro Stout
ABV: 6%
Average Price: $10 for a six-pack
The Beer:
While California’s Firestone Walker is well-known for its IPA prowess, the brewery has been launching flavored stouts in the last few years. The most recent is its Cinnamon Dolce Nitro Stout. This limited-edition six percent ABV nitro milk stout was conditioned with vanilla beans from Madagascar and cinnamon sticks.
Tasting Notes:
Decadent aromas of fudge, freshly brewed coffee, vanilla beans, and spicy cinnamon are prevalent on the nose. Taking a sip reveals flavors of crème brulee, cinnamon sugar, toasted vanilla beams, and sweet milk chocolate. The ABV is surprisingly low for how dessert-like this beer is.
Bottom Line:
If you want to enjoy an indulgent stout without the knock-you-on-your-butt alcohol content, this cinnamon and vanilla-forward stout is for you. It’s a little strong on the cinnamon for some palates. Otherwise it would be ranked higher.
23) Equilibrium Sea Science
ABV: 8.5%
Average Price: $10 for a 16-ounce can
The Beer:
This 8.5 percent double IPA is a collaboration with Vitamin Sea Brewing. It’s brewed with wheat, oats, and Idaho 7 and Citra Whirlpool hops before being dry-hopped with Rakau, Galaxy, Wakatu, and Nelson hops. It’s hazy, juicy, and fruity.
Tasting Notes:
Complex aromas of lemon curd, lime zest, orange peel, and slight, floral, tangy hops meet your nose. The palate is filled with notes of guava, mango, pineapple, bolder citrus flavor, and just a hint of bitter hops at the end. But not enough to take away from the overall juiciness.
Bottom Line:
If you’re a fan of bold citrus and tropical fruit flavors and you enjoy hazy, juicy beers, definitely seek out this monster of a brew. A truly memorable beer.
22) Hop Butcher IPA Your Way
ABV: 7%
Average Price: $15 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans
The Beer:
Released in September, Hop Butcher IPA Your Way was made in collaboration with Half Acre. Brewed with Citra, Simcoe, Amarillo, and Phantasm hops, it’s a hop-lovers dream beer. It’s hazy, juicy, and loaded with citrus and tropical fruit notes.
Tasting Notes:
Then nose is highlighted by grapefruit juice, citrus peel, and dank, piney hops. Take a sip and you’ll be greeted with floral, ripe hops, tangerine, pineapple, mango, and a gentle, bitter resin at the end that rounds everything together nicely.
Bottom Line:
Whenever I see a collaboration between two breweries that I enjoy, I usually try to grab a few cans. This hazy, citrusy IPA from Hop Butcher and Half Acre didn’t disappoint. It could have been ranked anywhere on this list.
21) Our Mutual Friend Stacked Universe
ABV: 7.5%
Average Price: Limited Availability
The Beer:
Sometimes you find a beer that just tastes exactly like you’d hope it would when you crack it open. This is the case with Our Mutual Friend’s Stacked Universe. This 7.5 percent West Coast IPA was brewed with malts from Colorado (where the brewery is located) as well as Idaho 7, Citra, Mosaic, and El Dorado hops.
Tasting Notes:
Nosing this beer reveals scents of orange peel, lemon curd, lime zest, dank pine, and slight tropical fruitiness. The palate is classic West Coast IPA with hops taking center stage. It’s highlighted by tangerine, grapefruit, pineapple, dry hay, and a nice wallop of bitter, piney, dank hops.
Bottom Line:
This is a beer for classic West Coast IPA fans. The kind of drinkers who aren’t afraid to embrace the spicy, piney, dank side of beer. The bitterness doesn’t appeal to all drinkers, though.
20) Boulevard Magic Drip
ABV: 13.5%
Average Price: $14 for a four-pack
The Beer:
This is a really complicated beer. In the simplest terms, it’s a barrel-aged wheated imperial stout that’s brewed with pale, dark, and crystal malts, Magnum hops, and dark roast Colombian coffee. But it’s so much more than that. It’s also matured between eight and 18 months in a variety of bourbon barrels.
Tasting Notes:
This beer smells like bourbon straight up. The other aromas are vanilla, caramel, and freshly brewed coffee. Taking a sip reveals more sweet bourbon flavor along with milk chocolate, espresso, toasted vanilla beans, and rich, woody oak.
Bottom Line:
If you’re a fan of some of the other barrel-aged stouts on the market, you’ll want to try this epic, flavorful, rich stout. In a crowded marketplace, this is a great, new gem.
19) New Belgium Four Roses Oakspire 2021
ABV: 9%
Average Price: $15 for a six-pack
The Beer:
New Belgium is well-known for its beloved Fat Tire Amber Ale. But there’s a lot more to this Colorado-based brewery. Its yearly Oakspire release is worth waiting for. This nine percent ABV bourbon barrel ale was brewed with Pale, Munich, and Caramel 80 malts, as well as rye, roasted barley, and Nugget and Sabro hops. It’s infused with charred oak and bourbon-soaked spirals from Four Roses.
Tasting Notes:
Vanilla beans, toffee, bourbon, and caramel malts greet your nose before your first sip. On the palate, you’ll find shaved coconut, stone fruits, raisins, candied orange peels, sticky toffee, and toasted vanilla beans. The finish is malty, sweet, and warming.
Bottom Line:
When bourbon and beer come together, the beer is usually stout. This malty ale is a nice change of pace from the usual bourbon-barrel stouts and porters. That said, fans of traditional barrel-aged beers might not be able to wrap their heads around this one.
18) Creature Comforts Mind Matter
ABV: 4.7%
Average Price: Limited Availability
The Beer:
Athens, Georgia’s Creature Comforts make some of my favorite beers including Tritonia and Cosmik Debris. It also makes plenty of limited-release beers that are just as exceptional. Recently, it launched Mind Matter, a hazy, sessionable IPA brewed with Idaho 7, Strata, and Azacca hops.
Tasting Notes:
This hazy beer smells just like you’d hope it would. There are aromas of ripe cantaloupe, tangerine, lime zest, and floral hops. Drinking it brings forth dank pine, orange peel, pineapple, other tropical flavors, and light lemongrass. The finish is crisp and a nice combination of fruity sweetness and bitter, floral hops.
Bottom Line:
Hazy, juicy, and well-balanced. This is a beer for hazy IPA fans who like a mix of citrus and tropical fruit flavors. This one ticks all the boxes.
17) Modern Times Cosmic Rays
ABV: 6.5%
Average Price: $13 for a four-pack
The Beer:
Modern Times Cosmic Rays was one of my favorite beers I tried this year. Brewed with Simcoe, Citra, Sabro, and Ekuenot hops along with 2-row malts, oats, and white wheat, it’s a complex, fruity well-made beer.
Tasting Notes:
For a beer touted as a juicy, hazy brew, the nose is surprisingly malt forward. There are notable aromas of caramel, bready malts, citrus zest, and dank, slightly herbal smelling hops. The flavor follows suit with notes of pineapple, mango, grapefruit, and a nice, very dank, resinous hoppy finish.
Bottom Line:
This beer is herbal, juicy, and totally dank. It’s a tremendous example of just how good a New England IPA can be. It’s a littler more piney and bitter than some hazy IPA fans enjoy.
16) Almanac Ugly Sweater LOVE Hazy IPA
ABV: 6.1%
Average Price: $16 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans
The Beer:
This limited-edition hazy, juicy 6.1 percent IPA was brewed with Sabro, Mosaic, and Citra hops. For the holidays, it’s sold in a can adorned with a classic, cheesy ugly sweeter. For some reason, this makes this citrus and tropical fruit-centric beer taste even better.
Tasting Notes:
This winter IPA has a nose that works for cooler weather. A nice break from maltier seasonal beers, it’s loaded with scents of fresh melon, tangerine, lemon zest, and slightly floral hops. The palate is juicy, sweet, and filled with shaved coconut, watermelon, mango, grapefruit, and more spicy hops.
Bottom Line:
Grab an ugly sweater and crack open this juicy, hazy, hoppy, tropical fruit and citrus-driven beer. You’ll be happy you did. Who says you can’t drink IPAs during the holidays?
15) Weldwerks Mango Lassi Berliner
ABV: 4.7%
Average Price: Limited Availability
The Beer:
Everyone once in a while you sip a beer that makes you rethink your whole idea of what a beer can be. This is what happened with Weldwerks Mango Lassi Berliner. This Berlin-style sour beer is brewed with green cardamon, milk sugar, and mango. It’s unique, tart, and memorable.
Tasting Notes:
This is a very fruity beer. The nose is dominated by guava, mango, apricot, and slight lemongrass at the back end. The flavor is heavy on the mango, but there are also notes of ripe pineapple, dried apricot, guava, and slight yeasty sweetness. The finish is creamy, tangy, slightly tart, and really fruity,
Bottom Line:
This is an amazing fruited sour. It’s not overly tart and the mango and other tropical fruit flavors shine through. It’s definitely unique and needs to be tasted to really understand just how special it is. It only lands here on the rankings because not everyone loves fruited sour beers.
14) Slo Brew Holidaze IPA
ABV: 7%
Average Price: $11 for a four-pack
The Beer:
This seven percent West Coast IPA wasn’t created to be imbibed in the midst of the summer heat. Instead, it was created for hops fans who refuse to stop drinking IPAs during the holidays. Brewed with Citra hops and fresh spruce tips, and orange peel, it’s juicy, fruity, and filled with citrus and pine goodness.
Tasting Notes:
This beer smells like Christmas. The aroma is really pine-centric with notes of candied orange peel, and ripe grapefruit. Drinking it reveals more spicy spruce, dank pine, orange peel, citrus zest, and just the right amount of hop bitterness to hold everything together nicely.
Bottom Line:
If you’re looking for a Christmas-like IPA to drink before the New Year, look no further than Slo Brew Holidaze IPA. Wintry IPAS are trending and this one is a great example of the style.
13) Revolution Shop Talk
ABV: 7%
Average Price: Limited Availability
The Beer:
Brewed in collaboration with 18th Street Brewery for the Barrel & Flow Festival, this seven percent ABV American IPA was brewed with Chinook, Amarillo, Centennial, and Cryo-Simcoe hops. All proceeds went to a local charity called My Block, My Hood, My City.
Tasting Notes:
This is a complex beer, and the nose shows it off well. There are notable aromas of fresh flowers, ripe grapefruit, orange zest, caramel malts, and a forest of pine trees. On the palate, you’ll find notes of bready malts, pine tar, fruit esters, and resinous, herbal hops to complete this memorable flavor profile.
Bottom Line:
This limited-edition beer is something special. It’s hoppy, piney, and has a strong caramel malty backbone that ties everything together. Bonus points for being made for a good cause.
12) Elysian Skålrok
ABV: 4.9%
Average Price: $10 for a six-pack
The Beer:
Seattle’s Elysian Brewing is well-known for its mix of classic and over-the-top brews. But Skålrok is taking this to a whole new level. Brewed with Cashmere, Sabro, and Chinook hops, 2-Row and Honey malts as well as flaked rice, and golden naked oats, the main event is the Kveik yeast.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is a classic pale ale. There are aromas of pine, orange zest, grapefruit, and floral hops, The flavor is similar to a classic American pale ale, but with grassier and grapefruit-forward along with tangerine, pine needles, and a slightly bitter, crisp finish that leaves you wanting more.
Bottom Line:
While this beer was released this month, it’s the kind of citrus-fueled pale ale that would be just as well-suited for mid-summer drinking. It’s unique and interesting and deserves a try.
11) Monday Night Benevolent Overlord
ABV: 12.2%
Average Price: $16 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans
The Beer:
With a name like Monday Night Benevolent Overlord, you know you’re in for an in-your-face, bold beer. This beer doesn’t fit that bill. This 12.2 percent imperial stout gets added flavor from the addition of coffee and hazelnuts and deserves your respect for it.
Tasting Notes:
Nosing this beer, you’ll be greeted with aromas of vanilla beans, fudge, caramel, coffee beans, and a gentle, nutty sweetness. Sipping it reveals flavors of milk chocolate, vanilla cookies, freshly brewed coffee, roasted hazelnuts, and caramel malts.
Bottom Line:
This epic imperial stout is equal parts nutty, chocolatey, and coffee-centric. It’s a bold, full-flavored beer that needs to be imbibed to be believed.
10) Prairie Sundae Service
ABV: 13%
Average Price: $19 for a 12-ounce bottle
The Beer:
This imperial stout from Oklahoma’s Prairie Artisan Ales was created to literally taste like a classic ice cream sundae in a pint glass. They did this by brewing an imperial stout with fudge, chocolate, sprinkles, vanilla, peanuts, and even cherries before barrel aging it.
Tasting Notes:
There might not be any more aptly named beer ever. Taking a moment to nose it and you’re immediately met with scents of fudge, vanilla beans, toffee, and slight, spicy cinnamon and other spices. The palate is more of the same with Funfetti, yellow cake, milk chocolate, toasted marshmallows, toffee, with slight wintry spices coming through at the end.
Bottom Line:
This is a sublimely indulgent beer. When craving a loaded ice cream sundae, you could simply drink this beer instead and you’ll be satisfied and maybe won’t end up with a stomach ache.
9) Half Acre Tend
ABV: 6.8%
Average Price: $17.50 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans
The Beer:
Available in late October, this 6.8 percent ABV winter IPA was brewed with specialty malts as well as Mosaic and Simcoe hops. It was crafted to be enjoyed around a roaring fire on a chilly or cold winter day as long as you enjoy hoppy IPAs as opposed to malty, dark stouts.
Tasting Notes:
Nosing this beer brings forth aromas of ripe berries, lemon zest, freshly baked bread, caramel, and dank, resinous pine. The flavor is littered with notes of caramel malts, tangerine, juicy grapefruit, resin, ripe stone fruits, and floral, dank, slightly bitter hops.
Bottom Line:
Winter IPAs are the best. While you can’t go wrong with a barrel-aged stout as the weather cools down, we always look forward to winter IPAs like Half Acre Tend. This is one of the best.
8) Ommegang Super Kriek
ABV: 7%
Average Price: $16 for a 750ml bottle
The Beer:
We all know the song “Super Freak” by the late Rick James, but did you know Brewery Ommegang made a beer called Super Kriek? Well, you should because this Oud Bruin ale (that was aged for years in oak barrels at Liefmans Brewery in Belgium) mixed with a Belgian-style kriek with cherries is something special.
Tasting Notes:
Bold aromas of tart cherries, oak, fruit esters, and a bit of funky yeast are notable on the nose. The flavors on the palate are those of tart, sour cherries, Belgian yeast, sweet malts, woody oak, and wine-like tannins. The finish is slightly sour and filled with tart black cherries.
Bottom Line:
This blend of American and Belgian beers is seamless, tart, and extremely noteworthy. Grab a bottle and drink it instead of champagne on New Year’s Eve. You’ll be glad you did.
7) Pipeworks Phantom Unicorn
ABV: 14.3%
Average Price: Limited Availability
The Beer:
This is a special beer that needs to be imbibed to be believed. This 14.3 percent American imperial stout is aged in ex-bourbon barrels with vanilla beans, cacao nibs, and lactose. The result is a dessert-like chocolate bomb of a beer.
Tasting Notes:
There’s a lot of chocolate on this beer’s nose. On top of that are toasted vanilla beans, sweet bourbons, and oaky wood. The palate swirls with notes of candied almonds, milk chocolate, vanilla essence, and slight wintry spices. It’s boozy and loaded with chocolate and vanilla.
Bottom Line:
This is a beer for fans of bold chocolate flavors. While the vanilla is there, the hot cocoa flavor of the chocolate is much more dominant.
6) Stone 25th Anniversary Triple IPA
ABV: 12.5%
Average Price: $10 for a 22-ounce bottle
The Beer:
Few breweries are more well-known for their IPAs than California’s Stone Brewing. That’s why it was no surprise that they celebrated their 25th anniversary with a 12.5 percent ABV triple IPA brewed with Centennial, Citra, Chinook, Cascade, Belma, Simcoe, Amarillo, and Sabro hops.
Tasting Notes:
This triple IPA’s nose is very fruit-forward with aromas of ripe pineapple, fresh peaches, mango, tangerine, grapefruit, and dank pine. Drinking it reveals flavors of lemongrass, orange zest, caramelized pineapple, stone fruits, and a gut-punch of resinous, dank, bitter hops to finish everything off.
Bottom Line:
What more could we ask for from Stone Brewing than this hoppy monster of an IPA. There’s no better way to celebrate one of the true IPA innovators than to drink this beer. One of the best IPAs of the year.
5) Oskar Blues BA21 Vol. 5
ABV: 13.3%
Average Price: $20 for a four-pack
The Beer:
This 13.3 percent barrel-aged imperial stout is aged with a blend of hand-selected coffee beans and vanilla beans. It’s robust, rich, and on par with drinking a vanilla mocha coffee except instead of simply getting caffeine, you also get to enjoy warming booze.
Tasting Notes:
Complex aromas of pipe tobacco, chocolate, caramel malts, vanilla beans, and freshly brewed coffee are prevalent on the nose. Take a sip and you’ll find hints of bourbon sweetness, toasted vanilla beans, rich oaky wood, and a ton of sweet milk chocolate.
Bottom Line:
Many bigger-name barrel-aged beers seem to get a lot of press, but you shouldn’t sleep on Oskar Blues. This is a well-made, memorable, complex barrel-aged stout that deserves your attention.
4) Hopworks Grizzly Snacks
ABV: 6%
Average Price: $6 for a 16-ounce can
The Beer:
We’re not exactly sure what a grizzly snack is, but we do know this flavorful sour ale is brewed with Lemondrop hops, 2-row, Pale High Color, Dark Munich, C60, and Dextra Pils malts as well as blackberries, raspberries, and marionberries.
Tasting Notes:
Ripe berry notes are unsurprisingly prevalent on the nose. There are also fruit esters, woody tannins, and stone fruits. The palate is loaded with blackberries, marionberries, and raspberries all working in unison to create a beer that starts tangy and sour and works its way into sweet and dry.
Bottom Line:
Sometimes sour beers can be just that: sour. This beer does a great job of being sour at times but also having enough fruity flavor to make it multi-dimensional. It’s the kind of beer you’d want to give your fruited sour-hating friends.
3) Paperback Bunny With a Chainsaw
ABV: 8.2%
Average Price: $7 for a 16-ounce can
The Beer:
If you’re walking through the beer aisle and you see a beer called Bunny With a Chainsaw with an image of a literal bunny carrying a chainsaw, pick it up. This 8.2 percent double IPA is hazy, juicy, and brewed with Mosaic, Idaho 7, and Cascade Hops.
Tasting Notes:
This beer’s nose is a nice mix of wet grass, tangerine, lime zest, orange peels, and herbal, floral hops. The palate is fruitier with notes of mango, guava, pineapple, lemon curd, cereal grains, and nice, gentle tart, bitter hops at the finish.
Bottom Line:
This is a well-rounded, evenly balanced New England IPA that lives up to its bold, over-the-top name. Plus the artwork is pretty awesome.
2) Clown Shoes Luchadore at Sunrise
ABV: 10.5%
Average Price: Limited Availability
The Beer:
Clown Shoes is known for its boundary-pushing beers. But that’s not such a bad thing when it completely works out. Its Luchadore at Sunrise is a great example of this. This 10.5 percent imperial stout is aged in ex-bourbon barrels along with vanilla, cinnamon, and a spicy kick from ancho and chipotle chilis.
Tasting Notes:
Complex aromas of sweet bourbon, spicy cinnamon, chocolate, and a spicy backbone greet your nostrils. When you drink it, you find hints of vanilla cake, cinnamon sugar, toffee, dark chocolate, and spicy hot pepper heat throughout.
Bottom Line:
This is an interesting beer. While it has to bourbon, chocolate, and vanilla sweetness drinkers expect from a classic barrel-aged stout, it has an added kick from the hot peppers that adds a gentle warming nature to the beer. The best stout I drank this year.
1) Toppling Goliath Soul Hunter
ABV: 7.8%
Average Price: $8 for a 16-ounce can
The Beer:
Toppling Goliath is the kind of brewery that puts out a new beer and people just go crazy trying to get their hands on it. Toppling Goliath Soul Hunter is worthy of this level of excitement. Brewed with Simcoe, Cryo, and Riwaka hops, it’s juicy, hazy, and highly memorable.
Tasting Notes:
A lot is going on with this beer’s nose. It starts with complimentary aromas of wet grass, pineapple, mango, tangerine, citrus peel, and bright pine. The taste is dominated by fruity flavors like juicy pineapple, ripe grapefruit, lemongrass, dank pine, and caramel malts. It all ends with a mellow mixture of fruity sweetness and light hop bitterness.
Bottom Line:
This beer is the equivalent of a tropical party in a beer can. It’s filled with juicy tropical fruit and citrus flavors that are complemented by just the right amount of bitter hops. It’s the tastiest beer overall I drank all year.