Favorite Beers of 2016
Apparently, I completely forgot to post a “favorites list” of those beers I enjoyed in 2015. Well, let’s not make that mistake two years in a row and get back on track with some of the best brews I encountered in 2016. There’s no real rhyme or reason to the order below (maybe chronological) — just some of the beers I drank that surprised, wowed or simply hit the spot at the time I cracked them open.
Flying Dog Single Hop HBC-291 Imperial IPA
Flying Dog’s single hop series had another winner with this unnamed hop variety.
Heritage Brewing 2015 Barrel Aged Kings Mountain
The Manassas brewery hit it out of the park with the second generation of their barrel Scotch Ale.
Stone Brewing Double Bastard in the Rye
Stone’s Double Bastard aged in rye whiskey barrels? Yes, please!
Brothers Brewing Resolute Russian Imperial Stout
Resolute was one of the best barrel-aged stouts I’ve had in quite some time.
DC Brau Alpha Domina Mellis
I snagged a growler of this one and loved every damn minute of it.
Starr Hill King of Hop Imperial IPA
King of Hop is a damn good imperial IPA. I highly recommend finding the variant offerings (lemon-lime, grapefruit and habanero) for a comparison tasting.
Old Bust Head Chocolate Chili Gold Cup
Old Bust Head’s standard Gold Cup is good, but this cocoa and chipotle variant is outstanding.
Three Notch’d No Veto
This was the best, standard brown ale I’ve had in a long time — nutty, earthy and flavorful.
Pen Druid Space
An imperial Bier de Mel with a solid wild funkiness and deceptively easy drinking for such a massive beer.
Cascade Brewing Noyaux
Noyaux was one of my first Cascade beers and by far one of the best wild/sour ales I’ve ever tasted. Wow.
Rogue Brewing Rolling Thunder Imperial Stout
Rolling Thunder is Rogue’s first beer aged in barrels from their own cooperage and it was a home run right from the start.
Heritage Brewing Brandy Barrel Aged Freedom Isn’t Free
I think this beer was the biggest surprise of the year — I had tasted it early on right from the barrel and wasn’t a fan.
Cascade Brewing Kriek
Another outstanding sour ale from Cascade. It was really tough picking a few favorites from this brewery as they all probably deserved a spot on this list.
Avery Brewing Callipygian
If any one brewery has shown that they know barrel aging (and stouts), it’s Avery. Buying this one was a no-brainer.
Bell’s Black Note Stout
It’s not easy to get a hold of a bottle, but Black Note was just stupid good.
Ocelot My Only Friend
Another barrel-aged stout? Yeah, I’m pretty predictable, but this beer was just damn good.
Brooklyn Brewery and Thornbridge Serpent
One of the more unique beers of 2016. Definitely one to try.
The above is by no means an exhaustive list. I’ve had many more outstanding beers this year that I hated leaving off the list, but that’s the nature of these things. I hope you also enjoyed some tasty brews over the last twelve months. Here’s to a successful and flavorful 2017. Cheers!