As I discover more and more breweries, some rise to the top and peak my interest. Here are 10 breweries in no particular order that I want to spend some time trying more of in 2017 (and maybe some I have never had that I want to get even a taste of...):
1) Grimm Artisanal Ales - supposed to be one of the best breweries in the country right now and they are sometimes available in restaurants and on tap here in Rochester, so I should keep my eyes out for venues nearby.
2) Peekskill Brewery - was ranked highly in the Thrillist article on the best breweries in NY state (2015 article I found here). I had one at Stoneyard American Beer Hall in Webster on New Years Eve and was really impressed. Need to find more.
3) Stillwater Artisanal Ales - been trying a few of theirs lately and haven't had a bad brew yet. Keep them coming!
4) Upstate Brewing Co. - We only get a couple of their brews regularly in stores in Rochester, but maybe just maybe I can find some other other brews elsewhere?
5) Mystic - had 2 of these so far, saw them on Beer Geeks the TV show and am really interested in how they cultivate native yeasts to create pseudo-styles.
6) SingleCut Beersmiths - I know they're hyped, but I haven't had enough yet to form an honest opinion yet myself.
7) Omnipollo - having enjoyed everything I've had from this brewery so far, I'm definitely out to get more.
8) Prison City Pub & Brewery - after much hype and winning Paste magazine's blind tasting of 247 IPAs, this is a must try.
9) Trader Joe's - ok, they're not really a brewery, but they make some amazing collaborative beers. Two I had this year were Belgian Tripel with Hardywood Park Craft Brewery and a Belgian Strong Dark Ale with Unibroue. Oh, did I mention they're fairly cheap price points too?
10) Three Heads Brewing - a local favorite, with their new taproom I'm sure I miss a lot of one offs and I'd like to change that.
Sunday, January 15, 2017
Friday, January 6, 2017
My Take on the Best Beers of 2016
This list will highlight all the best beers I've had in 2016 by style. It may be that the only beer I had of a style was not very good, but at least you'll see that I consumed that beer.
I will be using the BJCP 2015 style guidelines as well that came out last year. It is much easier to categorize beer styles in the 2015 than previous versions. The new 2015 guidelines are not online yet, but is available here in pdf format. The particular difficulty with this list is that many of the beers I've consumed fall under Fruit, Spiced/Herb/Veggie, Alternative Grain, Mixed Style, Experimental, Wood Aged, etc... so they are potentially one of the base style categories, but cannot be put there because of ingredients or brewing method. So, bear in mind that this is by BJCP style guidelines. It could also be at times that I do not correctly categorize (oops!), I'm not an expert.
I rate out of 5 stars. The winning beer is listed.
Style Beer Brewery Rating
1. Standard American Beer
1a - American Light Lager Trotwood Warped Wing Brewery 2.75
1b - American Lager Niagara Lager Woodcock Brothers BC 2.25
1c - Cream Ale Common Sense Ale Upstate Brewing Co. 2.75
1d - American Wheat Ale Slammer Wheat JailHouse Brewing Co. 2.75
2. International Lager
2a - International Pale Lager Stella Artois Stella Artois 2.25
2b - International Amber Lager Traditional Lager Yeungling Brewery 2.25
2c - International Dark Lager NA
3. Czech Lager
3a - Czech Pale Lager NA
3b - Czech Premium Pale Lager NA
3c - Czech Amber Lager NA
3d - Czech Dark Lager NA
4. Pale Malty European Lager
4a - Munich Helles House Lager Jack's Abby 2.5
4b - Festbier Festbier Victory Brewing Co. 2.75
4c - Helles Bock Dead Guy Ale Rogue Ales & Sprits 3
5. Pale Bitter European Beer
5a - German Leichtbier NA
5b - Kolsch Checker Cab Blonde Ale Chelsea Brewing Co. 3.25
5c - German Exportbier NA
5d - German Pils Sunny Ridge Jack's Abby 3.75
6. Amber, Malty European Lager
6a - Marzen Ayinger Oktober Fest-Marzen Privatbrauerei Ayinger 3.75
6b - Rauchbier Illuminari Coelacanth Brewing Co. 2.75
6c - Dunkles Bock NA
7. Amber, Hoppy European Beer
7a - Vienna Lager Samuel Adams Boston Lager Boston Beer Co. 3
7b - Altbier Double Bag Long Trail Brewing Co. 2.75
7c - Kellerbier Kellerbier The Matt Brewing Co. 3
8. Dark European Lager
8a - Munich Dunkel NA
8b - Schwarzbier Monschof Schwarzbier Kulmbacher Brauerei 3.25
9. Strong European Lager
9a - Doppelbock Doppelbock Debockery O'Connor Brewing Co. 3.25
9b - Eisbock NA
9c - Baltic Porter Baltic Porter Three Heads Brewing Co. 4.25
10. German Wheat Beer
10a - Weissbier Hidden Rabbit Bandwagon Brew Pub 3
10b - Dunkles Weissbier NA
10c - Weizenbock NA
11. English Bitters
11a - Ordinary Bitter NA
11b - Best Bitter Fullers London Pride Fuller, Smith & Turner 2.75
11c - Strong Bitter Landlady Ale Queen City Brewery 2.25
12. Pale English Beer
12a - English Golden Ale NA
12b - Australian Sparkling Ale NA
12c - English IPA Helldiver Flying Bison Brewing Co. 3
13. Brown English Beer
13a - Dark Mild NA
13b - Best Brown Ale Brown Ale (cask) Davidson Brothers 3.75
13c - English Porter NA
14. Scottish Ale
14a - Scottish Light NA
14b - Scottish Heavy NA
14c - Scottish Export NA
15. Irish Beer
15a - Irish Red Ale Irish Red Davidson Brothers 3
15b - Irish Stout Dry Irish Stout Woodcock Brothers BC 3.5
15c - Irish Extra Stout NA
16. Dark English Beer
16a - Sweet Stout Milk Stout Left Hand Brewing Co. 3.75
16b - Oatmeal Stout Oatmeal Stout Davidson Brothers 4
16c - Tropical Stout NA
16d - Foreign Extra Stout NA
17. Strong British Ale
17a - English Strong Ale Mountain Ale Shed Brewing Co. 3
17b - Old Ale Old Stock Ale (2016) North Coast BC 4.25
17c - Wee Heavy Scotch Ale Rohrbach Brewing Co. 3.75
17d - English Barleywine NA
18. Pale American Beer
18a - Blone Ale Goldie Lock Lock 32 Brewing Co. 2.75
18b - American Pale Ale Hop Leaf Project/Sapient Three Taverns CB 3.5
19. Amber and Brown American Beer
19a - American Amber Ale Samuel Adams Hoppy Red Boston Beer Co. 3.5
19b - California Common Anchor Steam Beer Anchor Brewing Co. 2.75
19c - American Brown Ale Cooter Brown Jekyll Brewing 3.5
20. American Porter & Stout
20a - American Porter Black Jack Porter Left Hand Brewing Co. 3
20b - American Stout Big Head Stout Three Heads Brewing 3.75
20c - Russian Imperial Stout Black Chocolate Stout Brooklyn Brewery 4.5
21. IPA
21a - American IPA Duet Alpine Beer Co. 4.5
21b - Specialty IPA
- Belgian IPA 5 & 20 IPA Nedloh Brewing Co. 3
- Black IPA Beer III Maine Beer Co. 3
- Brown IPA NA
- Red IPA NA
- Rye IPA Tryed And True Peekskill Brewery 3.5
- White IPA Samuel Adams Whitewater IPA Boston Beer Co. 3
22. Strong American Ale
22a - Double IPA 120 Minute IPA Dogfish Head Craft Brewery 4.5
22b - American Strong Ale Triple Bag Long Trail Brewing Co. 4
22c - American Barleywine Ridge Runner Rock Art Brewery 3.25
22d - Wheatwine NA
23. European Sour Ale
23a - Berliner Weisse Berliner Weisse Abandon Brewing Co. 2.75
23b - Flanders Red Ale NA
23c - Oud Bruin Gypsy Tart Bruery Terreux 3
23d - Lambic NA
23e - Geuze NA
23f - Fruit Lambic NA
24. Belgian Ale
24a - Witbier Allagash White Allagash Brewing Co. 3.75
24b - Belgian Pale Ale Lil' Devil AleSmith Brewing Co. 3
24c - Biere de Garde NA
25. Belgian Strong Ale
25a - Belgian Blonde Ale Maredsous 6 Blonde Abbaye de Maredsous
25b - Saison Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale Boulevard Brewing Co. 4
25c - Belgian Golden Strong Ale Pranqster North Coast Brewing Co. 3
26. Trappist Ale
26a - Trappist Singel Singel Hardywood Park Craft Brewery 3.75
26b - Belgian Dubbel Rochefort 6 Abbaye Notre-Dame de Saint-Remy 4
26c - Belgian Tripel La Fin Du Monde Unibroue 4.25
26d - Belgian Dark Strong Ale Rochefort 8 Abbaye Notre-Dame de Saint-Remy 4.25
27. Historic Beer
- Gose Cherry Gose Southern Tier Brewing Co. 3.25
- Kentucky Common NA
- Lichtenhainer NA
- London Brown Ale NA
- Piwo Grodziskie Rohrbach Iron Smoke Wheat Ale Pilot Rohrach Brewing Co. 3
- Pre-Prohibition Lager NA
- Pre-Prohibition Porter NA
- Roggenbier NA
- Sahti NA
Specialty Beer
28. American Wild Ale
28a - Brett Beer Fat Tire & Friends: Fat Funk Ale New Belgium BC/Allagash BC 3
28b - Mixed Fermentation Sour Beer Squeezer Big Ditch Brewing Co. 3.5
28c - Wild Specialty Beer Funky FLX Nedloh Brewing Co. 2.5
29. Fruit Beer
29a - Fruit Beer Fort Dogfish Head Craft Brewery 4.5
29b - Fruit & Spice Beer Coelia (Rosemary Wheat) Coelecanth Brewing Co. 3
29c - Specialty Fruit Beer Blackboard Series (no. 1) Agave IPA w/Grapefruit Victory Brewing Co. 3.5
30. Spiced Beer
30a - Spiced, Herbed or Vegetable Beer Symzonia Omnipollo 5
30b - Autumn Seasonal NA
30c - Winter Seasonal Saturnalia Coelecanth Brewing Co. 3
31. Alternative Fermentables Beer
31a - Alternative Grain Beer Powhatan Rye Porter Bold Mariner Brewing Co. 4
31b - Alternative Sugar Beer Stone 20th Anniversary Citracado IPA Stone Brewing Co. 3.5
32. Smoked Beer
32a - Classic Style Smoked Beer Bewitched Nedloh Brewing Co. 3
32b - Specialty Smoked Beer NA
33. Wood Beer
33a - Wood-Aged Beer Palo Santo Marron (2016) Dogfish Head Craft Brewery 5
33b - Specialty Wood-Aged Beer Kentucky Breakfast Stout (2016) Founders Brewing Co. 5
34. Specialty Beer
34a - Clone Beer NA
34b - Mixed-Style Beer Calyptra Jack's Abby 4.25
34c - Experimental Beer Bold Man Oyster Stout O'Connor Brewing Co. 4
35. Traditional Mead
35a - Dry Mead NA
35b - Semi-Sweet Mead NA
35c - Sweet Mead NA
36. Fruit Mead
36a - Cyser NA
36b - Pyment NA
36c - Berry Mead NA
36d - Stone Fruit Mead NA
36e - Melomel Jewell of the Newell 810 Meadworks 3.25
37. Spiced Mead
37a - Fruit & Spice Mead NA
37b - Spiced, Herbed or Vegetable Mead Sting - Ginger Session Mead Nectar Creek Mead 3.25
38. Specialty Mead
38a - Braggot NA
38b - Historical Mead NA
38c - Experimental Mead The Mutant Killer Zombie Manhattan Project Thingy B. Nektar Meadery 4
39. Standard Cider & Perry
39a - New World Cider Crab Series Vol. 1 Embark Craft Cidery 3.5
39b - English Cider Gold Thatchers 3.25
39c - French Cider NA
39d - New World Perry Rekorderlig Paron Abro Bryggeri 3
39e - Traditional Perry NA
40. Specialty Cider & Perry
40a - New England Cider NA
40b - Cider with other Fruit Red Barn Raspberry Harvest Moon Cider 3.5
40c - Applewine NA
40d - Ice Cider NA
40e - Cider with Herbs/Spices Woodchuck Fall Harvest Seasonal Hard Cider Woodchuck Cidery 3.5
40f - Specialty Cider/Perry The Dirty Mayor Citizen Cider 4
Honorable Mentions:
Even More Jesus Evil Twin Brewing (Russian Imperial Stout) 4.5
On Fleek Stillwater Artisanal Ales collab with Casita Cerveceria (Russian Imperial Stout) 4.5
Focal Banger The Alchemist (American IPA) 4.25
Consolation Prize Lord Hobo Brewing Co. (American Double IPA) 4.25
Monk's Blood (2016) 21st Amendment Brewery (Belgian Strong Dark Ale) 4.25
Excelsior! Anniversary 18 Ithaca Beer Co. (Wood-Aged Beer) 4.5
Espresso Oak Aged Yeti Great Divide Brewing Co. (Specialty Wood-Aged Beer) 4.75
Best Beer of the Year: Symzonia Omnipollo
This was also the 1000th distinct beer I'd logged on Untappd
I will be using the BJCP 2015 style guidelines as well that came out last year. It is much easier to categorize beer styles in the 2015 than previous versions. The new 2015 guidelines are not online yet, but is available here in pdf format. The particular difficulty with this list is that many of the beers I've consumed fall under Fruit, Spiced/Herb/Veggie, Alternative Grain, Mixed Style, Experimental, Wood Aged, etc... so they are potentially one of the base style categories, but cannot be put there because of ingredients or brewing method. So, bear in mind that this is by BJCP style guidelines. It could also be at times that I do not correctly categorize (oops!), I'm not an expert.
I rate out of 5 stars. The winning beer is listed.
Style Beer Brewery Rating
1. Standard American Beer
1a - American Light Lager Trotwood Warped Wing Brewery 2.75
1b - American Lager Niagara Lager Woodcock Brothers BC 2.25
1c - Cream Ale Common Sense Ale Upstate Brewing Co. 2.75
1d - American Wheat Ale Slammer Wheat JailHouse Brewing Co. 2.75
2. International Lager
2a - International Pale Lager Stella Artois Stella Artois 2.25
2b - International Amber Lager Traditional Lager Yeungling Brewery 2.25
2c - International Dark Lager NA
3. Czech Lager
3a - Czech Pale Lager NA
3b - Czech Premium Pale Lager NA
3c - Czech Amber Lager NA
3d - Czech Dark Lager NA
4. Pale Malty European Lager
4a - Munich Helles House Lager Jack's Abby 2.5
4b - Festbier Festbier Victory Brewing Co. 2.75
4c - Helles Bock Dead Guy Ale Rogue Ales & Sprits 3
5. Pale Bitter European Beer
5a - German Leichtbier NA
5b - Kolsch Checker Cab Blonde Ale Chelsea Brewing Co. 3.25
5c - German Exportbier NA
5d - German Pils Sunny Ridge Jack's Abby 3.75
6. Amber, Malty European Lager
6a - Marzen Ayinger Oktober Fest-Marzen Privatbrauerei Ayinger 3.75
6b - Rauchbier Illuminari Coelacanth Brewing Co. 2.75
6c - Dunkles Bock NA
7. Amber, Hoppy European Beer
7a - Vienna Lager Samuel Adams Boston Lager Boston Beer Co. 3
7b - Altbier Double Bag Long Trail Brewing Co. 2.75
7c - Kellerbier Kellerbier The Matt Brewing Co. 3
8. Dark European Lager
8a - Munich Dunkel NA
8b - Schwarzbier Monschof Schwarzbier Kulmbacher Brauerei 3.25
9. Strong European Lager
9a - Doppelbock Doppelbock Debockery O'Connor Brewing Co. 3.25
9b - Eisbock NA
9c - Baltic Porter Baltic Porter Three Heads Brewing Co. 4.25
10. German Wheat Beer
10a - Weissbier Hidden Rabbit Bandwagon Brew Pub 3
10b - Dunkles Weissbier NA
10c - Weizenbock NA
11. English Bitters
11a - Ordinary Bitter NA
11b - Best Bitter Fullers London Pride Fuller, Smith & Turner 2.75
11c - Strong Bitter Landlady Ale Queen City Brewery 2.25
12. Pale English Beer
12a - English Golden Ale NA
12b - Australian Sparkling Ale NA
12c - English IPA Helldiver Flying Bison Brewing Co. 3
13. Brown English Beer
13a - Dark Mild NA
13b - Best Brown Ale Brown Ale (cask) Davidson Brothers 3.75
13c - English Porter NA
14. Scottish Ale
14a - Scottish Light NA
14b - Scottish Heavy NA
14c - Scottish Export NA
15. Irish Beer
15a - Irish Red Ale Irish Red Davidson Brothers 3
15b - Irish Stout Dry Irish Stout Woodcock Brothers BC 3.5
15c - Irish Extra Stout NA
16. Dark English Beer
16a - Sweet Stout Milk Stout Left Hand Brewing Co. 3.75
16b - Oatmeal Stout Oatmeal Stout Davidson Brothers 4
16c - Tropical Stout NA
16d - Foreign Extra Stout NA
17. Strong British Ale
17a - English Strong Ale Mountain Ale Shed Brewing Co. 3
17b - Old Ale Old Stock Ale (2016) North Coast BC 4.25
17c - Wee Heavy Scotch Ale Rohrbach Brewing Co. 3.75
17d - English Barleywine NA
18. Pale American Beer
18a - Blone Ale Goldie Lock Lock 32 Brewing Co. 2.75
18b - American Pale Ale Hop Leaf Project/Sapient Three Taverns CB 3.5
19. Amber and Brown American Beer
19a - American Amber Ale Samuel Adams Hoppy Red Boston Beer Co. 3.5
19b - California Common Anchor Steam Beer Anchor Brewing Co. 2.75
19c - American Brown Ale Cooter Brown Jekyll Brewing 3.5
20. American Porter & Stout
20a - American Porter Black Jack Porter Left Hand Brewing Co. 3
20b - American Stout Big Head Stout Three Heads Brewing 3.75
20c - Russian Imperial Stout Black Chocolate Stout Brooklyn Brewery 4.5
21. IPA
21a - American IPA Duet Alpine Beer Co. 4.5
21b - Specialty IPA
- Belgian IPA 5 & 20 IPA Nedloh Brewing Co. 3
- Black IPA Beer III Maine Beer Co. 3
- Brown IPA NA
- Red IPA NA
- Rye IPA Tryed And True Peekskill Brewery 3.5
- White IPA Samuel Adams Whitewater IPA Boston Beer Co. 3
22. Strong American Ale
22a - Double IPA 120 Minute IPA Dogfish Head Craft Brewery 4.5
22b - American Strong Ale Triple Bag Long Trail Brewing Co. 4
22c - American Barleywine Ridge Runner Rock Art Brewery 3.25
22d - Wheatwine NA
23. European Sour Ale
23a - Berliner Weisse Berliner Weisse Abandon Brewing Co. 2.75
23b - Flanders Red Ale NA
23c - Oud Bruin Gypsy Tart Bruery Terreux 3
23d - Lambic NA
23e - Geuze NA
23f - Fruit Lambic NA
24. Belgian Ale
24a - Witbier Allagash White Allagash Brewing Co. 3.75
24b - Belgian Pale Ale Lil' Devil AleSmith Brewing Co. 3
24c - Biere de Garde NA
25. Belgian Strong Ale
25a - Belgian Blonde Ale Maredsous 6 Blonde Abbaye de Maredsous
25b - Saison Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale Boulevard Brewing Co. 4
25c - Belgian Golden Strong Ale Pranqster North Coast Brewing Co. 3
26. Trappist Ale
26a - Trappist Singel Singel Hardywood Park Craft Brewery 3.75
26b - Belgian Dubbel Rochefort 6 Abbaye Notre-Dame de Saint-Remy 4
26c - Belgian Tripel La Fin Du Monde Unibroue 4.25
26d - Belgian Dark Strong Ale Rochefort 8 Abbaye Notre-Dame de Saint-Remy 4.25
27. Historic Beer
- Gose Cherry Gose Southern Tier Brewing Co. 3.25
- Kentucky Common NA
- Lichtenhainer NA
- London Brown Ale NA
- Piwo Grodziskie Rohrbach Iron Smoke Wheat Ale Pilot Rohrach Brewing Co. 3
- Pre-Prohibition Lager NA
- Pre-Prohibition Porter NA
- Roggenbier NA
- Sahti NA
Specialty Beer
28. American Wild Ale
28a - Brett Beer Fat Tire & Friends: Fat Funk Ale New Belgium BC/Allagash BC 3
28b - Mixed Fermentation Sour Beer Squeezer Big Ditch Brewing Co. 3.5
28c - Wild Specialty Beer Funky FLX Nedloh Brewing Co. 2.5
29. Fruit Beer
29a - Fruit Beer Fort Dogfish Head Craft Brewery 4.5
29b - Fruit & Spice Beer Coelia (Rosemary Wheat) Coelecanth Brewing Co. 3
29c - Specialty Fruit Beer Blackboard Series (no. 1) Agave IPA w/Grapefruit Victory Brewing Co. 3.5
30. Spiced Beer
30a - Spiced, Herbed or Vegetable Beer Symzonia Omnipollo 5
30b - Autumn Seasonal NA
30c - Winter Seasonal Saturnalia Coelecanth Brewing Co. 3
31. Alternative Fermentables Beer
31a - Alternative Grain Beer Powhatan Rye Porter Bold Mariner Brewing Co. 4
31b - Alternative Sugar Beer Stone 20th Anniversary Citracado IPA Stone Brewing Co. 3.5
32. Smoked Beer
32a - Classic Style Smoked Beer Bewitched Nedloh Brewing Co. 3
32b - Specialty Smoked Beer NA
33. Wood Beer
33a - Wood-Aged Beer Palo Santo Marron (2016) Dogfish Head Craft Brewery 5
33b - Specialty Wood-Aged Beer Kentucky Breakfast Stout (2016) Founders Brewing Co. 5
34. Specialty Beer
34a - Clone Beer NA
34b - Mixed-Style Beer Calyptra Jack's Abby 4.25
34c - Experimental Beer Bold Man Oyster Stout O'Connor Brewing Co. 4
35. Traditional Mead
35a - Dry Mead NA
35b - Semi-Sweet Mead NA
35c - Sweet Mead NA
36. Fruit Mead
36a - Cyser NA
36b - Pyment NA
36c - Berry Mead NA
36d - Stone Fruit Mead NA
36e - Melomel Jewell of the Newell 810 Meadworks 3.25
37. Spiced Mead
37a - Fruit & Spice Mead NA
37b - Spiced, Herbed or Vegetable Mead Sting - Ginger Session Mead Nectar Creek Mead 3.25
38. Specialty Mead
38a - Braggot NA
38b - Historical Mead NA
38c - Experimental Mead The Mutant Killer Zombie Manhattan Project Thingy B. Nektar Meadery 4
39. Standard Cider & Perry
39a - New World Cider Crab Series Vol. 1 Embark Craft Cidery 3.5
39b - English Cider Gold Thatchers 3.25
39c - French Cider NA
39d - New World Perry Rekorderlig Paron Abro Bryggeri 3
39e - Traditional Perry NA
40. Specialty Cider & Perry
40a - New England Cider NA
40b - Cider with other Fruit Red Barn Raspberry Harvest Moon Cider 3.5
40c - Applewine NA
40d - Ice Cider NA
40e - Cider with Herbs/Spices Woodchuck Fall Harvest Seasonal Hard Cider Woodchuck Cidery 3.5
40f - Specialty Cider/Perry The Dirty Mayor Citizen Cider 4
Honorable Mentions:
Even More Jesus Evil Twin Brewing (Russian Imperial Stout) 4.5
On Fleek Stillwater Artisanal Ales collab with Casita Cerveceria (Russian Imperial Stout) 4.5
Focal Banger The Alchemist (American IPA) 4.25
Consolation Prize Lord Hobo Brewing Co. (American Double IPA) 4.25
Monk's Blood (2016) 21st Amendment Brewery (Belgian Strong Dark Ale) 4.25
Excelsior! Anniversary 18 Ithaca Beer Co. (Wood-Aged Beer) 4.5
Espresso Oak Aged Yeti Great Divide Brewing Co. (Specialty Wood-Aged Beer) 4.75
Best Beer of the Year: Symzonia Omnipollo
This was also the 1000th distinct beer I'd logged on Untappd
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