While some of these get extra credit for making their first appearance this past year, the requirement here is to have simply been new to me in the past calendar year. I will rank, on these very broad criteria my top 10 IPAs, Imperial Stouts, Sours, and Others, before my top ten overall and a bid to some stellar Breweries as well. It must be said, however, that regardless of ranking, these beers and breweries are all phenomenal!
One final disclaimer in that my experience is limited by... well... my experience and the local is that I remain most aware of and must indebted to. I am honored to have such great local beer!
Without further ado, and with but the briefest of thoughts at most:
Top 10 IPAs, DIPAs, Etc
10) Benelux Anniversaire 2013 starts us off with a delightful double IPA that reflects both my 2013 hop love affair and the year itself in which it appeared.9) Hill Farmstead Edward, while technically an APA is about as much of an IPA as anything else listed here and reflects the unfiltered PA mastery of Shaun Hill's brewing expertise.
8) Hill Farmstead Abner offered intense and yet intensely delightful citrus and pine reflective of the style.
7) Firestone Walker Double Jack is an oft-noted treasure that likewise warrants the praise.
6) Founders Doom. This one-off Barrel-aged IPA balanced out the sweetness of the wood with the bitterness of a well-crafted IPA and was truly a marvel in the mouth.
5) Great Lakes 25th Anniversary Imperial Black IPA offered another one off with some slick malty balance to an intensely dry linger.
4) Stone RuinTen showed the palate assault of their fantastic Ruination (so named for its effect on one's palate) with an amped up intensity and depth of character.
3) Elysian Doom provided simply a noteworthy example of the standard sort of American IPA presenting the hops in all their glory!
2) Dieu du Ciel's Moralité came next for me personally, for not only showing off the ideal wonders of hops, but for becoming a regularly available and affordable staple for the hop-heads of Quebec.
1) Firestone Walker Union Jack - as far as I can recall - remains the lone-stander in the end, however, with a complexity unmatched by even the other top IPAs.
Top 10 Imperial Stouts
10) Mikkeller Black in Black. Yes an 18% ABV imperial stout can temper its ethanol notes and charm in its complexity nonetheless!9) de Molen Hel & Verdoemenis Barrel Aged. After side-by-siding this with their other BA RIS Hemel & Aarde, this stood out.
8) De Struisse Black Albert managed to shine alongside flights of De Struisse, Mikkeller, and Brew Dog.
7) Bellwoods 3 Minutes to Midnight offered a delicious fruity take on the style with a complexity of character that reflects well upon this marvelous brewery.
6) Founders KBS almost met the hype. It is fantastic, but not as much so as it's non-BA breakfast stout brother for me but remained a treasured treat. I found the wood complex but the bourbon mild.
5) Wals Petroleum shone beyond its decent ratings, offering delightful roasted chocolate notes without excessive sweetness.
4) Bellwoods Hellwoods again exemplified the joys of Bellwoods brews and served as a fine classic example of the style.
3) Hopfenstark's Kamarad Friedrich Bourbon illustrates the brewing and Barrel-aging prowess here, as it shines in chocolate and bourbon complexity despite its intensely high ABV of near 16%.
2) Founders Breakfast Stout deserves all of its praise and then some showing off the coffee, chocolate and oats remarkably. I could drunk this forever!
1) Goose Island's Bourbon County Brand Stout again meets the hype. I sometimes find the drivers of the American hype machines don't truly top our Canadian counterparts. This one, however, does. Next Black Friday, go south and shop for this instead... and give me one!
Top 10 Sours and Such
10) Tilquin Oude Gueuze a l'Ancienne was side-by-sided with the Girardin below and both impressed though the Girardin stood out for its slightly increased funk but that takes nothing away from this delightful lambic blend.9) Girardin Gueze 1882 Black Label was a similar, if more funky delight than the Tilquin above.
8) Cuvee des Jacobins Rouge shows off sour like few other Flanders Reds. And, for an oak-aged sour, its low price appeals, so I bought many.
7) Hopfenstark's Berlin Alexanderplatz Epilogue is easily the most sour beer I have ever had with a sucking-on-a-lemon sort of puckering quality to this raspberry berliner weisse.
6) La Trou du Diable Dulcis Succubus is a complex marvel of sour and funk that I'd gladly devour any day.
5) Allagash Confluence is one of many delightful American sours I had this year that show the evolution of brewing south of the border.
4) The Bruery Tart of Darkness was so fantasticly tart, but as a sole complaint was only slightly roasty alongside its sour perfection.
3) Drie Fonteinen Zwet.be offered everything Tart of Darkness lacked. While a touch less sour, it was every bit as roasty and stout-like as it was tart.
2) Cantillon Kriek. I had always thought krieks were overrated until I had this from Brussels' Premier lambic brewer. Cantillon's kriek, unlike many tempered by the fruit, offers puckering tartness with classic Cantillon dust and depth of character as promised.
1) Russian River Supplication ranks as the best sour I have ever had topping the Belgian masters and bring the crown to the States. A complex masterpiece and worth every penny of its $15 price tag (for a store bought 375 ml bottle).
Top 10 Other
10) Flying Dog Raging Bitch. Okay it's an IPA, but a Belgian one that shows off Belgian yeastcomplexity alongside American hops to great effect.
9) Ommegang Hennepin Saison is just your standard Saison, but a quintessential example of the joys that can bring. I am not a huge fan of this brewery but it's regular availability in Ontario now prompts a crucial regular purchase.
8) Dunham/Kissmeyer Snowy Spring Royal Pilsner. This is the only pils to make my list, though Dunham's regular Pils nearly did. I am not sure regular pils fans would like this as it is so aggressively (and deliciously) hopped, but it well complements the grassy crisp Pilsner qualities most seek with a solid drinkability.
7) Kuhnhenn 4th Dementia gets boozier as it warms - as 13.5% old ales tend to - but its nutty and fruity character shines nonetheless.
6) Dunham Saison Réserve blends the marvels of a standard complex Saison with the barnyard dusty funk of Brett and admirably blends the best of both.
5) Great Lakes Audrey Hopburn Belgian IPA is another that blends American hops and Belgian yeast to great effect... in a great bottle!
4) Renaissance Elemental Porter does nothing extraordinary, but does everything ordinary in an extraordinary way. This is simply a magnificent representative of the style.
3) Hopfenstark's rare Saison du Repos offers a blend of barnyard and American hops breaking style norms but offering a shockingly delightful treat!
2) Goose Island Sofie offers another delight that breaks my heart insofar as I buy an AB/IN-Bev beer every time I grab one, but that makes it a regular product in Ontario (and now in Quebec IGAs), and one that blends the best of saison with wine barrel aging to true delight. This is a beer to convert wine drinkers!
1) Hopfenstark 7 Sisters/La Pléiade Maïa (Fût du Vin Blanc) (9% ABV) continues the trends of wine-Barrel Aged Belgian beers, but with all due respect to its red-wine-aged sibling, this masterpiece exemplifies all that beer can be showing funk, must, and complex character in every moment of every sip.
All-Around Top 10
10) Kamarad Friedrich Bourbon
9) Dieu du Ciel Moralité
8) Allagash Confluence
7) The Bruery Tart of Darkness
6) Founders Breakfast Stout
5) Firestone Walker Union Jack
4) Drie Fonteinen Zwet.be
3) Russian River Supplication
2) Hopfenstark 7 Sisters/La Pléiade Maïa (Fût du Vin Blanc) (9% ABV)
1) Bourbon County Brand Stout
Top 5 Breweries
5) Hopfenstark opened its own bar, Station Ho.St, this year that offers a stellar (if small) import selection, coupled with the best of beers from other quebec breweries and, if that weren't enough it supplements with rare beer night, cask night, and barrel-aged beer night which exposes again their mastery of barrel-aging.
4) Dieu du Ciel stands out again for pairing Zwanze Day with their 15th anniversary, while bottling Morality and sharing oddities in collaboration with New Belgium and Dogfish Head.
3) Dunham from Quebec's Eastern Townships continues to shine in its third year of existence, with bottled and draught oddities showing a mastery of diverse styles and unique twists
2) Great Lakes Brewing finished its LCBO run of their 25th Anniversary line to start the year and ended with increased availability of their Tank Ten experimental brews as well. All to my immense delight.
1) Bellwoods. This Toronto legend deserves that praise in but their 2nd year of operation for they have shown a style mastery from sours and Imperial Stouts to IPAs and session ales - all of which trump the bulk of the competition. Keep it up!
I promise more posts soon!
I promise more posts soon!
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