In 2024 I tried 1,175 beers. The breweries I had the most beers from were Burial (87), Other Half (45), Resident Culture (44) and Hill Farmstead (32). I tried beers from 375 different breweries. I visited 113 new breweries, bringing my total breweries visited up to 1,383. Here were the best beers I had over the course of this year:
Triple Vegan from Fidens Brewing in Albany, NY
Triple Vegan is a Triple IPA with Citra, Galaxy & Nelson hops. I had this on tap and in cans this year and gave it a perfect 5 both times—it’s tough to beat this brew.
Anytime Your Are Anywhere Always from Burial Brewing in Asheville, NC
This is a Quadruple IPA that is quadruple dry-hopped with Citra, Citra Cryo, Nectaron and Galaxy. A QIPA normally sounds overly boozy and “too much” but Burial perfected this incredible release! I had it 3 times on tap and once in a can, it was perfect each time.
Flora Pear from Hill Farmstead in Greensboro Bend, VT
Flora is the wine barrel-aged version of Florence (1915-1967) and this edition is aged atop organic pears, including a variety of dessert pears as well as Siberian pears. I first had this beer years ago and loved it, so revisiting it this year was a treat!
Seven from The Veil Brewing in Richmond, VA
Seven is an Imperial Stout aged in Willett, Utopias, Maple and Weller Bourbon Barrels for an average of 21 months. It is conditioned on chocolate sandwich cookies, toasted coconut, Tahitian vanilla and truffle. This beer was brewed in celebration of The Veil’s 7th anniversary and is a decadent treat.
Samuel from Hill Farmstead in Greensboro Bend, VT
Samuel is a Saison with a base of buckwheat, spelt, and Vermont wildflower honey then aged in wine barrels. I was lucky enough to try Samuel 3 times this year and loved it each and every time.
Staglore from Freak Folk Bier in Waterbury, VT
Staglore is a Saison brewed with foraged staghorn sumac and conditioned in oak puncheons with mixed culture. Everything Freak Folk does is top notch, but Staglore was a special, special beer.
Scorching Pledges of an Irreversible Nature collaboration from Burial Beer in Asheville, NC and Anchorage Brewing in Anchorage, AK
This is a blend of 12 to 24 month Barleywine aged in Buffalo Trace Rye and Wild Turkey Bourbon barrels with the addition of Vanilla from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. I would never expect a Barleywine to make my year’s best list, but this was superb.
4 Meters from Lesser-Known Beer Co in Winston-Salem, NC
4 Meters is a Helles Lager tank poured at Lesser-Known. Anything they make is always fantastic, but this beer is particularly delicious.
