February 2024

February was a month full of fire beers! Between Super Bowl parties, a bottle share, beer releases, Queen City Brewers Festival, @wanderinghops coming to visit, and a trip to Greenville—I tried 145 different beers this month. There were some real delights!

In no particular order, here were the best beers I had over the past month:

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 and conditioned on chocolate sandwich cookies, toasted coconut, Tahitian vanilla and truffle. I gave this a 4.75 on Untappd, meaning it was absolutely incredible.

Bourbon Barrel Aged Not Your Nana’s Pudding from Resident Culture Brewing in Charlotte, NC

Resident Culture put out several variants of this beer, and the Banana Pudding edition was my favorite! This is an Imperial Stout aged in Willett Bourbon barrels for 12-20 months then conditioned on wild Thai bananas, vanilla, and Nilla wafers.

Backpack Full of Cans from Monkish Brewing in Torrance, CA

Backpack Full of Cans is a Triple IPA with Citra, Motueka, and Simcoe hops. Another Monkish banger, no surprise there! Best paired with a fantastic book from Book of the Month.

Wormhole Junction from Newgrass Brewing in Shelby, NC

Wormhole Junction is a solera of elaborate imperial stout bases, with 37.5% aged for 37 months in Old Forester Bourbon barrels, another 37.5% aged in Willett Bourbon barrels for 23 months, and the final 25% aged in MGP Bourbon barrels for 18 months. After blending, the solera base was conditioned with a curated selection of Ugandan and Comoros vanilla bean. This was my top beer at Queen City Brewers Fest and extremely delicious!

Brabantiæ (2018) from Cantillon in Brussels, Belgium

Brabantiæ is a Gueuze that was finished in Port wine barrels. Upon description I would not think it would be quite my cup of tea, but this was superb. It was incredibly well-rounded and light.

Nucleate (2019) collaboration brew from HOMES Brewery in Ann Arbor MI, Speciation Artisan Ales in Grand Rapids MI and Transient Artisan Ales in Bridgman, MI

HOMES creates this beer each year in celebration of their annual Nucleate Beer Festival. They collaborate with different breweries each time, and the 2019 version happened to bring together my 3 favorite breweries in Michigan! This is a Mixed Culture Sour Ale with a blend of the house culture from each brewery, then refermented on strawberry, blackberry and raspberry and bottle conditioned with champagne yeast.

Three Times Three from North Park Beer Company in San Diego, CA

This is a collaboration with Omnipollo, Monkish, Trillium, Other Half, Troon, Brujos & North Park, and it is North Park’s version of the collab. Three Times Three is a Triple Dry Hopped Hazy Triple IPA with Citra, Citra Cryo, Motueka, Nelson Sauvin and Riwaka hops. After doing a side by side of 5 different versions of this beer, North Park’s was above and beyond the best! Our entire group at the bottle share agreed.

Microcosm IV, No. 4 from The Eighth State Brewing Company in Greenville, SC

Shout out to Jesse at The Whale in Greenville for sharing this wild brew! Microcosm IV, Number 4 is a Strong Ale Blend consisting of: 4-Year-Old Barleywine aged in a Laird's Apple Brandy barrel, 3-Year-Old Imperial Stout aged in a Maple BLiS barrel, 2-Year and 3-Month-Old Imperial Stout aged in a Single Pick Four Roses barrel and conditioned on roasted pecans, New Hampshire maple syrup, Tahitian vanilla and toasted coconut. The barrel flavor and adjuncts come through nicely without one note overpowering the others. A really well done beer. Also a special shout out to Neck and Neck (Batch 3) from Eighth State, which was another fantastic beer I had during my Greenville visit, but I had to narrow down the list. Check out my Greenville beer and travel guide here.

10th Anniversary Collaboration #7 Smoothie Sour from Other Half Brewing in Brooklyn NY, Mortalis Brewing in Avon NY, J. Wakefield Brewing in Miami FL, Hoof Hearted Brewing in Marengo OH and Omnipollo in Stockholm, Sweden

For Other Half’s 10th Anniversary they released 10 different collaboration beers, only one of which was a Smoothie Sour. Other Half’s IPAs and Stouts are usually my favorite, so my expectations were not overly high when I cracked this can, but wow was I wrong. Collaboration #7 blends anejo tequila aged seltzer into the base beer along with strawberries, lime, a hint of tangerine puree, and some soft serve ice cream. It was tart, yet sweet. Full of body, yet smooth and light. Fruity, yet tequila-y. Sheesh!

Check back next month for my top beers in March! —Cheers, Alexis

January 2022

January brought a plethora of fantastic beers—from bottle shares, to a Charleston trip, to a Southern California trip visiting some of the top breweries in the country, there was no shortage of delicious brews. In no particular order, here are the best beers I had in January 2022:

Everything at Monkish Brewing in Torrance and Anaheim, CA

Is this cheating? Yes. Too bad. Everything Monkish brews is incredibly delicious and I was so thrilled to have the opportunity to visit both of their taprooms on my SoCal trip! I had the following beers and I would recommend them all:

• Conscience Be Free: Double Dry Hopped Double IPA with Galaxy, Nelson Sauvin, and Simcoe

• Foggier Window: Double Dry Hopped Double IPA with Citra, Nelson Sauvin, and Galaxy

• Sticky Traffic: Double Dry Hopped Double IPA with Nelson Sauvin, Citra, Mosaic, and Galaxy

• Biggie Biggie Biggie: Triple IPA with Galaxy and El Dorado

• One Tree: Triple IPA with Strata and Idaho 7

• M 9.5: Saison aged in oak barrels for 18 months and conditioned on spent Blenheim apricots

Nelson!!! (It’s What We Like Here!) at Green Cheek Beer Co. in Costa Mesa, CA

Nelson!!! (It’s What We Like Here!) is a West Coast IPA with hand selected—you guessed it—Nelson Sauvin hops from Freestyle Farm in New Zealand. I generally always choose a Hazy IPA over a West Coast IPA but I decided to branch out while on the West Coast because that’s where they are done best. This was easily the best West Coast IPA I’ve ever had. Shout out to Green Cheek for truly crushing the game.

Luxurious Luxury Volume 10 Collab from The Veil Brewing in Richmond, VA and Evil Twin BRewing in New York, NY

Luxurious Luxury Volume 10 is a Pastry Sour with blackberry, pear, marshmallow and vanilla salt. This latest installment in The Veil and Evil Twin’s collaboration series was absolutely epic. The flavors were exploding and I thoroughly enjoyed every sip.

Double Lightning at Resident Culture Brewing Company in Charlotte, NC

Double Lightning is a Hazy Double IPA with Citra, Mosaic and Galaxy hops. This is the double version of their Flagship Beer, Lightning Drops. I was incredibly impressed with the quality of Double Lightning and look forward to hopefully seeing more of it released.

Study Break, Intrepid Orchid (2022), and Memory Systems at Bottle Logic Brewing in Anaheim, CA

Bottle Logic crushes the Stout game so I of course ordered each one they had on the menu when I visited and they were all delicious!

• Study Break: Imperial Stout with lactose, caramel malts, cacao nibs and peanuts

• Intrepid Orchid 2022: Bourbon Barrel-Aged English Style Vanilla Barleywine with Madagascar vanilla

• Memory Systems 2022: Bourbon Barrel Aged Cinnamon Bun Stout—Imperial Stout aged in a braid of Old Fitzgerald, Heaven Hill, and Elijah Craig barrels and conditioned with a four-day marshmallow steep and a recirculation through Madagascar vanilla beans, Vietnamese cinnamon, and cassia bark

Tomorrow Today from Sante Adairius Rustic Ales in Capitola, CA and La Ruche from Side Project Brewing in St. Louis, MO

Tomorrow Today is a West Coast IPA with Simcoe, Citra, and Mosaic hops. Sante Adairius has long been on my list of breweries I’d love to try so I was absolutely stoked to get to taste some of the draft beer while in SoCal.

La Ruche is a Saison fermented using a blend of local microflora and a traditional Saison yeast. Orange Blossom honey was added for refermentation in a Missouri Oak Foedre and then it was aged to maturity before being naturally conditioned in the bottle. Side Project is always a top-notch brewery and this beer was exceptional.

I enjoyed both of these at Windsor Homebrew Supply in Anaheim. They have a killer tap list and bottle/can selection alongside their homebrew supplies.

Eternal Forever at Pure Brewing in San Diego, CA

Eternal Forever is a blend of Single and Double Bourbon Barrel-Aged Stouts with Cacao & Wild Thai Banana. Pure released this in celebration of their 6th Anniversary and I luckily was in town for the release. I actually had this beer twice while I was in San Diego, at Pure Balboa Park and at Pure Carlsbad, because it was just so good. The banana flavor was epic.

Fros’e Sour Blackberry Puff at Kings Brewing Company in Rancho Cucamonga, CA

Pictured left, this is a Fros'e with blackberry, blueberry, cherry, grape, double vanilla & double marshmallow. Kings is best known for their thiccc Fruited Sours and this brew was the best of the three I had on tap. The fruit combination was fantastic!

Rosé de Gambrinus from Cantillon in Brussels, Belgium

This is a blend of Lambics and raspberries from the famed Cantillon in Belgium. Every brew they create is great and this was a light, fruity, and tart sipper.

Pliny The Elder from Russian River Brewing Company in Russian River, CA

Pliny the Elder is a Double West Coast IPA with Amarillo, Centennial, CTZ, and Simcoe hops. This is probably the best known West Coast IPA in the country and deemed a classic. I’ve had Pliny several times before but I couldn’t pass up the chance to have it on draft on the West Coast at Mostra Coffee’s 4s location. It is always delightful—clean, crisp, and delicious.

Check back next month to see what my top beers of February will be! CHeers —ALexis

My Top Beers in 2021

2021 was a wild ride:

• I visited 191 new-to me breweries and somewhere around 275 breweries total

• I had roughly 1300 unique beers

• Other Half Brewing in New York remains my top brewery for the third year in a row with 5 beers on this list

• I finally leaned into the Pilsner game and have deepened my respect and love for a well-made Lager

In no particular order, here are the best beers I had in 2021:

ELEANOR FROM FAIR ISLE BREWING IN SEATTLE, WA

Eleanor is a Farmhouse Ale refermented on elderberries with Hallertau Mittelfruh hops. It has a berry body with notes of cinnamon, clove, and earthy flavors. Fair Isle was my absolute favorite stop in Seattle! They specialize in creating mixed-culture Saisons and they absolutely crush it.

Pear Sauvie FROM THE ALE APOTHECARY IN BEND, OR

Ale Apothecary is a super unique little spot in Bend where all of their beers are 100% barrel aged, wild fermented, and naturally carbonated. I had every beer available when I visited and they were all delicious, but in choosing my absolute top beer that would have to be Pear Sauvie. It is brewed with @meccagrade barley and rye malts, @sauvieislandhops Crystal hops, and pear juice.

BANANA VANILLA ALMOND APPLE BRANDY CIRCLE OF WOLVES FROM THE VEIL BREWING CO. IN RICHMOND, VA

Banana Vanilla Almond Apple Brandy Circle of Wolves is an English Barleywine aged in @lairdsapplejack Apple Brandy barrels for 20 months then conditioned on bananas, Madagascar vanilla, and Marcona almonds. The banana hits heavy but in a delicious way and the apple brandy kicks in on the back. Perhaps the best beer I had all year.

LAX2JFK: IN THE CLOUDS COLLABORATION BREW FROM MONKISH BREWING IN TORRANCE, CA, OTHER HALF BREWING IN NEW YORK, NY, AND TRILLIUM BREWING IN BOSTON, MA

LAX2JFK: In The Clouds is an Imperial Oat Cream IPA with Citra, Mosaic, Motueka, Simcoe, Citra Cryo, and Simcoe Cryo hops. This brew has incredible mouthfeel and is loaded with flavor thanks to that stacked hop profile. Funny enough, the original Other Half/Monkish version of this collaboration made it on my top beers of 2020 list! Hopefully they keep the train rolling and we can see another release in 2022!

EUNOIA BATCH 6 FROM PHASE THREE BREWING COMPANY IN ZURICH, IL

Eunoia Batch 6 is a Barrel-aged Imperial Stout with Tugboat coffee, maple syrup and Ghana cocoa nibs. Phase Three is a Chicagoland powerhouse and Eunoia is arguably their best series. The coffee comes through strong but not in an overpowering fashion while the maple and chocolate even everything out.

NATIVE/WILD ESTATE HONEY FROM OXBOW BLENDING AND BOTTLING IN PORTLAND, ME

Native/Wild Estate Honey is a Spontaneously Fermented Barrel Aged Farmhouse Ale with Maine grains, aged hops, well water, and estate honey. Oxbow crushes the Farmhouse Ales and this one was top notch. The addition of honey sweetens up the barrel funk but not in an overpowering way.

Triple Thiccarus from Wax Wings Brewing Company in Kalamazoo, MI

Triple Thiccarus is the Triple IPA version of their loved single IPA, Thiccarus. I enjoyed this on tap at 8 Degrees Plato, a beer bar and bottle shop in Detroit, MI. Wax Wings has been putting out some stellar brews in Western Michigan for a few years but they are finally getting a little more distribution around the state thankfully. This brew was smooth, juicy, flavorful, and absolutely delightful.

SAINT LAMVINUS FROM CANTILLON BREWERY IN BRUSSELS, BELGIUM

Saint Lamvinus is a blend of Lambics aged 16 to 18 months and of Merlot grapes. I enjoyed this fantastic brew at Zwanze Day hosted by The Veil Brewing. This was my top Cantillon beer of the day and truly phenomenal.

ONE OF US WILL HAVE TO BURY THE OTHER COLLABORATION FROM BURIAL BEER CO. IN ASHEVILLE, NC AND OTHER HALF BREWING IN NEW YORK, NY

One Of Us Will Have To Bury The Other is a Foudre-Aged Mexican-Style Lager with pale pilsner with a touch of Vienna and Munich malt. I cannot begin to count the number of these beers that I absolutely crushed this year. Thankfully Burial released this locally twice this year and hopefully they will do so again next year!

NEED A HUG FROM FONTA FLORA BREWING IN MORGANTON, NC

Need A Hug is an Appalachian Wild Ale brewed with blueberries and elderberries. Fonta Flora makes some of the best Wild Ales and Lagers in the game and this one is at the top of the list for me. I absolutely loved how packed with flavor yet simultaneously light and refreshing it was!

DOUBLE SUNSET FROM OTHER HALF BREWING IN NEW YORK, NY

Other Half has made many versions of this Imperial Stout, this one is made with Coava Coffee Roasters Guatemalan Nayo Ovalle Coffee, vanilla and milk sugar. This was a deliciously thiccc Stout packed with flavor.

I MADE THIS MAP MYSELF COLLABORATION FROM BURIAL BEER CO. IN ASHEVILLE, NC AND OTHER HALF BREWING IN NEW YORK, NY

Burial and Other Half are two of the best breweries in the country, particularly for IPAs, so it is no surprise this Double IPA from them was epic. I Made This Map Myself is a Double IPA with oats, whirlpooled with Incognito and Cryo, triple dry-hopped with hand-selected Citra, Motueka, El Dorado, and Nelson hops, and finished with Citra Cryo hops.

SELF-RELIANCE: MOTUEKA FROM HILL FARMSTEAD BREWERY IN GREENSBORO BEND, VT

This batch of Hill Farmstead’s Farmhouse IPA, Self-Reliance, has hand-selected Motueka hops from Freestyle Farms, their agricultural partner in Upper Moutere, New Zealand. It was conditioned in oak puncheons for 3 months and then bottled since March 13, 2019. Hill Farmstead continues to put out bangers and I am hoping 2022 will finally bring a visit to their brewery and taproom for me!

SUMMER JAM: FROSE COLLABORATION FROM BARREL CULTURE BREWING AND BLENDING IN DURHAM, NC AND KINGS BREWING IN RANCHO CUCAMONGA, CA

This collab is a tiki-drink inspired Fruited Sour Ale with pineapple, mango, coconut, and key lime. At 7% ABV, this is a powerful Sour from two fantastic breweries. It is thick, packed with flavor, and super easy to drink.

TRIPLE JUICY DIAMONDS COLLABORATION FROM OTHER HALF BREWING IN NEW YORK, NY AND WELDWERKS BREWING IN GREELEY, CO

You know it’s a juice bomb when two of the best in the game come together for a Triple IPA collaboration! This was brewed with Citra, El Dorado, Mosaic, and Galaxy hops. I didn’t get my hands on too many WeldWerks brews this year but as I reminisce on how good this beer was I am determined to change that for 2022!

What were your favorite beers of 2021? Let me know in the comments and cheers to 2022!

September 2021

September brought the return of college football with lots of game beers and a trip to Richmond, Virginia for Zwanze Day 2021. Check out my top beers in September 2021 below:

Saint Lamvinus from Cantillon Brewery in Brussels, Belgium

Saint Lamvinus is a blend of Lambics aged 16 to 18 months and of Merlot grapes. We enjoyed this fantastic brew at Zwanze Day hosted by The Veil Brewing. This was my top Cantillon beer of the day and truly phenomenal.

The Sum of Its Parts from Triple Crossing Brewing in Richmond, VA

The Sum of Its Parts is a Mixed Culture Ale with petit manseng juice and dry hopped Nelson Sauvin hops. Triple Crossing is known for their juicy IPAs, but don’t sleep on their Wild Ales! It is best enjoyed on the Triple Crossing patio with pizza and pretzels!

Lake James Rind: Ashtray Style from Fonta Flora Brewery in Morganton, NC & Salud Beer Shop in Charlotte, NC

Lake James Rind is an adjunct Lager with heritage corn, lime zest, tajin, and watermelon. This is a classic summer sipper from Fonta Flora and always a delight, but to step up your game I suggest you have it ashtray style at Salud. In the NoDa neighborhood of Charlotte, Salud Beer Shop offers an even better version of Lake James Rind with lime, hot sauce, pepper, and tajin.

Zwanze 2021 Parasol from Cantillon Brewery in Brussels, Belgium

Zwanze 2021 Parasol is a special blend of Lambic and a citrus blend featuring mostly oranges. This was another delightful brew from Cantillon and it was awesome to get to experience Zwanze Day for the first time. This years release was refreshing and light with a hint of orange.

Zero Drunk Thirty 7th Breakfast Club and Condron Raspberry Blueberry Cheesecake from The Answer Brewpub in Richmond, VA

Zero Drunk Thirty 7th Breakfast Club is The Answer’s 7th Anniversary Barrel Blend Imperial Chocolate Stout. The barrels were Laird's Apple, Rye, and Rum. It is then brewed with Banana Flambé, Saigon cinnamon, Tahitian vanilla and Vermont maple. This was a delicious Imperial Stout that is thick with flavor and booziness. Another killer beer at the answer was one of their Jooses: Condron Raspberry Blueberry Cheesecake. This is a Fruited Sour with Raspberry Blueberry Cheesecake. All of the Joose series is great, but these two fruits and the cheesecake flavor made it a perfect indulgence.

Banana Vanilla Almond Apple Brandy Circle of Wolves from The Veil Brewing Co. in Richmond, VA

Banana Vanilla Almond Apple Brandy Circle of Wolves is an English Barleywine aged in @lairdsapplejack Apple Brandy barrels for 20 months then conditioned on bananas, Madagascar vanilla, and Marcona almonds. This was hands down the best beer I’ve had this month and will go down as one of my top beers of 2021. The banana hits heavy but in a delicious way and the apple brandy kicks in on the back. Highly recommend!

Check back next month to see my top beers from October!
—Cheers, Alexis

The Best Breweries I've Visited Abroad

I’ve been to over 550 breweries in 30 countries exploring the global craft beer scene. These have been some of my favorite breweries I’ve visited outside of the United States!

I base this on beers, atmosphere, and overall experience when visiting. These aren’t in ranking order to be clear, it’s organized by continent.

Cantillon Brewery: Brussels, Belgium

The G.O.A.T.! Cantillon is a lambic brewery making some of the best beers in the world.

It is quite unlike any other brewery you’ll visit, I definitely recommend it! You can book a tour in advance or do a self-guided tour of the historic facility, both come with a tasting afterwards.

Their Gueze is their most popular but everything they offer is unique and fantastic.

The rest of my Belgium recommendations are located here!

Brouwerij’t IJ: Amsterdam, The Netherlands

A brewery in a windmill, can you get more Netherlands?!

Brouwerij’t IJ is adorable and is cranking out some amazing beers. There is also a basic food menu of snacks to accompany your beer.

The taproom has very chill vibes and friendly staff to help you decide what you’d like to have!

Check out my guide to Amsterdam here!

Jopen: HaArlem, The Netherlands

Located in an old church in the center of Haarlem, a small town outside of Amsterdam.

Jopen has a full food menu with a variety of dishes. For a fun twist, Jopen also offers High Beer, in the spirit of High Tea. It has a pairing of 3 beers and 6 snacks.

The vibes at Jopen are a little more restaurant-esque than what I normally like but the beautiful setting makes up for it!

Eggenberg Brewery: Cesky Krumlov, The Czech Republic

A traditional Czech brewery in the little town of Cesky Krumlov. This location first started making beer in 1561!

It has super fun beer hall vibes and you can expect your waitress to slam your overflowing beer down in front of you while holding 10 other beers at the same time.

They’ve also got traditional Czech food to enjoy after a day of sightseeing.

My Czech Republic guide is here!

Augustiner Keller: Munich, Germany

I know, you’re thinking I am crazy because we’re talking about beer in Germany and I didn’t say Hofbrauhaus! Don’t get me wrong, Hofbrauhaus is great, but the atmosphere at Augstiner Keller was fantastic.

They have a huge beer garden that was my favorite part of my visit, along with their delicious traditional German beers. They have a full restaurant as well (but let’s be real you just really want a pretzel).

Check out all of my Munich recommendations here!

Abirradero: Barcelona, Spain

Most people think of Spain for their wines, not beer, but Abirradero is working to change that reputation with their brews!

They have a large beer menu and a food menu with a plethora of tapas to choose from. My cheese board was delightful!

They have a nice outside patio to enjoy your food and drink in as well. Abirradero is a bit pricey but I found it to be worth it!

The rest of my Barcelona recommendations can be found here!

Stomping Ground Brewery and Beer Hall: Melbourne, Australia

I loved the bright and spacious vibes of the beer garden at Stomping Ground! They have a retractable roof, a ton of plants, and a really fun atmosphere.

Their Smash series of sours were my favorites, but they have a large variety of beers to choose from. Stomping Ground also has a full food menu.

Check out my guide to Melbourne here!

33 Acres Brewing Company: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

A brewery coffee shop combination with amazing beers and delicious food! Located in the Mt. Pleasant neighborhood of Vancouver and is in walking distance to several other breweries.

The wood fired pizza from the truck out front is incredible and I cannot recommend it enough! They’ve also got a breakfast menu for weekdays, an all day menu, and a weekend brunch menu.

I was thoroughly impressed with their beers, especially the juicy IPAs. Their taproom is pretty small so I would try to visit when it’s not peak hours to guarantee you’ll find a seat!

Check out my full guide to Vancouver here!

La Rana Dorada: Panama City, Panama

Panama’s first microbrewery! Right as you enter the Casco Viejo neighborhood this cute little brewery greets you.

They make great beers and it is a fun place to hang out and soak up the culture on the outside patio.

Check out my Panama guide here!

What are your favorite breweries outside of the United STates? Let me know in the comments!