February brought a slue of fantastic beers! I also took trips to Greenville, SC and up to Michigan, so that led to some great beers as well. Fingers crossed we are moving towards warmer weather and more patio beers in the coming weeks!
In no particular order, here were my top beers in February 2022:
Tulip from Fidens Brewing in Colonie, NY
Tulip is a Double IPA brewed with Citra and Simcoe hops. Fidens has really fine-tuned what a Double IPA should be and Tulip is a prime example of this. Smooth, juicy, flavorful, and delicious.
Never Gonnagetit³ from The Veil Brewing in Richmond, VA
This is the triple fruited version the Veil’s mixed berry gose with raspberry, boysenberry, and blackberry. Anything mixed berry is always going to be a win from my perspective and this was delicious. Shout out to Salud Beer Shop for hosting a Veil tap takeover so we can have their RVA goodness in CLT.
Ana from Fair Isle Brewing in Seattle, WA
Ana is a tropical Saison refermented on Ananasnaya Kiwi fruit from Red Cedar Farm in Poulsbo, WA. In my opinion, Saisons are always best enjoyed on a beautiful day sitting outside (preferably also with a cheese board). I have been hyping Fair Isle up since I visited their taproom in July and Ana reminded me of just how good their beers are. If you haven’t jumped on this train yet I highly recommend it!
I Once Left My Mind In A Bed-Stuy Juice Bar Collab from Burial Beer Co. in Asheville, NC and Other Half Brewing in New York, NY
This killer collaboration is mashed with oats and candi sugar, whirlpooled with Incognito hops, and triple dry-hopped with Mosaic, El Dorado, Blanc, Motueka and Riwaka hops. It is another banger from the folks at Burial and Other Half, which should come as no surprise.
All Is Not Lost from Petty Thieves Brewing in Charlotte, NC
All Is Not Lost is a Saison brewed with ceylon tea and lemon peel before being refermented on Asian pear puree. Petty Thieves always has a wide array of beers to choose from but I’ve found their Saisons to be my favorites. All Is Not Lost was superb—the pear flavor was not too overpowering but the perfect balance of fruity and refreshing.
Stress Dream collab from The Eighth State Brewing Company in Greenville, SC and Fidens Brewing in Colonie, NY
Pictured left, Stress Dream is an Imperial Stout with Monteblanco Passion Fruit Washed Coffee Beans from @methodicalcoffee , Toasted Coconut, Strawberry, Papua New Guinea Vanilla, Peruvian Cocoa Nibs, and Caramel. When two of the best in the game team up your expectations are pretty high, but Eighth State & Fidens did not disappoint. I am excited to open the bottle of this that I got soon too!
Crunchtime from HopFly Brewing in Charlotte, NC
Crunchtime is an American Lager from one of Charlotte’s newest breweries, HopFly Brewing. They opened in March 2020 in Rocky Mount, NC and just expanded to CLT last week. If you haven’t already checked out their new space in South End get on it! They do each style of beer well, but I found Crunchtime to be well-rounded and refreshing—perfect for their rooftop patio space.
Dots on the Wall from Birds Fly South Ale Project in Greenville, SC
Dots on the Wall is a Farmhouse Style Table Beer. Did you ever think a Table Beer would make a top beers list? I certainly didn’t, but Dots on the Wall has flipped that idea on its head. This was a fantastic, easy-drinking beer that still had plenty of flavor.
Hopnosis from Firestone Walker in Paso Robles, CA
Hopnosis is a West Coast IPA with Mosaic Cryo hops. This was a superb West Coast IPA from the folks at Firestone Walker who have been honing in on this style of beer for over 15 years. Learn more about Hopnosis in my PorchDrinking Beer Feature linked here!
Curtains Closed from High Branch Brewing in Concord, NC
Curtains Closed is a Hazy Double IPA with oats and Sabro, Citra, Azacca, and Centennial hops. High Branch is best known for their IPAs and Curtains Closed was perhaps the best one that I have had from them.
Ghost Big Sherb from HOMES Brewing in Ann Arbor, MI
Ghost Big Sherb is a Smoothie Sour with milk sugar and double fruited with blackberry, black currant, and plum, then aged on vanilla bean. HOMES always makes delicious beers, particularly their Sours. It was fruity without being overly sweet or thick, and I thoroughly enjoyed every sip.
