October 2021

October is arguably the best month of the year—college football is in full swing, leaves are changing, and the month is full of beer fests! For us October meant two bottle shares, a massive fall beer side by side tasting, Barrel Culture Brewing & Blending’s Invitational in Durham, glamping in Lenoir, and an epic Michigan State football victory over Michigan. All of these obviously also meant delicious beers, so this month’s top beers list is a little longer—check out all of the best beers I had in October 2021 below, in no particular order:

Childish Games from Monkish Brewing in Torrance, CA

Childish Games is a Double Dry Hopped Double IPA with Enigma and Nelson Sauvin hops. Monkish has absolutely nailed the juicy IPA game and this brew is no exception—smooth, flavorful, and fantastic.

2020 Barrel Aged Cuppa Peanut Butter Coconut from Maplewood Brewing in Chicago, IL

This is an Imperial Stout blended from Cuppa aged in Buffalo Trace, Heaven Hill and Weller barrels for 12-18 months and conditioned on cacao nibs, vanilla, coffee, toasted coconut and peanut butter. I enjoyed this one at the Barrel Culture Invitational and it reaffirmed my belief in just how good Maplewood is!

Holding This Moment (Blue) collab brew from Fidens Brewing in Colonie, NY And Horus Aged Ales in OCeanside, CA

Holding This Moment is a Double IPA brewed with Motueka and Citra hops. Fidens is hot right now in the craft beer scene and Horus is always something to be chased after as well, so it’s no surprise this collaboration was incredibly delicious!

Dairelynerweisse: Raspberry, Blackberry, Pomegranate from Salud Cerveceria in Charlotte, NC

Dairelynerweisse is Salud’s Berliner Weisse series and this variant was made with blackberry, raspberry and pomegranate. You can always expect this series to be thicc, fruity, and packed full of flavor. My favorite is still the Mixed Berry version, but this one is excellent too!

Insert Hip Hop Reference Anywhere collab brew from Trillium Brewing in Boston, MA and Monkish Brewing in Torrance, CA

Insert Hip Hop Reference is a single-hop collaboration series from Trillium and this version features Mosaic hops in collaboration with the IPA powerhouse, Monkish Brewing. It is a 10% Triple IPA but is extremely easy to drink.

Watermelon Incipient from Speciation Artisan Ales in Grand Rapids, MI

Watermelon Incipient is a Foeder Aged Solera Sour with watermelon. Speciation always brings the funk! This one is tart, fruity, and light-bodied. I always recommend anything from Speciation that you can get your hands on!

Double Dry Hopped Ghost in the Machine from Parish Brewing in Broussard, LA

Yes I have talked about this beer before, and no I will not be stopping anytime soon. DDH Ghost is an Imperial IPA with Citra hops. I first had this beer when it initially released in 2020 and every time I have it I am continually blown away by how delicious it is. Luckily Parish brought this one to the Barrel Culture Invitational and it was the first keg to kick if that tells you anything about how fantastic it is!

Everything is Connected Collab Brew from The Eighth State Brewing Company in Greenville, SC and Tripping Animals Brewing Co. in Doral, FL

Everything is Connected is a Barleywine with roasted pecans, Cook's Island vanilla, Ugandan vanilla, Ecuadorian cocoa nibs, and graham crackers. Eighth State crushes the Imperial Stout and Barleywine game so it is no surprise that this brew was exceptional! Thicc, heavy on the vanilla, and boozy—everything I wanted out of it.

Get Puft from Liquid Roots Brewing Project in Lenoir, NC

Get Puft is a mango and marshmallow Sour Ale. This was super flavorful! It’s the first in the new sour series at Liquid Roots so I look forward to seeing what other flavors they develop. In the meantime I’ll take 64oz of this fruit bomb!

Flat Dayz collab brew from Other Half Brewing in New York, NY and Commonwealth Brewing in Virginia Beach, VA

Flat Dayz is a Double IPA with Citra in the whirlpool and dry hopped with Motueka, Waimea, Riwaka and Kohatu hops. Juicy, fruit-forward, and smooth. Another banger from Other Half with the help of Commonwealth.

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. Highly recommend this brew!

May 2021

May brought my first real beer trip out of state since pre-covid! I visited St. Louis for the first time and had some fantastic beers, check out my guide to St. Louis here! May also brought some stellar beer trades from out of state! In no particular order, here were my top beers in May 2021:

German Chocolate Stout from Wellspent Brewing in St. Louis, MO

This is an Imperial Stout aged on coconut, cocoa nibs, and vanilla beans. It tastes exactly like German Chocolate Cake and was absolutely phenomenal! Thick, chocolatey, and just the perfect hint of coconut and vanilla. I definitely recommend checking out Wellspent if you’re in the St. Louis area!

Twice The Daily Serving: Tropical Punch from Trillium Brewing in Boston, MA

I always love the Twice The Daily Serving series from Trillium and this one was no exception! It is a Berliner Weisse with guava, passionfruit, mango, pineapple, and lime. It is thick, juicy, and packed with flavor. Most Berliner Weisses and Fruited Sours have a pretty low ABV but this one packs a punch at 7%! I cannot wait to visit Trillium in July for the first time, it is going to be epic.

Abraxas from Perennial Artisan Ales in St. Louis, MO

Abraxas is an Imperial Stout brewed with ancho chili peppers, cacao nibs, vanilla beans, and cinnamon sticks. This is a classic Imperial Stout released every year and has been one of my favorites for a while. This was my first time getting to try it on draft though and it was even better! I love the combination of spiciness and sweetness.

Even More Hydra collaboration brew from Mortalis Brewing in Avon, NY and Evil Twin Brewing in New York, NY

This is a Fruited Sour with blackberry, raspberry, blueberry, marshmallow, and cacao nibs. I’ve been lucky enough to have a couple of the Hydra series from Mortalis and they have been delicious. This one is a special collab brew making it even more fun and it’s a hearty 7% ABV.

Bourbon Barrel Aged Ego Death from Resident Culture Brewing Company in Charlotte, NC

This Bourbon Barrel Aged version of Ego Death is an Imperial Stout conditioned on toasted hazelnuts and cacao nibs and aged in Willett bourbon barrels for 14 months. This is straight fire! The non-barrel aged version of Ego Death is also very good, just obviously without the bourbon kick and a thinner Stout overall. BBA Ego Death was a knock-out. I was blown away by how well the flavors worked together. I cannot wait to try the vanilla variant of it that we got as well!

Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A from Narrow Gauge Brewing in Florissant, MO

This is an Imperial IPA triple dry hopped with Citra, Mosaic, Galaxy, and Nelson Sauvin hops. This is named after the Konami Code for all you gamers out there. Narrow Gauge makes absolutely fantastic beers and I was thrilled to get to visit their taproom outside of St. Louis. I snagged a 4-pack of this juice bomb of an IPA to bring back to CLT with me because it was so good!

CHECK BACK NEXT MONTH TO SEE WHAT MY TOP BEERS OF JUNE 2021 WILL BE!

CHEERS -ALEXIS

April 2021

April brought a trip to the mountains in Linville Gorge and another visit to Raleigh, so there were plenty of good beers to be had. In no particular order, here were my top beers in April:

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 beer is absolutely phenomenal and one of my favorite Stouts so far this year. I unfortunately broke the bottle of the other version we had and will forever be full of regret because this one was a banger!

Whistlin’ from Suarez Family Brewery in Hudson, NY

Whistlin’ is a Farmhouse Saison with fresh lemongrass fermented with a mixed culture and aged in oak casks. It is both citrusy but also slightly spicy from the country beer vibes. It is light, refreshing, and extremely tasty. This was the perfect beer to enjoy on the deck in the mountains.

Charge the Channel collaboration brew from Vitamin Sea Brewing in Weymouth, MA and Trillium Brewing in Boston, MA

Vitamin Sea and Trillium are two of the best in the game when it comes to IPAs so it is no surprise this brew is delicious. Charge The Channel is an oated Double IPA with Citra, Rakau, and Galaxy hops. It is smooth, flavorful, and juicy—everything I am looking for in a DIPA.

Blade of Hercules collaboration brew from Fidens Brewing in Colonie, NY and Mortalis Brewing in Avon, NY

Fidens is the new hype brewery and honestly I am jumping on the train. This is the second beer I’ve had from them, the first being an IPA, and they were both top notch. Fidens collaborated with Mortalis, another superb brewery to create this delectable Stout. Blade of Hercules is an Imperial Stout with marshmallow, graham cracker, and cocoa nibs. It tastes like smores in a glass but in a good way, not a smoky and sticky way. I highly recommend getting your hands on some Fidens if you have not already!

Check back next month to see what my top beers of May 2021 will be!

Cheers -Alexis