January 2024

January was a wild ride! I started off 2024 in Brazil before getting back home to Charlotte right in time for my birthday and then spent a couple of weeks bopping around Charlotte. In January I tried 99 different beers. Here were the best beers I had over the past month, in no particular order:

Pear Sauvie from The Ale Apothecary in Bend, OR

This is a Wild Ale with Mecca Grad Estate barley and rye malts, combined with Sauvie Island’s Crystal hops, brewed wild and naturally in the woods of Central Oregon. 100% naturally carbonated with pear juice. Unfiltered, open-fermented & barrel-aged. The Ale Apothecary’s unique brews are always a delight! I am a particular sucker for all things pear, so it is no surprise that this was one of my favorites this month.

A Rather Profane Sentiment Towards Things of This Kind collaboration beer from Burial Beer in Asheville, NC and TRVE Brewing in Denver, CO

This is an Imperial Stout with Toasted Hazelnuts, Madagascar Vanilla Bean, and Flamed Orange Peel. This collaboration was created to celebrate TRVE’s expansion to Asheville. Their new North Carolina taproom is slotted to open in early 2024.

Biggie, Biggie, Biggie from Monkish Brewing in Torrance, CA

Biggie, Biggie, Biggie is a Triple IPA dry hopped with El Dorado and Galaxy. Monkish continues to put out the bangers, particularly their Triples.

Methods of Excavation III from Other Half Brewing in Brooklyn, NY

Methods of Excavation is a Imperial Stout with almonds, cacao nibs, caramel chocolate ice cream, cinnamon, coffee, coconut, freeze dried ice cream, macadamia nuts, maple, marshmallows, molasses, Tahitian vanilla, vanilla wafers, walnuts, wild Thai bananas, and Madagascar vanilla. A wild amount of adjuncts come together in this brew to meld into a delicious beverage. Other Half has really nailed this style and I continue to be impressed.

Bueze (2023) from Transient Artisan Ales in Bridgman, MI

Bueze is a blend of 1, 2, and 3 year Weller Bourbon Barrel Aged Kentuckley Imperial Breakfast Stout with Comoros Vanilla Beans, Tugboat Coffee, and Maple Syrup. I snagged this while I was in Michigan last summer and was very impressed. The bottle came in a fun purple velvet bag which added some extra flair.

Fun Beer, Lovely Guys collaboration brew from Percent Tap House in Harrisburg, NC and Funguys Brewing in Raleigh, NC

Fun Beer, Lovely Guys is a Kiwi Topped Strawberry Birthday Cake Smoothie Sour with Double Strawberry, Kiwi, Strawberry Cake Filling, Yellow Cake Batter, and Marshmallow. This was a superb Sour—the cake elements were incredible. I could drink far too much of this!

Coating Consistency collaboration brew from The Eighth State Brewing Company in Greenville, SC, WeldWerks Brewing in Greeley, Co, Tripping Animals Brewing in Doral, FL, Other Half Brewing in Brooklyn, NY, Moksa Brewing in Rocklin, CA and Bottle Logic Brewing in Anaheim, CA

Coating Consistency is an Imperial Stout with Toasted Coconut, Raw Coconut, Almonds, Walnuts, Muscovado Sugar, Vanuatu Vanilla, Indonesian Vanilla, West Papua Vanilla and Mayotte Vanilla Beans. Sheesh! What a killer collaboration. The vanilla really comes through strongly, but in a great way. It is no surprise that this was delicious given the fantastic breweries involved.

Check back next month for my top beers in February! 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!

March 2021

March was full of fantastic beers and a trip to Raleigh visiting some amazing breweries and sharing some fantastic beers! You can also tell from my selection here that we’ve finally seen a turn in the weather—this month includes many more fruity and refreshing beers!

In no particular order, here were my top beers in March 2021:

Lunchbox Series Blackberry PB&J from Funguys Brewing in Raleigh, NC

Funguys releases different variants of their Lunchbox Series of Smoothie Style Sour Ales, each that are Peanut Butter and Jelly inspired. This one is brewed with peanut butter, blackberry, and lactose, and truly tastes like you’re biting into an elementary school lunch sandwich. All of their Sours are incredibly delicious so you really can’t go wrong, but this one really exceeded expectations.

Deferred Stimulus from Cerebral Brewing in Denver, CO

Deferred Stimulus is a Double IPA with Galaxy and Cashmere hops coming in at 8.4% ABV. Cerebral makes some of the best Juicy IPAs in the game and this one is no exception! The color is warm and inviting, the smell is fresh and hop-filled, and the flavors are powerful and smooth. I absolutely love getting my hands on Cerebral’s brews and can’t wait to visit them again in the future!

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 thiccc, packed with flavor, and super easy to drink. I had this one on tap during our visit to Raleigh and it was so good I also scooped a 4-pack to go!

Abstract Harvest from Heist Brewing and Barrel Arts in Charlotte, NC

Abstract Harvest is a Fruited Berliner Weisse with passionfruit, pink guava, pineapple, and lactose. It is extremely refreshing but super packed full of flavor. At 7.8% ABV it is definitely a boozy brew, but the fruits hide the alcohol and it is super easy-drinking. Pair this with a pizza from Livy’s and you won’t be disappointed!

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. This was truly phenomenal and will probably be one of my favorite beers of the year.

Intern Backpack collaboration from Other Half Brewing in New York, NY, Shared Brewing in Maplewood, MO, and Monkish Brewing in Torrance, CA

Intern Backpack is an Imperial IPA with hand selected Centennial and Nelson Sauvin hops plus Vic Secret and Galaxy hops. This is a true juice bomb coming from three of the best breweries in the country—Other Half, Monkish, and Shared. Shared is by Side Project Brewing and where they create their non-Barrel Aged beers. I look forward to getting to try more of their fantastic creations!

Soft Parade from Short’s Brewing in Bellaire, MI

Soft Parade was my original favorite craft beer! I grew up in Michigan so Short’s and Soft Parade were everywhere, but now as a North Carolinian I rarely get to revisit this delicious classic. Soft Parade is their flagship Fruit Ale brewed with pureed strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries. It is fruity and refreshing but still 7.5% ABV!

Extra Extra Juicy Bits from WeldWerks Brewing in Greeley, CO

Juicy Bits is already a phenomenal beer and one of the best IPAs in the country. Extra Extra Juicy Bits is the Double Dry Hopped Double IPA version of this classic beer with Citra, Mosaic, and El Dorado hops. This is an incredible beer and one of the top IPAs I’ve personally had. Don’t want to take my word for it? This brew won a gold medal at the 2019 Great American Beer Festival in the Juicy or Hazy Imperial India Pale Ale category.

Check back next month to see my top beers of April!

Cheers -Alexis

My Top Beers in February 2021

February brought A LOT of good beers! A trip to Asheville + a shipment of all of Other Half’s anniversary beers + some amazing goodies from friends means that this month’s list is a little longer than normal because it was just impossible to narrow things down!

In no particular order, here are my top beers of February 2021:

Toasty Camp Flight at Forestry Camp by Burial Beer Co. in Asheville, NC

Okay so yes this is totally cheating to have 4 beers as one selection but they were all so good! I will narrow it down to my top 2: Lecha Reserva from Bottle Logic Brewing in Anaheim, CA and Rogue in Exile from Eighth State Brewing in Greenville, SC in collaboration with Burial Beer Co. in Asheville, NC. Lecha Reserva is an Imperial Stout aged in tequila and bourbon barrels with chili pepper blend, cacao nibs, cinnamon, vanilla beans, and lactose. The spice perfectly flavors the chocolate base and adds a nice punch. Rogue in Exile is an Imperial Stout with caramel, toasted coconut, Mexican vanilla, honey dates, halawi date, and milk sugar. The flavors combine for a brownie-like thiccc sipper.

Vera Mae (2019) from Hill Farmstead in Greensboro Bend, VT

Hill Farmstead never ceases to impress! Vera Mae is a Farmhouse Saison with organically grown grains, American hops, Vermont wildflower honey, dandelion flowers from the Hill Farmstead fields, and their unique farmhouse yeast. The 2019 edition was aged in oak puncheons and wine barrels for two months and then bottle conditioned for more than a year. The result is a slightly sweet and earthy bottle of goodness.

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! Other Half and WeldWerks both individually crush the IPA game and this one is no exception. This is an Imperial IPA with Citra, El Dorado, Mosaic, and Galaxy hops. This one might end up on my best beers of 2021 list at the end of the year, it was so good!

Ken Burns Presents: Guava, Passion Fruit, and Apricot from BlackStack Brewing in St. Paul, MN

BlackStack is so insanely underrated! I visited their taproom in 2018 and had the best IPAs of my trip to the Twin Cities. Since then I have been lucky enough to get some beer mail to continue to try even more of their beers. Their ‘Ken Burns Presents’ series of smoothie style Berliner Weisses has been incredible. This is the 11th edition of the series and is a Foeder-Fermented Fruited Berliner Weisse with guava, passionfruit, apricot, and milk sugar.

Holy Ghost from Parish Brewing Co. in Broussard, LA

Holy freaking Ghost! I am a huge Parish fan after living in Louisiana for almost 5 years so I was thrilled when they released this special version of their best beer—Ghost in the Machine—for their 10th anniversary! This is a Triple IPA with oats, raw wheat, and dry hopped with Nelson Sauvin, Galaxy, and Citra Cryo hops. Fingers crossed this one makes another appearance at some point like the Double Dry Hopped version has!

5th, 6th, and 7th Anniversary from Other Half Brewing in New York, NY

Okay yes I’m cheating again by picking 3 beers in one BUT how can you possibly not include all of this amazing juiciness in a top beers selection?! 5th Anniversary is an Imperial IPA with oats and Citra, Galaxy, Mosaic, Nelson Sauvin, and Citra Cryo hops. 6th Anniversary is an Imperial IPA with Citra, Mosaic, Sabro Incognito, Galaxy, Cashmere, Riwaka, Strata T-90, Cashmere, Tomahawk, and Citra Cryo hops. 7th Anniversary is an Imperial IPA with Citra, Citra Cryo, Motueka, Riwaka, Cashmere, and Eukanot hops. I loved being able to do a side by side tasting of these stellar beers to pick out the small differences between them. I’d love to see Other Half continue to release years past anniversary beers each year to see how things change over time!

Devil’s Edge collaboration from Devil’s Logic Brewing and Edge City Brewery in Charlotte, NC

Devil’s Logic and Edge City are both newer to the Charlotte beer scene, with Devil’s Logic opening in December 2019 and Edge City in April 2020. They’ve each jumped right into the mix of 40+ breweries in the CLT area with impressive beers and nicely curated taprooms. Together they created Devil’s Edge, an Imperial IPA with Citra, Simcoe, and Vic Secret hops. This juice bomb is perfectly hopped and incredibly tasty. You can enjoy it on tap at either location or snag a crowler to enjoy at home.

check back next montH to see mY top beers Of march! Cheers -Alexis

My Top 5 Beers in November 2020

I’ve found that posting my beers on Instagram doesn’t give me the ability to be reflective and really dig into which are truly exceptional, so welcome to my first roundup of favorites! Each month I will do a blog post on which beers were above and beyond the best. Most of the time I will pick 5, sometimes it might be less, sometimes more.

In no particular order, here were my favorite beers I drank in November 2020:

From Downtown by J. Wakefield Brewing in Miami, FL.

This is a Double Dry Hopped Double New England Style IPA with Motueka, Nelson Sauvin, Pacific Sunrise and Riwaka hops. We were lucky enough to get a four pack of this banger and thoroughly enjoyed each one! I visited J. Wakefield a couple of years ago and loved i! As I’ve tried more of their brews over time I continue to be more and more impressed.

Switchblade No. 21 at Workshop Brewing in Traverse City, MI.

This Hazy Double IPA is made with Kveik yeast and is dry hopped with experimental hop variety HBC-472. This was a truly delightful brew, the Kveik yeast made it not your typical Hazy IPA. I highly recommend a visit to Workshop if you are in Northern Michigan! Check out my Traverse City guide here!

Blueberry Cobbler Berliner from WeldWerks Brewing Co. at Forestry Camp in Asheville, NC.

This is a Sour Wheat Ale brewed with vanilla, milk sugar, graham cracker and nearly 1500lbs of blueberry puree. WeldWerks is based in Greely, Colorado and is most known for their IPAs, but this Sour was truly impeccable! Forestry Camp is from the team at Burial Beer Co. and is one of my favorite places ever, truly.

The Only Trail From Nowhere at Burial Beer Co. in Asheville, NC.

This Imperial Stout is made with pecan, peanut, cashew, hazelnut, banana, and coconut. Burial does no wrong, and this Stout is no exception. I had 8 different Burial beers this month so it was hard to choose a favorite but this one was just packed with flavor! I always love getting to visit Burial, check out my full guide to Asheville here!

Anna by Hill Farmstead Brewery in Greensboro Bend, VT.

This is a Farmhouse Ale brewed with Vermont wildflower honey. This was my third time having a bottle of Anna and every time I do I love it a little more! Hill Farmstead always puts out incredible Farmhouse Ales and Saisons, this one is a little extra special with the honey addition.

Tune in next month to see what my favorites of December 2020 will be!