Ryan’s Top 40 Beers of 2024
The criteria for the list is simple: these are the best beers that I had this year that were (mostly) released this year. I undoubtedly left off many other great beers I had this year because I’m not a very good record-keeper and don’t use Untappd. But I hope some of these beers resonate with you, because they stood out to me, and they deserve recognition. The order of these beers, like all the rankings we do, is arbitrary and based on my personal preferences that can seemingly change from day-to-day. But I feel confident in saying that all these beers are worth seeking out if you’re in a position to do so – I think you’ll like them.
40. Ballgame | Kölsch w/ salted caramel and peanuts | Maumee Bay Brewing Company | Toledo, OH | 5% ABV – listen
I can’t believe this thing worked. Initially, I thought I was going to have a hard time with a 32 ounce crowler of this beer. But the sweetness from the caramel is nicely balanced with a noticeable but easy salty character, making this a real Cracker Jack-tribute beer while still tasting like a beer. It’s a real masterstroke for drinking while watching the Mudhens.
39. Pineapple Guppy | Pale Ale w/ pineapple | Pipeworks Brewing Company | Chicago, IL | 4/8% ABV – listen | read
Pipeworks was one of those breweries that helped make hoppy beers with fruit something worth chasing down almost a decade ago, so you can trust that they know what they’re doing with a beer like this. It pours golden yellow and crystal clear, with aromatics reminiscent of a fruit-forward strain of dank weed, equal parts sweet pineapple and herbaceous cannabis. In the taste, the sweet pineapple juice is balanced out by the moderate bitterness of the herbal, slightly spicy hop character. If pineapple isn’t your thing, you could always grab the reliable Lizard King pale ale, and if you find yourself lucky enough to dine at Andros Taverna you can try their restaurant-exclusive Kipos wit with lemon and thyme.
38. Otto | Euro-Style Lager | Around the Bend Beer Company | Chicago, IL | 5% ABV – listen (Patreon only) | read
This omni-lager purports to combine elements of a Czech pilsner, German pilsner, Bavarian helles, and Dortmunder lager into one – and I’m not going to push back against that claim at all. It pours like an unfiltered German lager, and the aroma is grainy with wheat bread, honey malt, floral hops, and touch of grass. In the sip, it has a soft and full mouthfeel with spot-on carbonation that evolves from front to back. The flavor is bright and full of honey bread and sweet floral hops. The finish leaves just a touch of bitterness that triples its drinkability. This tastes like a recipe that’s been lovingly studied, tweaked, and refined to this perfect end. Cheers to Dan and Around the Bend – this is an exceptional lager.
37. Simcoe Overflow | West Coast-style IPA | Component Brewing Company | Milwaukee, WI | 6.4% ABV – listen
Craig brought this one back after it won Wisconsin’s IPA Fest (hosted by Third Space), and it’s no wonder considering the trend back towards West Coast, bitter IPAs. This does the grapefruit and dank grass Simcoe does so well with a lingering bitterness, making this one that demands your redrinking.
36. Bone Bone Bone Bone Bone Bone Bone Bone Bone | DDH Double IPA | Hidden Hand & Alarmist Brewing | Chicago, IL | 7.6% ABV
This beer doesn’t have to worry about what to do when judgment comes for it, because this beer is neither thuggish nor ruggish. (Or is it? I don’t know. I tried.) But the reality is that the name and collaboration partner caused me to order this when I was at Solemn Oath’s Still Life spot in Chicago, and it’s a delectable take on a hazy double IPA. The inclusion of Centennial and Simcoe hops give this some of that herbal earthiness that helps assuage the usual sweetness in this style, but there’s still a tide of juiciness that makes this an effortless drinker.
35. Merci (2024) | Blended Missouri Wild Ale | Side Project Brewing | St. Louis, MO | 6.27% ABV – listen
I’m old enough that when I think “barrel-aged Side Project,” I still think exclusively about sours. This beer is a good reminder of why. They’ve been making American lambic-style beer for a long, long time, and they are damn good at it. This one has some strong tart notes that almost become acidic in their sourness, but they dry out and finish with an oak-forward and wine-like complexity that is truly something to experience.
34. Whale Herder | Barrel-fermented Cream Ale | Strangebird | Rochester, NY | 5.5% ABV – listen (Patreon only)
We tracked down Strangebird at GABF because we had learned of Eric Salazar’s involvement in their barrel program, and there were some killer examples at festivals this year of his Belgian-inspired barrel-aged beers. We have no idea if he had any hand in this barrel-fermented cream ale, and it’s just an absolute delight. It has that Nilla wafer-like cream ale flavor with a touch of corny notes, but there’s just a wisp of neutral oak depth that takes this just a bit further into something much more memorable.
33. Crispy Beer for Pizza | Italian Pilsner | Off Color Brewing | Chicago, IL | 5% ABV
How do you follow a silky smooth cask stout on draft? This turned out to be an extremely tasty contrast – without going nuts on the ABV. It’s likely power of suggestion, but the crisp malt character crosses from standard pilsner malt to something reminiscent of sourdough pizza crust. The hops offer an herbal bite that invokes rosemary and onion, but it still has a light sweetness to fill out the mouthfeel. And yes, I also got this one at Beer on the Wall, our friends and sponsors.
32. Decorah Nordic Gruit | Gruit-style Ale w/ Juniper berries, rosemary, bay leaf, black walnuts, bog myrtle, and toasted caraway seeds | PIVO Brewery | Calmar, IA | 5.8% ABV
Head brewer and co-founder Craig Nuezil has a peculiar way of filling out his taplist. He also has an impressive medal collection, so he’s certainly on to something. PIVO, located about 10 miles from Decorah, doesn’t brew any flagships, and Craig bases releases around whatever yeast he’s currently employing in other brews. The closest thing to a taproom staple is this gruit – a style that almost no one makes. PIVO’s version of a gruit, with a forest floor’s collection of ingredients, just won its fourth GABF medal. It’s certainly earthy, floral, and a tad funky thanks to all of those ingredients, but the baseline beer is very easy-drinking, somewhere in the range of a sessionable saison.
31. P3 Baltic Porter | Baltic Porter | Phase Three Brewing | Lake Zurich, IL | 10.5% ABV – listen
My favorite Baltic Porter in the whole world is made less than a mile from my house. Kinslahger Brewing Company in Oak Park makes an absolutely transformative Baltic Porter that is almost aggressively full flavored, roasty, bitter, a bit boozy, and chewy. This Phase Three take on the Baltic Porter is the closest approximation for that beer as I wait for it to be released again. It’s creamy and full, with chocolate, coffee roast, and licorice in even amounts. The warming quality from its high ABV makes this a whole body experience, and the lingering bitter character from roast malt keeps you coming back for sip after sip.
30. Hip Hops and R&Brew | American Pale Ale w/ orange zest | Funkytown Brewery | Chicago, IL | 5.5% ABV – listen (Patreon only) | read
This foundational beer from Funkytown proves why it’s still core to their lineup, as it’s a pale ale that’s both unique locally but reminiscent of classic pales like Sierra Nevada. It pours deeper golden, nearing amber, and completely clear with a finger of steady head. The juicy citrus orange smells like it’s coming off of a dry-hop addition more than the zest, and there’s some herbal notes alongside a touch of caramel malt. The flavor is bright and citrus forward, the orange zest adding a pithy character to the juicy citrus and tropical notes from Citra and Mosaic. It’s bitter from front to back but not in an overly aggressive way, and there’s a good amount of malt sweetness that balances out the flavors while providing a little chew to the body.
29. Radio Silence | Red IPA | Maplewood Brewing Company | Chicago, IL | 6.8% ABV – listen
There’s a story to be told about how we inadvertently inspired the name of this beer, but the real story for me is how this beer hit all the targets for hoppy red beer that I set out to find examples of this year. The Simcoe and Centennial hops bring grapefruit, citrus, pine, and wet grass to a honey and caramel malt base. The lingering pine bitterness felt like a throwback, and it really makes this beer sing.
28. Mirai | Japanese-style Sparkling Rice Lager | Triptych Brewing | Savoy, IL | 5.1% ABV – listen (Patreon only)
This kicked off our interest in rice lagers this year, and it may have been the best. Triptych has been making some really exceptional lagers as of late, and it’s refreshing to see more of their beers make it up to Chicagoland. This is light and crisp with a touch of floral and honey notes on top of a light cracker malt.
27. Paint the Town Dunkel | Munich-Style Dunkel Lager | Art History Brewing & Revolution Brewing | Geneva, IL & Chicago, IL | 5.8% ABV – listen (Patreon only)
Revolution picks some pretty great collaboration partners, and the folks at Art History (led by local brewing legend Greg Browne) have been producing a well-rounded lineup of delicious beers with a heavy focus on lagers for just about five years now. Some of their Czech and German-inspired lagers have been amongst the best examples of the styles available in Chicagoland, in our opinion. This Dunkel builds on a classic base that features notes of honey wheat bread, molasses, and chestnut before a noticeable floral and grassy hop bite comes in to ride off with the dry finish. It’s a slightly hoppier take on the Dunkel, but it works so well that it’ll stick in your mind a while.
26. West Coast Warlock | Double IPA | Miskatonic Brewing Company | Darien, IL | 8% ABV – listen
Miskatonic’s Wizard/Warlock/Wiccan series of beers needs to get more recognition locally, because I truly believe they are some of the best hoppy beers made in the state of Illinois. This amped-up version of their West Coast Wizard IPA takes a great thing and makes it massive, increasing the citrus fruitiness, piney bitterness, and malty sweet booziness of the body. But it’s only 8%, and if you’re like me, you’re tossing back the last two ounces while in the process of walking to the bar to order another.
25. Chin Wag | Extra Special Bitter | Hogshead Brewery | Denver, CO | 5.8% ABV
Speaking of “traditional pouring methods,” the hand-pumped cask beers at Hogshead have been a required part of our Denver trip since the very first time we visited the taproom in 2017. I also rarely skip getting Chin Wag as my first pour, as it shows off the beauty of what a cask can do to the mouthfeel of a toffee-tinted, moderately bitter ESB. The sip is long and satisfying, as the finish seems to go on for days. I’ve humbly kept my vow to never go to Denver again without a trip to Hogshead (especially after stuffing myself and walking from Hops & Pie).
24. Naughty by Nelson | Rye IPA w/ Nelson Sauvin hops | Mikerphone Brewing | Elk Grove Village, IL | 7% ABV – listen (Patreon only)
Paying homage to Alpine’s Nelson is an easy way to get my attention, and this beer comes damn close to nailing its tribute. Of course, my Alpine memories are all over a decade old, so maybe this is closer than my memory can match. Whether or not you’re down with other people’s property is not the issue – this beer has big gooseberry and sweet wine notes alongside a chewy caramel malt sweetness with a kick of spicy rye and peppercorn. It has bitterness that lasts long beyond the sip (hop hooray).
23. Psychedelic Cat Grass | Triple Dry-Hopped IPA | Short’s Brewing Company | Elk Rapids, MI | 7.6% ABV – listen (Patreon only)
Immediately the aroma is triple dry-hopped skunky bong rips, candied pineapple, honey malt, and mixed berry Skittles. The bitterness is intense up front, and the lingering finish reminds me of drinking a Humalupalicious at a bar in Grand Rapids in 2010. Some fruit and malt sweetness along the middle fills out the flavor. If you’re looking for some old school IBU nostalgia, this beer might scratch you in the exact right place.
22. Overwhip | Bourbon barrel-aged Imperial Stout aged on Ugandan vanilla beans | Hop Butcher for the World | 13% ABV – listen
Hop Butcher’s intermittent barrel-aged releases have been pretty impressive so far, and we love that for them. This nails that marshmallow Fluff vanilla character without overdoing the sweetness, and a rich chocolate base from the stout goes a long way to round this one out. The barrel is also layering on some extra notes of caramel and toasted wood.
21. Charles’ Kvass | Kvass-style Ale w/ cherries and rye bread | Burns Family Artisan Ales | Denver, CO | 3.5% ABV
On the subject of rare styles to see on the GABF floor, no one else that we know of brought a kvass. Wayne Burns and Laura Worley run a pretty adventurous brewery to begin with, but often, it’s with their above-20 percent barrel-aged beers. This one is a 3.5% peasant beer that originates in 10th century Russia, named after the brewer that has had a bit of an obsession with the style over a decade of experimentation. Think lambic-esque tart cherries up front before the graininess and flavor of dark rye bread keep it from getting sweet in the end.
20. BA Decision Fatigue | Imperial Stout aged in Weller 12 barrels | Flipside Brewing | Tinley Park, IL | 13.5% ABV – listen
Erik Pizer is operating a barrel program that consists of anywhere between one and three barrels, but like everything he does, he’s making the most of it. Flipside is a small spot that happens to be huge on delicious beer and food – I’ve never had a sub-great beer there, and every food choice I’ve made has been the right one for that visit. This specialty release barrel-aged stout takes a cue from more classic stouts as it has a full mouthfeel without any sort of overly sweet and long syrupy finish. But there’s loads of vanilla and caramel notes coming out from the Weller barrels, and it ultimately finishes snug and smooth.
19. Lil Jug Strawberry & Lil Jug Mango | Soda-Inspired Fruit Beer | Noon Whistle Brewing | Lombard, IL | 5% ABV – listen (Patreon only)
We had low expectations for these considering how there are so many sugary beers mimicking sweet treats that really push the limits of good taste. But we had true first-sip-shock when these tasted convincingly like actual soda without a sticky syrupy finish. They bring backyard birthday party nostalgia vibes, and I couldn’t believe how enthusiastically we both finished each of these cans.
18. Trailing West Pils | Italian-inspired Pilsner | Firestone Walker Brewing Company & Half Acre Beer Co. | Paso Robles, CA & Chicago, IL | 5% ABV – listen
This is not the highest “Half Acre and legendary West Coast brewery” collaboration on this list, but it’s exceptional all the same. Firestone Walker basically brought the Italian-style pilsner to American craft brewing through their Pivo Pils, so imagine that beer with a more Daisy Cutter-like hop profile of light grapefruit and wet grass. I’d be all over this if it were every brewed again, but that doesn’t seem likely.
17. Floating Fields | Saison brewed w/ rice | Forest + Main Brewing Company | Ambler, PA | 4% ABV – listen (Patreon only)
We had a good time with rice lagers this year, and this random Beer on the Wall shelf find gave us a glimpse of what could be. It has the yeasty aromatics and flavor of a saison, with notes of bubblegum, lemongrass, and peppercorn. But the body and finish are extra dry, just insanely drinkable.
16. Old Shuck | English Porter | North Pier Brewing Company | Benton Harbor, MI | 5% ABV – listen
This was a vacation surprise while driving around Michigan, and their recently-opened small restaurant ended up being a day-saver for the family. This porter evokes a classic and roasty, lightly-nutty and sessionable dark English beer that I’d drink on cask until it ran dry. It has a creaminess that goes beyond its ABV, and it finishes with just enough roast bitterness to make you keep sipping.
15. Diablo Colorado | Belgian-style Strong Golden Ale | Bruz Beers | Denver, CO | 9.5% ABV
There are two Bruz locations, and if you’re in Denver for GABF, Bruz Off Fax is the location that’ll be the shortest rideshare trip. I couldn’t stop recommending this place to anyone who listened, and I’d be remiss to not thank listener and friend Ryan Lamb for pointing us in this direction in the first place. The Colfax location has only been open since 2019, so I shouldn’t be too mad at myself for missing out on this Belgian-focused brewery until this year. This particular beer is bursting with notes of baked pears, pink peppercorns, clove honey, and a warming, almost floral-like booze finish. It reminds me of one of my all-time favorite local beers: Dæmon by the late, great Lo Rez Brewing. But more than that, the space here is gorgeous. It’s very unassuming upon approach, but there are multiple levels inside, including a sunken bar with a few intimate booths just behind the seating area. The outside patio is colorfully adorned with comfortable seating options, and a separate shipping container bar – with heaters for the winter and a whole separate bar for special occasions, has no shortage of seating options. We drank a few other beers here and all were stellar, so now we have to work this into our already jam-packed yearly routine.
14. Summer Beer | Light Lager | Goldfinger Brewing Company | Downers Grove, IL | 4% ABV – listen
There were several Goldfinger beers that could’ve made this list, but their Anchor-inspired Summer Beer was undeniably delightful – if not fleeting, just like its titular season. There’s some florals and earthiness to the Spalter and Saphir hops, and the malt gives this a bit more chew than you’d expect on a 4% beer. But it’s also just meant to refresh and disappear from the glass, so nothing flavor-wise gets too aggressive.
13. Cold Time | Premium Lager | Revolution Brewing | Chicago, IL | 4.8% ABV – listen | read
One of Revolution’s greatest strengths has been patience. They don’t jump into trends for the sake of “How do you do, fellow kids?” engagement. They bide their time until it makes market sense to roll out a new core brand. And despite their iconography, they’re very savvy business people who understand how to navigate partnerships and market their beer (see this year’s Pitchfork and Chicago Sky partnerships). Whether or not you think this belies their “down with the man” imagery over the years is up to you – they’re still incredibly involved in charitable work and honoring Chicago’s multicultural history in ways other brewers don’t. And almost none of this would matter if the beers weren’t so consistently good. In a blind-tasting, this lager proved itself to be the perfect balance of a crisp, effervescent back porch crusher alongside some flavor notes that carry it deeper than any of your average macro lagers. The way they employ hops gives this just enough light grass and citrus, but it never complicates the experience.
12. Righteous Son | Blended Barrel-aged Old Ale | The Lost Abbey | Vista, CA | 12% ABV
As usual, the whole Lost Abbey booth is a highlight at GABF, with a wider variety of styles this year that deviated slightly from their usual lineup of legendary sour ales. This barrel-aged old ale is blended with a small percentage of stout, and it shows in its smoothness and drinkability. This beer is all maillard brown sugar and cigar boxes with caramel candy and a touch of nuttiness.
11. Tepache Cowboy | Mexican lager aged in añejo mezcal barrels with pineapple and spices | Cruz Blanca Brewpub | Chicago, IL | 5% ABV – listen
Our first reaction to the news of MolsonCoors acquiring Cruz Blanca was, “They better not mess with the barrel-aged stuff.” Based on things we’ve learned since, it seems like Jacob Sembrano will be able to continue being the culinary-focused brewer/artist making beers that tell stories through ingredients – he’s a rare talent in the industry. This beer is outstanding on so many levels: the kiss of smoke from a barrel with Tajin-sprinkled juicy pineapple on a light toasted corn dry lager. Hopefully going forward every Mexico Calling sold will help fund whatever other crazy barrel projects Jacob has in store.
10. Finer Points of Bad Behavior XVIII: Peaches and Brettanomyces Bruxellensis | Saison fermented w/ peaches and Brettanomyces Bruxellensis | is/was brewing | Chicago, IL | 6.1% ABV
One of the brightest spots of Chicago beer this year was the opening of Mike Schallau’s taproom. In October, my wife and I had a wonderful time drinking both draft and bottle options at the surprisingly-large but completely-inviting taproom. It was a lovely experience, capped off by our $11 (!!!) purchase of this bottle to split. I feel like $11 is even cheaper than getting it on the shelf, and this thing drinks like a damn miracle – tart, funky, peachy, and soft. I can’t wait to go back.
9. Charlatan – 10 Year Anniversary Heritage Release | American Pale Ale | Maplewood Brewing Co. | Chicago, IL | 6.1% ABV – listen | read
A lot of great local breweries (and podcasts, wink wink) celebrated 10 year anniversaries this year, but none have been as impactful as Maplewood, in my opinion. They produce a lot of beer across a wide variety of styles and have a medal-winning distillery to boot. This “Heritage” release of their core Charlatan Pale Ale was made using the beer’s original recipe, and it features a more even balance between the hops and the malt, keeping this about as even-keel on both elements as you can get. There’s a honey wheat bread chewy malt character followed by some classic citrus and pine from the hops. It might even make you feel a decade younger.
8. Strawbarbarella | Strawberry rhubarb Hard Cider | Eris Brewery and Cider House | Chicago, IL | 6.1% ABV – listen
For some unknown and insane reason, I’ve stayed away from most ciders over the last five-plus years through some implicit bias. This one from Eris, as part of our cider episode, really impressed me as it found the right flavor of strawberry that so many beers, seltzers, and other drinks have done wrong. But the underlying apple character is what really brings that extra level of crisp tartness before finishing dry. I loved this so much that I went to Eris about two weeks later to drink several more ciders, so I have to at least partially credit this one with helping me get back on board with ciders for the new year.
7. Double Barrel V.S.O.R. | Barrel-aged Ryewine | Revolution Brewing | Chicago, IL | 16.4% ABV – listen
I think I’m coming to accept that I’m a Ryewine guy now, and that the still-stellar barleywines of Revolution’s Deep Wood series are slipping behind all the different Ryeways in my personal rankings. I think I enjoyed this beer more than Double Barrel V.S.O.J. from a few years back. It’s got the deep layers of barrel complexity from bourbon and French oak components, but the rye bread and smooth molasses mingling with light caramel and vanilla give it a comforting center. But when you have the time to just sit back and unwrap the layers of oak flavors on this one, you’ll be looking differently at all of your Jackets.
6. Citraholic | West Coast IPA | Beachwood Brewing | Huntington Beach, CA | 7.1% ABV – listen
Sometimes us IPA lovers take for granted how spoiled we are, because a beer like this will drop periodically in Chicagoland, fresh and reasonably-priced, and it’ll just be there hanging out on the shelf. Though I might need to do another Amalgamator side-by-side (oh poor me) to determine which of the two Beachwood IPAs are my favorite, this Citraholic melted my face this year. As West Coast IPAs are going further away from the caramel-colored maltiness of classics from that region, this does the lighter malt thing better than most as there’s enough body to lift up the fresh citrus and dank bitterness from the hops. And the Citra hops driving this thing are of that quality that reminds me of 2013 Zombie Dusts or PseudoSue.
5. Gose to Fino’s | Gin barrel-aged gose w/ fresh lemon and lime zest and coriander | Heavy Riff Brewing Company | St. Louis, MO | 6.2% ABV – listen
Poured from a can, this beer executes a unique but not unlikely idea with ease, both complex and easy to throw back endlessly. Reminiscent of a gin-light G&T, the tart zest and coriander create a prickly yet refreshing mouthfeel that is all-the-way dry by the end. The gin botanicals peek out now and then, weaving in and out of the tart citrus. This could be enjoyed every day or saved for special occasions.
4. Defresh Mode | West Coast-Style DIPA w/ fresh Centennial hops | Mikerphone Brewing | Elk Grove Village, IL | 8% ABV – listen
There seemed to be a lot more local options during hop harvest time in the early fall this year, and I couldn’t be happier about that development. Whether the hop farm is local to the midwest or shipped from the Pacific Northwest like the Centennial hops from Crosby Farm in this beer didn’t make much of a noticeable taste difference in the wet or fresh hop beers we tried – they were pretty much all excellent. This one I re-bought a few times, because it carries the heft of a double IPA with some malt backbone, but the fresh hops are bursting with fresh cut grass, arugula-like herbal bitterness, and a blast of sweet citrus. I had a lot of great Mikerphone beers this year, but I’ll be most anticipating this one’s return next hop harvest.
3. Orin (2024) | Bourbon and Brandy Barrel-Aged Strong Ale | Half Acre Beer Co. | Chicago, IL | 13.6% ABV – listen
This is your favorite brewer’s favorite barrel-aged Half Acre Beer, and it was proven again with some appropriately-awarded FoBAB hardware with its fifth overall medal and first Best of Show finish. It was the most smooth-drinking yet deeply complex beer I drank all year, with the closest style approximation being a mix of dry-finishing English barleywine and whiskey-finished Belgian-style quadrupel. There are notes of baked apple crisp and molasses alongside creamy caramel, but some toasted oak, tobacco, and leather come in to save it from becoming sweet. No barrel-aged strong beer has ever drank this easy and satisfying. You’re likely to still be able to find this one on shelves, so you have no reason not to stock up.
2. smol. | Barrel-aged Mixed-Culture Table Beer | Milieu Fermentation | Aurora, CO | 2.7% ABV – listen
On our FoBAB Winners episode, I placed this one second behind the Orin, so my justification for it jumping up higher here is because I had three unique experiences enjoying this beer. The first was at GABF where it was my beer of the fest; the second was on the floor of FoBAB where I recommended it to everyone I talked to; and the third was from the bottle for the podcast – and every time, it surprised and delighted. Here’s what I wrote for my GABF recap: “The first reaction to this was checking the ABV again, because both aroma and flavor suggested something much bigger. This beer carries a lot of classic saison character from the subtle notes of grain and fruity esters, but the floral touch from the lavender adds a vibrant complexity to mix with the notes of oak without ever tasting like soap.”
1. Daisy Cutter Select | Double IPA | Half Acre Beer Co. & Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. | Chicago, IL & Chico, CA | 8% ABV – listen
As someone who could happily endlessly alternate between Half Acre’s clear hoppy beers and Sierra Nevada’s classic malty and bitter beers, it felt like I was dead center of their target when they developed this recipe. It’s a clear, malt-forward and bitterness-driven Double IPA, much like the West Coast ones that helped set off the craft beer IPA domination of the 2010s. The caramel sweet malt character gets as much focus as the dank pine and bright citrus-forward hops. The bitterness resides on your tongue long past the sip but doesn’t deaden your tastebuds as you inevitably reach for another sip. If hazy IPAs are your stylistic preference, this one might not work for you. But if you fell in love with strong hoppy beers 14 years ago much like I did, this will taste like drinking straight from the Fountain (or Tap Handle) of Youth. I would put this among the best Double IPAs I’ve ever had.
