This top 5 list is my personal list of what I considered my top 5 beers of 2010. Please comment and tell us what your top 5 beers were this past year.
The beers in my list I consider my top that I had this year all based on my preference and styles I enjoy. I am a self proclaimed hop-head and would put stouts lower on my preference but after thinking ….what are my top 5 I was suprised when many stouts started to come to mind. So heres the 5 I enjoyed the most this past year, wonder if something will come along in 2011 and make me change my mind.
- Bells Hopslam – This beer is just too good not to be here for me
- Pliny the Elder – Had this for the first time this year and its tough to put it as 2nd to Hopslam
- Surly Darkness – This years darkness I was lucky enough to sample Cobra Lounge and Kumas Corner. Just a great stout, sweet and high ABV but very drinkable and if it wasn’t for the high ABV I could probably drink Darkness all night
- Goose Island Bourbon County Stout Rare – On draft on black friday at GI this has such a smooth bourbon flavor with a sweetness from the stout coming through.
- Founders Looking Glass – On tap at Founders on my Michigan beer trip, this is bourbon barrel aged double trouble. A great IIPA with just the right about
of bourbon flavor kicking it up a notch. Founders really needs to bottle and distribute this.
So Whats your top 5?
I feel like every beer I don’t list would be akin to telling my own children they are unfit to wield my tainted genes and spoiled palette. Hence, I’ll simply list the top 5 breweries that really impressed me this year:
1) Goose Island – Way to set the bar high and hit the target spot-on with each and every Bourbon Co variation produced this year. Kudos.
2) Stone – Finally distributed to Illinois, and did it up right by offering up an insane variety of rare brews on tap around town to kick it off.
3) Revolution – Quality brews just keep getting better. You guys can still afford to be semi-pretentious as your brew and grub live up to very high expectations. Hope y’all can keep it up over the long haul…
4) Piece – Another local spot that keeps making innovative and quality brews. You make Chicago proud. Now start bottling! 😉
5) Dogfish Head – While you may initially come off as a total douche to some Sam, we still love ya and hope you keep up the stellar seasonal brews, and continue to experiment with others. Even if they suck. Pushing the boundaries is what craft brewing needs, and the TV exposure is helping garner the spotlight the movement needs to keep up the momentum.
Runner up for silly hippy breweries that I LOVE, but can’t run a business worth a f@ck: Three Floyds, Flossmoor Station, New Glarus. Seriously guys… get it together.
…heres my 5
1.)Goose Island Bourbon County Coffee Stout: i drink expressos when i land @ the gig daily. Nearly every night i sip tasty high gravity beers. This was a collision of my 2 most consumed drinks..balanced? hell no..smelled like fresh ground black cat coffee beans back in April when it launched..but shoutout to G.I. for not being afraid to make a bad ass..expresso, chocolate, bourbon explosion… by a slim margin my favourite beer of the year.
2.) Founders Nemesis ’10: had it on tap w/ SonicGT & Mezz on the Pure Michigan adventure this fall. Spent much of that season looking high & low for bottles of it. You could argue it was the smoothest barleywine of the year & was totally worth all the trouble.
3.) Bells The Oracle: The kind of beer that converts the vodka & cranberry type into a lover of fine craft beers. sweet, creamy, hoppy, nice fruit aroma…and even better on tap. You got the Hopslam blues? …get a snifter…sip The Oracle
4.) 3Floyds Dark Lord ’10: I had one of these xmas night & almost forgot how seductive this mutha^&* is..this years version was the most dangerous yet at nearly 16%ABV …honestly still the best way to celebrate a special occasion.
5.) 3 Floyds Dreadnaught. this was the beer that started it all.. 2 of these bombers turn a wack commute into the party train 5 days a week..still my 1st preference as far as readily available Imperial IPAs go.