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50 Top-Rated Beers from 50 Issues of The Beer Connoisseur
98
Gonzo Imperial Porter
Flying Dog Brewery
Baltic Porter
Reviewed by Phil Farrell
This beer looks perfect in a glass and the grapefruit, pine and resin are evident from arm’s length. Beneath the layer of intense hop aroma is an enticing dark chocolate and nutty roast. The flavor doesn’t disappoint with the same hop flavors complementing a much more complex array of cooked caramel, dark chocolate, coffee and even a little... CONTINUE READING
98
Wookey Jack
Firestone Walker Brewing Co.
Specialty IPA
Reviewed by Phil Farrell
As I lean in to check out the garnet highlights and thick tan head, I get hit with the Pacific Northwest in all its hop glory. Loads of grapefruit and pine with a nuance of citrus zest and spice dominate the aroma. After it warms, there’s a whiff of chocolate roast. The flavor is as good as the hop aroma. Following a hop appetizer, there’s a complex roast infusion with chocolate notes and a spicy... CONTINUE READING
96
Cali-Belgique
Stone Brewing Co.
Specialty IPA
Reviewed by Phil Farrell
The interplay of the Belgian and American markers, where each element takes turns being more prominent in the drinking progression, is excellent in this golden beer. The aroma brings a wonderful blend of pine resin, earthiness, pepper, grapefruit and lemon zest. There are a lot of hop and yeast aromatics with just a hint of alcohol... CONTINUE READING
96
Tropicalia
Creature Comforts Brewing Co.
American IPA
Reviewed by Phil Farrell
When I take my first sniff I am treated to an orgy of mango, guava, grapefruit, orange and even a bit of peach and pine with a little resin on the side. After it warmed I detected a little biscuit and green tea. The flavor is hop fruity, but there is a pine resin, spice character that balances... CONTINUE READING
98
Mocha Porter
Rogue Ales & Spirits
American Porter
Reviewed by SJ Klein
A roasty, toasty, boasty beer. It will keep you up... if it doesn't knock you down first! The coffee and chocolate are very well balanced in this beer. They are here to support the beer, not the other way around. It is surprisingly dry, neither more dry nor more astringent than it should be, and it is rich, warming and eminently drinkable. It has a lighter mouthfeel... CONTINUE READING
98
Oude Geuze Boon
Brouwerij Boon
Gueuze
Reviewed by Jim Koebel
A one-of-a-kind style, Gueuze is a carbonated blend of aged and young Lambic. Its rustic flavors provide a window into Lambic's traditional fermentation environment. This example starts with a pleasantly earthy, musty aroma with a spicy -- almost peppery -- quality, balanced evenly with acidity. It pours orange-gold and hazy from the corked bottle, with the off-white head crackling as it falls. This beer's flavor is sharply acidic but supported by sweet yet well-attenuated maltiness. Like the aroma, it tastes earthy with mild spice... CONTINUE READING
96
Malefactor
Upland Brewing Co.
Specialty Wood-Aged Beer
Reviewed by Joseph Formanek
Upland Malefactor is a monster of an American Sour! This brew, promoted as an “Epic Flanders Style Red Ale," delivers quite the impact to the senses in all aspects, delivering a memorable and epic experience indeed. The aroma of this brew is very complex with intense cherry, lactic and acetic notes. There is a wine-like character that could be coming from the barrel-aging or perhaps from the microbiological complexity. The mouth salivates immediately upon the first whiff after popping the cork. Visually, this moderately carbonated quite turbid reddish-brown-colored brew has a solid, rocky cream-colored... CONTINUE READING
97
Wild Sour Series: Flanders Red
DESTIHL Brewery
Flanders Red Ale
Reviewed by Josh Weikert
This is a world-class Flanders Red despite hailing from the American Midwest. Sours can be challenging, and the Flanders Red particularly so given the kind of balance drinkers expect between fruit, acid and malt, but this one nails it. The beer pours a brilliant amber color with a low tan head. The initial aromas are of dark cherry, blackcurrant and a low earthy background funk that accentuates the deep and dark fruit notes. That same fruity character carries through... CONTINUE READING
97
Porter Culture
Hops & Grain Brewery
Baltic Porter
Reviewed by John C. Tull
This Baltic Porter has a very pleasant and complex aroma that includes floral hops, mild stone fruit aromatics, rich chocolaty malt, hints of burnt roast and a touch of vanilla. A very slight alcohol aroma can also be detected. It is a near-black color that suspends a light head of small, tan bubbles along the edge of the glass. The vanilla in the aroma is detectable in the flavor also. Some plum and overripe red cherry is just perceptible. The malts are... CONTINUE READING
98
Bomb!
Prairie Artisan Ales
Spice, Herb or Vegetable Beer
Reviewed by Joseph Formanek
Prairie Bomb! is a very aptly named concoction. The quite amazing complexity exhibited in this specialty Imperial Stout delivers a massive explosion of delicious flavors and aromas that linger in the memory well after the drinking is done. This deep black-colored opaque brew with a moderately lingering tan head has a cappuccino-like aroma of coffee and chocolate with a peppery, fruity flavor in the background. Drinking this brew is akin to drinking a chili chocolate coffee milkshake... CONTINUE READING
99
King JJJuliuss
Tree House Brewing Co.
Double IPA
Reviewed by Dan Preston
Wow! From the moment the can pops, hop aromas completely fill the air. Grapefruit, orange, mango, passion fruit, melon, citrus, pineapple – basically every juicy fruit you can think of is there plus a little bit of pine. The flavor is more of the same too -- just wave after wave of complex hops, which are wicked juicy and tropical. A massive amount of hops is packed into this beer, and it even shows in its appearance; this beer is a murky deep orange with a big white head... CONTINUE READING
97
N10 Imperial Blended Ale
Ninkasi Brewing Co.
Mixed-Style Beer
Reviewed by Michael Heniff
Touting a “striking hop intensity” and a “rich backbone of caramel and roasted malt”, this rich and complex beer impresses at all levels. Measuring in at 10% abv and 100 IBUs, this beer is a blend of 50% Imperial Stout, 10% Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout, 12.5% Imperial Total Domination IPA, 12.5% Imperial Maiden of the Shade IPA, and 15% Critical Hit Barleywine. This opaque, black ale starts off with an aroma that is almost all Imperial Stout with aggressive roasted, chocolate, and burnt malt with a background of light bourbon... CONTINUE READING
99
Frambozen
pFriem Family Brewers
Fruit Lambic
Reviewed by John C. Tull
The aroma of this fruit lambic is a menagerie of olfactory delights: dominating raspberry, woody pith, hints of tartness, sweetness, and a little barnyard for good measure. The color is an interesting pale burnt orange/red with some haze and almost no head leftover from the outpouring of gaseous bubbles continually rising from the bottom of the glass. The flavor is strongly raspberry fruit and pithy/woody extractions from the seeds. Beyond the fruit, which is by no means overbearing, some interesting wild yeast funk can be found... CONTINUE READING
97
The Partner Ships Series: Stone Brewing Co.
Heavy Seas Beer
Specialty IPA
Reviewed by Pat Mulloy
This was evaluated as a BJCP style 21B Specialty IPA: Brown IPA, and I must say, I love this beer. It brings together a rich, creamy zaftig brown ale texture and body with a big, soft alcohol character and a balancing yet assertive hop bitterness. Hop resin and berry aromas blend with light chocolate, traces of dark sugar and nuts. It’s a stunningly beautiful, brilliant chestnut-colored beer blanketed by a two-inch rocky tan layer of foam... CONTINUE READING
96
Rodenbach Fruitage
Brouwerij Rodenbach
Wild Specialty Beer
Reviewed by James Link
Poured from what appeared to be an eight-ounce bottle into a nine-ounce snifter and subsequently reviewed as per BJCP 2015 style guidelines under catagory 23B European Sour Ale , Flanders Red Ale. A complex blend of aromatics delight the nostrils upon first pour. Dark cherries are first evidenced and combine pleasantly with a light lactic tartness and just a touch of Brettanomyces. Burgundy in color and capped... CONTINUE READING