Top 10 Beers of the Year
Cannonball Creek Project Alpha (Golden, Colorado)
When Cannonball Creek has a new Project Alpha beer on, that’s what I’m drinking. It will be bright and perfectly hoppy, meaning it is refreshingly bitter and a showcase for the aromas and flavors of the hop of choice. I remember #50 fondly—as I was ordering, the person to my left asked for “the best hazy” on tap. The bar person replied, “No hazies, no fruit, no pastry stouts here.”
Senne Taras Boulba (Brussels)
Per our family tradition, before entering the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, we stop at a nearby grocery store to buy beer to drink while standing in line before entering the fairgrounds. Not sure whether I was more shocked to see this on the shelf or that it was in code. Best Jazzfest beer ever—herbal, dry, bitter, refreshing. Perfect for NOLA.
Ex Novo Where the Mild Things Are (Corrales, New Mexico) If they’d built the brewery when we lived a mile up the hill, it would have been harder to move from this village with no stoplights. There’s lot of flavor here for a 4 percent ABV beer, the caramel and dark fruit flavors within pairing perfectly with spicy sweet-potato tots smothered in a combination of peppers from Umami Moto’s food truck, enriching those flavors and balancing the heat.