Top 10 Beers of the Year
Wondrous Hell Lagerbier (Emeryville, California)
These Emeryville upstarts opened during the pandemic and since then have galvanized the Bay Area beer scene with clean, intensely focused offerings. With the rise of pilsners, it’s only fitting that this crisp, oyster-crackery, Popeye’s-biscuity, unfiltered lager would have its time in the East Bay sun.
Cellarmaker Works & Days (San Francisco)
Known primarily for their hop game, Cellarmaker set hearts and livers ablaze with several compelling strong ales in 2022. The best of them, Works & Days, is a toffee blankie fresh out of the dryer, with a drying Munich-wine structure to this boozy Skor-bar tryst.
Fox Farm Stet (Salem, Connecticut)
We live in crazy times when a Düsseldorf-style altbier makes this list. Shirking all hype and striking straight at historical refreshment, Fox Farm leverages a masterful, lightly phenolic yeast profile, Cheesecake Factory brown bread, and almond-skin finish, making all the stepdads pine for these nutty treats.