Top 10 Beers of the Year
Oxbow Amaro di Malto (Newcastle, Maine) This dark “farmhouse ale”—9.5 percent ABV, brewed with 25 herbs and spices and barrel-aged—is astonishingly complex. Every sip demands thought as you make new discoveries—anise, cardamom, nutmeg, peppermint, and orange peel. With uncanny Fernet-Branca vibes, this special accomplishment begs the question: Why bother with a beer and a Fernet shot anymore, when you can just get lost in this?
Miel Smoked Braggot (New Orleans) Need to feel excited by beer again? Take one eye-widening sip of Miel’s smoked braggot and … of course there are new explorations to make and new heights to reach. This strong, honeyed ale has some moderately crisp effervescence and piney bitterness from smoky Lapsang Souchong tea, which nicely cuts the sweet honey, as subtle smoke carries from that first inhalation to that just-long-enough aftertaste linger.
Strong Rope Renewal (Brooklyn, New York) I was enjoying this guaranteed referesher when I realized I don’t reach for cream ales often enough—or maybe this one just happens to do the style extra proud. It’s got a little corn-and-grain sweetness, a touch of floral-herbal bitterness, and a lot of crisp, thirst-quenching effervescence.