Top 10 Beers of the Year
Tilquin Draft Gueuze (Rebecq, Belgium) At my new favorite beer bar in Las Vegas, The Silver Stamp, it felt like a new experience with a familiar beer—vivid cucumber, watermelon, honeydew, and strawberry notes supplanted the expected citrus tones, while a light, bright, background mineral note was softened by a light dose of caramel malt and balanced by a just-right lemon-peel bitterness. I went back to the same bar the following night, just to drink this beer again.
Cervejaria Leopoldina Italian Grape Ale (Garibaldi, Brazil) A gift from a friend who traveled to Brazil, this was taut and refined, with a vaguely creamy chardonnay nose and faint hints of tannin. Light and playful in the sip, with an intense effervescence, it beautifully captured the dry, spritely pop of carbonated white wine, with faint sweetness around the edges. A beautifully expressed hybrid.
Wayfinder Fresh Hop Keller Pils + Strata (Portland, Oregon) West Coast pils today often feels like pale ale in different garb, but here the light grassy aroma from freshly harvested hops plays in the subtlest way with the pils framework, while the softest Strata-peach notes wind their way through the knee-high grasses. Simultaneously classic and creative, in full measure.