ADVERTISEMENT

Subscriber Exclusive

Critic’s List: Alex Kidd’s Best in 2020

The blogger behind DontDrinkBeer.com (DDB) and the Malt Couture podcast is back again with his list of year-end favorites, trends, and more.

Alex Kidd Oct 30, 2020 - 8 min read

Critic’s List: Alex Kidd’s Best in 2020 Primary Image

Top 10 Beers of the Year

Enegren/Bierstadt American Reinheitsgebot Pilsner (Moorpark, California) A regular old pilsner celebrating the 504th anniversary of the Reinheitsgebot doesn’t seem that salacious on paper. However, when it is made by two of the most celebrated pilsner masters in America, the result is a crisp crusher: matzo meets raked fescue clippings and a soft honey-biscuit finish. It is a master course in simplicity.

Phase Three Eunoia (Lake Zurich, Illinois) The Chicago populace waited with bated breath to see what their golden boy Shaun Berns would turn out for Phase Three’s first barrel-aged beer, and it is a peanut-butter tour de force. There is no subtlety to it, and the masses who clamor for Smucker’s Uncrustables and spent Reese’s Peanut Butter Puffs Cereal milk found an idol in this salty gem. Despite the allergens and Butterfinger goodness, the barrel profile is expertly massaged to temper the Peter Pan excesses without cutting off the crusts.

Southern Grist/DSSOLVR Wooden Teeth (Nashville, Tennessee) Nashville came in spicy hot with this malty stunner. This beer delivers on every barleywine promise and exceeds expectation in every way: Riesling candy, SKOR bar, and bar mitzvah caramel fondue fountain. The custard-and-bananas- Foster sweetness is tempered with a lightly bitter aspect from the grain bill, combining to form a waffle-cone-and-Werther’s Original Voltron: No dental insurance needed.

Make & Drink Better Beer

Subscribe today to access all of the premium brewing content available (including this article). With thousands of reviews, our subscribers call it "the perfect beer magazine" and "worth every penny." Your subscription is protected by a 100% money back guarantee.

ARTICLES FOR YOU