Top 10 Beers of the Year
Jester King Gotlandsdricka (Austin) This 6.6 percent ABV mixed-culture ale, brewed with smoked malt, juniper, and Myrica gale, has an herbal-tea profile of pine, flowers, and spices, plus the Myrica gale’s eucalyptus and dank forest floor, kicked up with barnyard funk and a lemony acidity. Maybe it’s the herb’s medieval gruit association, but that profile with the smoked malt weaving throughout makes this feel like something ladled from a cauldron in the middle of the woods.
West Kill Brookie (West Kill, New York) We’re seeing more brewers embrace adjuncts once shunned for their macro-beer associations, flipping the script with expertly balanced and complex yet incredibly easy-drinking lagers. West Kill’s Brookie, a 4.2 percent ABV lager made with 20 percent Iroquois white corn from New York’s Mohawk Valley, is one of the best examples. It’s just a little earthy-sweet in a nice, rounded way, but it’s crisply effervescent and dry-finishing. for a refreshing effect that keeps you going for that next sip.
Abomination Terp Lil’ Foggy (North Haven, Connecticut) After I did some deep research into current offerings under the session IPA umbrella, it turns out that not so many IPA-mastering breweries are investing serious time into offerings below 5 percent. Then I came across Terp Lil’ Foggy, the Platonic ideal of a session IPA. I don’t know how they did it, but they maintained Abomination’s intense hazy-hop-bomb character, exploding with tropical fruit, stone fruit, gummi candy aromas, and a nice, velvety mouthfeel—all at 4.5 percent ABV, with a slightly lighter, easier-drinking weight.
Kingston Standard Smoked Weisse (Kingston, New York) Nothing but respect for a small brewery that will have a smoked lager and a smoked weissbier on at once—alongside a dunkel, wee heavy, and schwarzbier, to boot. The Smoked Weisse is graceful—light, airy, fluffy bread, ever-so-slightly sweet, with a touch of floral, earthy bitterness, just a hint of orange peel and spice, and this definitely-present-but-not-overwhelming billow of faint campfire smoke lingering through it all.
Live Oak Krampus Punishment Ale (Austin) It’s easy to get distracted by the smoked offerings at Live Oak’s taproom, but a red IPA is too rare a treat to pass up. Krampus has a Munich-and-amber malt profile with toasty bread, graham cracker, and caramel, but in the aroma and almost immediately into your sip you’re getting a bitter build of Centennial, Cascade, Citra, and Crystal resin-and-citrus. Cold-fermented, it’s clear and bracing but with that rounded, sturdy malt backbone.
Abandoned Building Lola’s Saison (Easthampton, Massachuetts) This refreshing easy drinker crackles with spicy rye and a twang of farm-field funk that wakes you right up. Some wheat in the grist plus Saaz and Styrian Goldings hops ground the profile in soft, bready sweetness and a barely-there, grassy-herbal bitterness. At 5 percent ABV, this saison feels extra fresh—maybe because its grains are 100 percent local.
Narragansett Devil’s Reef (Providence, Rhode Island) Narragansett is a worthy destination, and they’re up to a lot more than their famed lager. This is a pale bitter made with English Chevallier malt, round and biscuity and slightly graham-crackery, on an even keel with a zip of lemon and orange peel, chamomile, and dark dried fruit. At 4.4 percent ABV, it’s a perfect pub sipper with some extra carbonated crispness.
Wild East Mylesbraü (Brooklyn, New York) This Bavarian-inspired helles is a product of Wild East’s dedication to decoction, resulting in a nice fullness of subtly sweet, crackery pilsner malt that tempers the beer’s light, dry, refreshing crispness. The hop-bitterness through-line is grassy, peppery, and sage-tinged, finishing this beauty as the perfect German-style lager.
Source Pickle Margarita (Colts Neck Township, New Jersey) You ever dare yourself to order something? I did, and Source sure showed me. Pickle Margarita is gimmicky, sure, but it doesn’t fall into the pickle-beer trap of a puckering, briney tang. Instead, this bright, lovely acidity works with the gose’s salt to create a slightly savory counter to orange, bergamot, calamansi, and lime. It is complex, layered citrus sweetness and tartness—and, altogether, it does indeed taste like a margarita.
Grimm Crisp Air (Brooklyn, New York) This cold IPA is a clear, bright punch of bracing bitterness, a satisfyingly clean delivery system for hop character. That’s balanced by big notes of overripe tropical fruit and citrus, and without noise from the malt side, those flavors get—and deserve—your full attention.
In 2024, I Unexpectedly Found Myself Drinking More...
Wild and mixed-fermentation ales. I’m not a fan of sours, and in years past I’ve grouped all things acidic into one overly simplified group and avoided them all. More recently, however, my growing interest in spirits and botanicals has led me back to the farmhouse category—and it’s been a blast digging into really complex aroma bouquets with funky characteristics. Plus, this brings me back to my first entryway into good beer: Belgian styles.
Brewery Making Beer Seem Cool
West Kill. Their main location is a draw for locals and weekenders alike, and it’s a destination for Brooklyners living out their upstate New York dreams on the weekend. At the end of a hiking trail, its beautiful mountain digs are the setting for unique beers with ingredients foraged right there—plus, excellent lagers and IPAs. Then they’ve got a more urban location in Kingston—a vintage-cool, fishing lodge–inspired spot that feels like where you’d catch the next big indie rock or folk act. West Kill makes great beer, but they also know how to create killer vibes.
Most Memorable Beer Experience of the Year
Hanging with the goats at Jester King. Experiential taproom visits are all the rage these days, and Jester King’s is genius. It stands out simply because of who they are, where they are, and the care for their land and animals. You haven’t lived until you’ve sipped a mixed-culture ale sitting between two mischievous goats. (Special shout-out to the very good brewery dog and goat supervisor, Sasha.)