Top 10 Beers of the Year
Societe Good of the Public (San Diego) This “San Diego–style IPA” represents the best-of-all-possible-worlds. New England? West Coast? How about a little from column A, a little from column B, all in one delicious package? It delivers tons of peach skin and mandarin-orange pulp, wrapping up with succinct, tidy bitterness. I don’t care what it’s called, it’s fantastic.
Grist House Continental Breakfast (Pittsburgh) Pittsburgh breweries bring the heat when it comes to coffee beers. This exemplary version—a coffee milk porter—is brewed with Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, Bali Blue Moon, and India Mysore beans, which retain their bright blueberry notes while the roast provides a comforting base. The lactose smooths it all out. Not one drop feels out of place.
Good Word For the Cold Days in Hell (Duluth, Georgia) This dry-hopped pale lager collab with Saint Somewhere, Bhramari, and Pontoon makes exceptional use of rye and spelt, giving the beer a rustic rye prickle and some almond-skin nuttiness without husky grain flavor. The Saphir hops are herbal and a bit like ripe papaya, gentle in their combination of fruit and herbs. Has a lot of character but finishes squeaky-clean.