Top 10 Beers of the Year
Brewster’s Decadence (Grantham, England) If you had told me the best beer I’d drink all year would be a cask golden ale found in my hometown, Lincoln, I might have laughed in your face. (While home to a few wonderful pubs, Lincoln is hardly a global beer destination.) But that’s exactly what I found inside the Tiny Tavern: a brilliantly golden, New Zealand–hopped pale rippling with aromas of kiwi, passion fruit, and lime. Precise and delicious.
RedWillow Weightless (Macclesfield, England) Remember the name RedWillow, as it belongs to one of the finest breweries in the United Kingdom. Whatever style they turn their hand to—be it helles, porter, saison, or whatever—the result is almost certainly exceptional. My highlight from them this year, however, has been sinking pint after pint of Weightless on cask in my local pub, the Magnet. This single-hop Mosaic pale proves, unquestionably, that modern U.S. varieties work just as well in traditional British pub ales as they do in overzealous, hazy hop bombs.
Rudgate Ruby Mild (Tockwith, England) While mild remains a niche style even in its country of origin, it feels like there’s been a small resurgence over the past year—something that should please traditionalists. I’ve certainly been drinking a lot more of it, especially when I spot Ruby on cask. It looks just like a mild should: garnet in hue, with a voluminous off-white head. A sip delivers a world of ester-rich complexity, with luscious notes of stewed prunes, red currants, and overripe plums, tasting like a weirder, less restrained version of Theakston’s Old Peculier.
Balance Saison de Maison (Manchester, England) Wild ale is having a moment in the United Kingdom. A slow, steady movement of producers—small in size, growing in influence—is elevating untamed, expressive, mixed-fermentation beers to the point of starting to carve out a new genre of their own. Manchester’s Balance is among them, its flagship Saison de Maison possessing nuanced, lemon-zest acidity and a subtle, peppery hop character. When sipping it on draft from a chunky schooner in their taproom, you could be convinced you’re relaxing in a classic Belgian brown café, not beneath a railway arch in the center of Manchester.
TRVE Nazareth (Denver) On a recent trip to Colorado, one beer that made my head spin a full 360 degrees was this dank-as-all-Hell double IPA from Denver’s TRVE. Brewed to celebrate 4/20, that most auspicious of international holidays, it features THE TRVTH, a pale malt produced exclusively for TRVE by Troubadour Maltings in nearby Fort Collins. Nazareth is a pantheon of rich, resinous, grapefruit-mango hop character, buoyed by malt sweetness that’s almost like biting into a fresh white grape, making it the perfect pairing for, well, whatever you had in mind…
Fyne Ales Origins Stòr (Cairndow, Scotland) Fyne Ales is perhaps best known for its flagship, the Citra-hopped Jarl pale ale. However, thanks to its Origins Project and brewer Dan Wye, it’s also fast becoming one of the most exciting wild ale producers in Britain. Stòr is a mixed-fermentation bière de garde that showcases a developed berry-fruit ester as well as the expressiveness of Brettanomyces via subtle notes of ripe pineapple and earthy spice. Delicate and nuanced with a touch of spritzy carbonation, it pairs perfectly with oysters from the Loch from which this brewery takes its name.
St. Mars of the Desert Dämmerlicht Schwarzbock (Sheffield, England) When husband and wife Dann Paquette and Martha Simpson-Holley left Massachusetts to start afresh in Sheffield, England, a generation of beer lovers collectively held their breath. And when one of those finally arrives in their compact, cozy taproom on a small industrial estate, that eventual exhale is positively joyous. I could have picked any of their wonderful beers for this list, but on a recent visit I found myself enraptured by a foamy glass of their strong, dark lager, Dämmerlicht. Dark chocolate, licorice, anise, and something else I couldn’t quite put my finger on that exists in all of their wonderful beers—a smoddiness, if you will.
Burning Sky Porter (Firle, England) If I’m going to rave about some world-class British breweries, then the list would not be complete without Mark Tranter’s Burning Sky. As a brewery, it’s as well known for its mixed-fermentation saisons as it is for some impeccable cask beer. One of the hidden gems within its stable is this traditional porter, which excels thanks to its full, creamy mouthfeel, buoying notes of milk chocolate, and the kind of coffee that would be served by a gentleman wearing a waistcoat and fedora. A robust bitterness cleans up these flavors, ensuring that this is, at minimum, a three-pint-session of a beer.
Duration Harvest Bier (West Acre, England) Duration is one of the leading lights within modern British beer. Head brewer Bates—first name Derek, but he prefers to use a single name, like a Brazilian footballer—originally hails from South Carolina. He was a professional chef in another life, and he brings that ingredient- and flavor-focused approach to beer. Harvest Bier, for me, is the epitome of this. A precise, malt-driven märzen brewed to celebrate the transition from summer to fall, it uses German Noble hops to stunning effect, adding life and freshness to the finish. One to sip by a campfire as the crisp, autumn evenings roll in.
Wildflower Mountain Rye (Marrickville, Australia) If I had to name just one brewery on my bucket list, it would be Australia’s Wildflower, one of the world’s most accomplished producers of wild ale—or “acid beer,” as the brewery has been known to call it in the past. As its name suggests, this soft, pale beer hinges on the use of locally grown rye. This adds a grainy complexity and white-pepper spice to the gentle, citrus-like acidity, and it’s a shining example of why Wildflower is so good at what it does. The brewery may be several thousand miles away, but I am eternally grateful that a smidgeon arrives on British shores each year—and that I get to enjoy it, gleefully.
Type of Beer I Unexpectedly Found Myself Drinking More of this Year
Although my pub visits these days typically center on cask beer, or maybe some excellent lager, in 2024 I’ve really gotten back into mixed-fermentation sours. For some reason I’d found myself drinking less of these, to the point of questioning who they were made for and why they exist. In my return to these beers, however, I’m democratizing them—accepting that they’re not necessarily to be sipped on special occasions, but to be enjoyed in large gulps as often as the mood takes me.
Restaurants that Make Beer Seem Cool
I think my home city of Manchester is leading the way in terms of food and beer availability. Higher Ground, a small-plates restaurant in the middle of the city, has an extensive list of wild and sour beers alongside its long list of incredible wines. These include Belgian classics from the likes of Cantillon and 3 Fonteinen as well as offerings from newer, local breweries such as Balance (see above). Another local restaurant and wine bar, Isca, recently installed two taps that exclusively pour lager and pale ale from another fantastic local brewery, Track. I’ve visited more often since they added draft beer, and I can only see more restaurants stocking good beer as time passes.
An Experience that Gives Me Hope for the Future of Beer
I’m an optimist, and despite the doom and gloom, I still believe in beer! But if I had to single out one experience, it would have been this year’s SMODFest. Held over an entire month at St. Mars of the Desert in Sheffield, it was a joyous celebration of all things lager, with a healthy dollop of Germanic kitsch layered on top. I left, belly full, with a huge smile on my face—and, really, isn’t that what beer’s all about?