Despite the challenges this year posed, we were able to taste thousands of beers over the past 12 months. Here are the very best of this unique (and unrepeatable) year.

As Mike Saboe was embracing craft beer and homebrewing in the early ’00s, he sought far and wide for inspiration. Looking back now, as brewmaster at Toppling Goliath, he recounts six beers that had an outsized influence on his approach to everything from hop-forward beers to burly barrel-aged stouts.

Barrel-forward, with whiskey, vanilla, and oak supported by dark roast malt. Greets you with a fuzzy wall of dark malt flavors—rich milk and dark chocolate, dried fig, toffee, toasted marshmallow, even bread crust. Roast is restrained. Sweet and intense throughout—not quite cloying, but with the malt and barrel intensity, it works. There's enough bitterness to balance, without ashy or acrid character. The barrel is up front—adding subtle spice and underlying alcoholic warmth—but the beer supports it well. Long, complex finish. Fantastic, intense, evolving in the glass as it warms. You don’t need much, but this would be great to share.

Pulpit Rock Brewing Co. is a story of two brewers who want to work in small batches, find creative paths for new recipes, and be part of a local community rather than ride another brewery’s momentum.

Toppling Goliath Brewmaster Mike Saboe is a perfectionist with an uncompromising vision for how his beers should taste.

For our annual Best in Beer survey, we asked you to tell us what beers you haven’t had (yet) but are tops on your list to seek out. Here's what you told us.

We asked you to tell us what beers you haven’t had (yet) but are tops on your list to seek out. Note: For the first time since we’ve asked this question, a lager made the list!

“Cocoa-forward flavor with robust chocolate and caramel, on a big bourbon vanilla nose. Tips toward sweetness, but not cloying or overpowering.”

Aroma: “Pleasant strawberry, peach, mango, pineapple. Citrus dominates, mainly lemon and orange, but there’s some lemongrass there, too.” Flavor: “Similar to the aroma. Huge tropical flavors that trail off into more traditional pine characters. Very clean bitterness, not harsh at all. Very dry. Finish has a green-tea bitterness with an almost smoky background that distracts from the fruitiness.” Overall: “Pretty solid, easy-drinking, with plenty of blended and bright citrus notes. The aroma was very welcoming and tempting with huge amounts of tropical fruit, but the finish has a strange bitterness that doesn’t quite mesh with the rest of the beer.”

“Lots of red wine-like notes over more typical chocolate, vanilla, and caramel. Rich dark-malt chocolate flavor with enough booze to complement.”

Dank, assertive hops with lurking citrus and dark fruit. Rich, smooth, sweet malt blast—dark dried cherries, molasses, chocolate. Hop-driven flavor knocks off your Nikes.

“Rich, sweet aroma, boozy and vinous—chocolate, coffee, vanilla, peanut, coconut, with light port. Fantastically rich malt profile.”

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Trick-or-treating is about to take on a whole new meaning for grown-ups. We present the updated Craft Beer & Brewing candy and craft-beer pairings for Halloween.