Beer in Review

FAVORITE LOCAL BREWERY
Nothing in Edmonton deserves this so...Wild Rose by default? I have some hopes for Hog's Head though.

FAVORITE BREWERY - OTHER
Canadian: Probably Dieu du Ciel.
Other: Russian River forever.

FAVORITE LOCAL BEER
Have to go outside Edmonton again, but Wild Rose Rye Saison was pretty tasty.

FAVORITE BEER - OTHER
Canadian: BA Peche Mortel, Dulcis Succubis, Black Galaxy.
Other: Boneyard Hop Venom, GI Bourbon County Stout, HotD Adam from the Wood

NEW LOCAL DISCOVERY
Errr....nothing?

NEW DISCOVERY - OTHER
Muskoka Mad Tom surprised me. Tons of others but for some reason that stands out as a beer that changed my mind about a brewery.

NOTABLE BEER-CHIEVEMENT
Lots this year for me. Got to taste/traded for several rare-ish beers I've been wanting to try for a while: Westy 12, GI Rare, RR Beatification, Abyss, Dark Lord, some others. Finally went to Portland.

LOCAL BREWERY TO WATCH
Hog's Head by default. At this point I pretty much know what to expect from the Edmonton breweries, so I'm looking forward to seeing what these guys do with their flagship IPA. Although now that they're also brewing Amber's beer, maybe that will turn around a bit too.

BREWERY TO WATCH - OTHER
Not too sure. Paddock Wood pulled off Barrel Full of Monkeys well so I'm looking forward to what they do next. I loved everything I had from Boneyard and they're a little under the radar I guess.

LOCAL BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED
Nothing from Edmonton gets a lot of hype, but I'm gonna call out Alley Kat Big Kahuna here. I can't say it was a disappointment because I wasn't expecting much, but holy crap what a total disaster of a beer. Even the stuff that wasn't outright infected just had nothing good going on. Should never have been released.

BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED - OTHER
I don't know if Westy 12 was a disappointment exactly, but I didn't think it lived up to the tremendous hype. I expect now that the gift packs have been released it'll be regarded as another great Belgian quad, but not significantly better than something like Rochefort 10.

MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO TRYING (OR HOPE TO TRY!)
Hope to try some Driftwood seasonals next year. 2012 was really an awesome year for beer in Alberta so hopefully 2013 brings more of the same.

 

FAVORITE LOCAL BREWERYFor me, gotta be Driftwood, Phillips followed by Lighthouse

BFAVORITE BREWERY - OTHER
Deschutes, Maui Brewing, Half Pints, Double Mountain, Boneyard and Wychwood
FAVORITE LOCAL BEER
Switchback IPA from Lighthouse, Fearless IPA from Dead Frog
FAVORITE BEER - OTHER
Jubelale by Dechutes
NEW LOCAL DISCOVERY
Tasman Red by Lighthouse, Parallel 49
LOCAL BREWERY TO WATCHnParallel 49, Townsite and Bridge Brewing
BREWERY TO WATCH - OTHER
Boneyard, American Brewing, Double Mountain
LOCAL BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED

 

FAVORITE LOCAL BREWERY
Driftwood, same as last year.

FAVORITE BREWERY - OTHER
Upright, Cascade, À La Fût, Cantillon, Dieu Du Ciel, Russian River, Bruery. In no particular order.

FAVORITE LOCAL BEER
Red Racer IPA

FAVORITE BEER - OTHER
Bruery Melange #3, Lost Abbey Track #5, Olde Hickory Lindley Park, Upright De La Seven, Cascade Sang Noir, 3F Gueuze, Saint Lamvinus, BB Peche Mortel.

NEW LOCAL DISCOVERY
Townsite Brewing. Had a great tasting at the brewery just last week.

NEW DISCOVERY - OTHER
À La Fût - Love their oatmeal stout and flanders red. Thanks to several awesome BA's, I have a few more on hand that I'm very excited to try.

NOTABLE BEER-CHIEVEMENT
Took the kids on a trip to Disneyland and my timing couldn't have been better. The Bruery was having special aniversary releases every day for the entire month, Lost Abbey released Track #5 on the one day I was able to get down there, visited the beautiful Stone gardens with my lovely wife, and had Pizza and Pliny at Pizza Port with the family after Legoland.

LOCAL BREWERY TO WATCH
Parallel 49 - Expecting some great things from these guys.

BREWERY TO WATCH - OTHER
Upright - They don't seem to get quite the recognition they deserve as one of the top breweries on this continent.

LOCAL BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED
Parallel 49 - Their initial offerings weren't as exciting as I had hoped, but their small releases seem to be getting better and better.

BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED - OTHER
Lost Abbey Cuvee De Tomme. I can see how some would absolutely love this very complex beer, it just wasn't my thing at all.

MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO TRYING (OR HOPE TO TRY!)
Black Tuesday, Black Note, Bourbon County Vanilla, Mamouche, Chocolate Rain, Fantasia, Blend Love, Juicy, Society and Solitude #5, Double Black, White Chocolate, Utopias, KtG. I can't remember the rest, but I definitely need more special occasions in my life!

 

Damn, forgot Bourbon County Coffee as one of my favs. That was another that blew me away.

 

FAVORITE LOCAL BREWERY
Well Hamilton no longer has one, but I'd say the best around these parts it is still Wellington for me, although if Lakes of Muskoka comes out with another classic, they might win the day.

FAVORITE BREWERY - OTHER
Weihenstephaner - I have yet to have a bad beer from them and I can't wait to give Vitus a shot.
Samuel Smith's make a close second, but sadly we only get the same mix pack and the Winter Ale every Xmas

FAVORITE LOCAL BEER
Depends on the mood really. However noteworthy Ontario beers this year for me have been King Vienna Lager, Lakes of Muskoka Legendary Spring Oddity and the out of nowhere Highlander Scottish Ale

FAVORITE BEER - OTHER
Once again, it depends on the mood, but this years highlights are as follows. Innis & Gunn Spiced Rum Finish is the perfection of oak aged beer, Weihenstephaner Kristallweissbier was incredible, Samuel Smith's Taddy Porter deserves to be famous and Kelpie Seaweed Ale reaffirmed my love for herbed/gruit beer.

NEW LOCAL DISCOVERY
Highlander Brewing Co. and their Highlander Scottish Ale. It came out of nowhere and it was good.

NEW DISCOVERY - OTHER
Renaissance Brewing's Stonecutter. I hate to say it, because they are from New Zealand but this is the perfect beer for Lamb.

NOTABLE BEER-CHIEVEMENT
Had my first Saison and finally got my hands on Kelpie, the last of the great William's Bros. Gruit beers that I had yet to try.

LOCAL BREWERY TO WATCH
Give how many accolades they got for BNL if Flying Monkey's keeps releasing similar beers like this, with incredible effort and dedication, they'll go far. Lakes of Muskoka too, I'm looking forward to the second release of the Spring Oddity.

BREWERY TO WATCH - OTHER
Kiuchi Brewery, if they can get back into the LCBO I will gladly buy anything with the creepy owl on it, and this goes to Japanese Beer in general if it can start making it's way across the pond.

LOCAL BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED
First off, the vast majority of IPA's that have hit the Ontario market. I've gotten the feeling that the IPA has been this year's Lime craze among craft beer drinkers and, not being an IPA fan, I have been less then impressed. Second though has to go to Mill St. I think that they are finally starting to make the transition from craft brewer to near Macro brewer. The last few offerings in their mix packs have been lacklustre and while it's good to see Cobblestone Stout on shelves, the Tankhouse Ale seems to be degrading more and more. Creemore Springs Collaboration Ale I also didn't find to be my cup of tea.

BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED - OTHER
Brasserie Dieu du Ciel. That's right I said it! Peche Mortel is still one of my all time favourite beers, but everything else I've gotten my hands on from these guys has been average at best. Pilsner Urquell too, I mean it was good, but the legendary Pilsner that gave birth too all lesser Pilsners it is not.

MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO TRYING (OR HOPE TO TRY!)
BNL Chocolate Stout is in my fridge, as with Bog Water. Brasserie Dupont Posca Rustica is another one as well as Orval and next year's Muskoka Spring Oddity.

 

2012 is my first year in the craft beer game, so it's all new to me! 180 beers tallied so far and I feel like I've barely scratched the surface.

FAVORITE LOCAL BREWERY
Driftwood -- they're just in a league of their own in BC. Central City, Phillips, Lighthouse, Howe Sound have all been consistent for me, despite the odd bad product.

FAVORITE BREWERY - OTHER
Green Flash, Lagunitas and Elysian probably the best ones that that I've explored in depth. And Unibroue!

FAVORITE LOCAL BEER
Central City Imperial IPA, Driftwood Sartori Harvest, Russell Hop Therapy...maybe even Phillips Green Reaper? So much great IPA coming out of BC right now.

FAVORITE BEER - OTHER
Rochefort 10 is the only one I've assigned a perfect score so far. Trois Mousquetaires Porter Baltique blew my mind, as did Green Flash Palate Wrecker, Pliny the Elder and Parabola.

NEW LOCAL DISCOVERY
I guess everything is a new discovery for me, but I'll go with Russell's Hop Therapy since it was recent and completely unexpected.

NEW DISCOVERY - OTHER
Hop Wired IPA from 8 Wired Brewing in New Zealand. Haven't tasted another IPA quite like it and the hops were so crisp and fresh one might think it was brewed locally, or at least on this continent.

NOTABLE BEER-CHIEVEMENT
It was cool to try the legendary Pliny, and get my hands on a bottle of Parabola. That was very early on in my beer endeavours, and is definitely something I'd like to revisit many times in the future.

LOCAL BREWERY TO WATCH
No idea.

BREWERY TO WATCH - OTHER
Ditto.

LOCAL BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED
Spinnakers and Hoyne just disappoint me every time. Parallel 49 has been getting a lot of praise but is yet to really 'do it' for me. Black Christmas was pretty good, though. I drainpoured 2.5 out of 3 bottles of Phillips Krypton RyePA from a Hop Box -- the only beer I've poured to date -- and it seems to be generally well regarded. I think I just don't like rye.

BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED - OTHER
Dogfish 90 Minute was just too boozy and didn't hit the spot at all. Rogue Voodoo Donut Maple Bacon Ale could inspire and essay about buyer's remorse.

MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO TRYING (OR HOPE TO TRY!)
Basically anything else from Firestone Walker. Also need to check Westy 12 off the list.

 

Diasagree, what an amazingly insane concept pulled off decently well. Went in thinking it would be awful and was pleased. That said, I wouldn't drink it again, but man am I glad I tried it.

The joy of beer, it is different to everyone.

 

(I was looking forward to doing this again, thanks papat for getting the ball rolling!)

FAVORITE LOCAL BREWERY
Probably a toss-up between Muskoka and Monkeys, being really the only ones with big beers in 750mL bottles that are actually playing around with different brews (at least that I can see - I don't get into Toronto much, so I feel I'm missing out).

FAVORITE BREWERY - OTHER
Firestone Walker. I've dug everything I've had from them this year, especially the Sucaba. This was also the year of Smuttynose for me - I made a trip down that way and had about eight of their brews, and was extremely impressed, especially with the pricetag. Finest Kind IPA and Imperial Stout were both fantastic.

FAVORITE LOCAL BEER
I still keep coming back to Wellington Imperial, and so far nothing has changed. I also enjoyed Great Lakes Anniversary Saison. Also dug the Amsterdam Tempest.

FAVORITE BEER - OTHER
Firestone Walker Sucaba, Unita's Crooked Line Labyrinth

NEW LOCAL DISCOVERY
This was a bit of an off year for me local brew-wise, so I didn't really discover much, other than some of Great Lakes limited releases surprised me when I had them in Toronto. We only get the bottled stuff in Kitchener, and I haven't liked one (save the anniversary ales), but a lot that I had on draught were quite good.

NEW DISCOVERY - OTHER
Not really a unique discovery, but this was the year I started really cellaring and making beer runs to the States. With that in mind, I find the Fort Erie crossing to be the most reasonable - and quickest - and have enjoyed Premier Gourmet and the Transit Road Consumer Beverages for my hauls. Start the day off with lunch at the Blue Monk, and I'm all set. I've also discovered the benefits of having a wife who is also really big on craft beer - beer runs are never eye-roll-inducing, as she's equally excited to pick up a few bottles and make beer-related stops along the way.

NOTABLE BEER-CHIEVEMENT
Driving two hours out of my way to visit Southern Tier, finding out that they were closing early that day for renovation work, and not losing my temper. I am still pretty pissed about it. Maybe next year.

LOCAL BREWERY TO WATCH
Again, there's not much I've been able to explore Ontario-wise this year, although I'm really hoping that Flying Monkeys BNL stout is the sign of good things to come in terms of special releases.

BREWERY TO WATCH - OTHER
Pretty Things.

LOCAL BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED
Waterloo IPA - not overhyped, I just hoped it was a chance for the brewery to return to something resembling what Brickman was capable of brewing. It was awful. I also thought that Brasseurs du Temps Dum-Duminator was utterly undrinkable. Didn't bother reviewing it.

BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED - OTHER
Weyerbacher Merry Monks, Green Flash IPA (it was good, but really for me almost every IPA is overhyped - just a personal taste).

MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO TRYING (OR HOPE TO TRY!)
Hoping to be able to get in to Toronto and give Bellwood's a go, and to finally give Driftwood's lineup a try. As per the States, I'm hoping to get more Uinta, Great Divide, and Firestone in my cellar, and to switch gears and try more brews from Bells and Founders. Anything from Russian River would be a dream. I'm also hoping to road-trip out to Halifax this summer through New England, and am planning a stop at Smutty, Allagash and The Alchemist on the way.

Merry Christmas to all my Canadian BAs, and I hope you all have some wonderful brews to toast in the New Year! Happy Beer Hunting!

 

I'm always looking for Midwest stuff, when the weather warms up I can most likely trade you some Consecration.

 

FAVORITE LOCAL BREWERY
Only one local (Walkerville), but I can get to Kuhnhenn within 20 minutes so thats my vote.

FAVORITE BREWERY - OTHER
Founders, Three Floyds, Greenbush, Bell's, Stone, Great Divide, Firestone Walker

FAVORITE LOCAL BEER
Kuhnhenn's DRIPA.

FAVORITE BEER - OTHER
Backwoods Bastard.

NEW LOCAL DISCOVERY
Kuhnhenn's DRIPA (new to me this year)

NEW DISCOVERY - OTHER
Great Divide's Yeti

NOTABLE BEER-CHIEVEMENT
Attending a couple MI Beer fests and expanding my horizons in DC's and Chicago's best beer bars.

LOCAL BREWERY TO WATCH
Walkerville. Hoping for good things.

BREWERY TO WATCH - OTHER
Greenbush. They brought the thunder to the last beer fest I went to and they are tiny.

LOCAL BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED
Walkerville's second offering, Pilsner. Fail. They went back to work on the recipe.

BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED - OTHER
Three Floyds Gumballhead.

MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO TRYING (OR HOPE TO TRY!)
Stuff I can't get in MI. Heading to Toledo, OH for a beer run next week!

 

FAVORITE LOCAL BREWERY
Hopfenstark and Dieu Du Ciel.

FAVORITE BREWERY - OTHER
Hill Farmstead, Cantillon, Alchemist (These three together make my favorite styles which I could live off of)

FAVORITE LOCAL BEER
Hopfenstark Saison 55 (especially when on cask)

FAVORITE BEER - OTHER
Hill Farmstead - Art. , Verra Mae, any of their IPA
Heady topper, victory at sea, Cantillon Foufoune,

NEW LOCAL DISCOVERY
Solstice dété aux framboises

NEW DISCOVERY - OTHER
Freetail (Love their berliner), Kern, BCBCS

NOTABLE BEER-CHIEVEMENT
Had a blabaer finally.
Sierra Nevada Big Foot 2002 - 2012 vert

LOCAL BREWERY TO WATCH
..

LOCAL BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED
A bunch of local breweries and every quebec ipa

BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED - OTHER
Disappointed by Double simcoe, guess I expected more from it.

MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO TRYING (OR HOPE TO TRY!)
DDC's Isseki Nicho is finally coming out in bottles, Funky Buddha, Westvleteren 12, Flying Monkeys BNL and any other beer worth drinking!

 

FAVORITE LOCAL BREWERY
Amsterdam and Bellwoods. Great Lakes is a close third, no one else in ON really compares.

FAVORITE BREWERY - OTHER
Founders, Russian River, Kuhnhenn, Goose Island, New Glarus, DDC, Three Floyds, Alesmith, Anchorage, Hill Farmstead

FAVORITE LOCAL BEER
Bellwoods Hellwoods/Bellwoods Roman Candle, Amsterdam Tempest, any Great Lakes IPA

FAVORITE BEER - OTHER
Heady Topper, New Glarus Belgian Red/Raspberry Tart, RR Supplication, DDC Bourbon Barrel Peche Mortel, Half Pints Demeter's Harvest

NEW LOCAL DISCOVERY
Bellwoods anything, some funkier/barrel aged stuff from Nickel Brook

NOTABLE BEER-CHIEVEMENT
Drank Bourbon Barrel Fourth Dementia from the barrel at Kuhnhenn with the barrel-master

LOCAL BREWERY TO WATCH
Bellwoods and Amsterdam

BREWERY TO WATCH - OTHER
Founders and Goose Island can do no wrong, Kuhnhenn is brilliant.

LOCAL BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED
Indie Ale House and all the other new breweries in Toronto (and Ontario) that really stink.

BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED - OTHER
Struise Double Black was good but not great, Struise Saint Amatus was metallic as f**k,

MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO TRYING (OR HOPE TO TRY!)
Kuhnhenn Raspberry Eisbock

 

FAVORITE LOCAL BREWERY
Half Pints - As Homer Simpson would have said "De-fault!, my two favourite words in the English language!"

FAVORITE BREWERY - OTHER
Jolly Pumpkin. I love Brett and they do it well.

FAVORITE LOCAL BEER
Hum Lud. DIPA? 'nuf said.

FAVORITE BEER - OTHER
God I love a fresh Furious. I love a bunch of sours, but a good fresh hoppy beer can't be beat.

NEW LOCAL DISCOVERY
Hard to discover stuff out here... Hmmm... I've liked all of Fort Garry's one-offs.

NEW DISCOVERY - OTHER
That I really don't like reviewing beers? I'm reviewing less often now and happier for it.

NOTABLE BEER-CHIEVEMENT
Got a buddy of mine absolutely hooked on sours this summer.

LOCAL BREWERY TO WATCH
Fort Garry. Seriously, their bomber one-offs have been solid (including the Eisbock which apparently was illegal ) and they are doing different things now, including an IPA (I'd call it entry-level after having sampled the last test batch, but heck any new entry into that market in MB is welcome)

BREWERY TO WATCH - OTHER
Beau's maybe? I've got a bunch of their one offs at my folks when I visit over Christmas and they sound solid. They just need more capacity to brew more interesting beers for ON I would think...

LOCAL BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED
Jets Bud. Seriously a Bud brewed with a jug of water fans touched?

BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED - OTHER
Most DIPAs I've had - Black Oaks 10 Bitter, Tree's, etc... I think I have hit my lupulin shift and now need more hops in a bottle than commercials can provide. Also Megadestroyer, just too much liquorice / anise for my liking.

MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO TRYING (OR HOPE TO TRY!)
Dunno, always looking for another good beer, though I have some beers I really want to drink but can never get around to chilling them...

 

FAVORITE LOCAL BREWERY
Driftwood, followed by Phillips, Howe Sound and Central City, honourable mention for Spinnakers. Lighthouse and Vancouver Island Brewing are moving up, too.

FAVORITE BREWERY - OTHER
Half-Pints, Unibroue, Sierra Nevada, Stone, Schneider, Ayinger, Nøgne Ø, Ommegang, Fuller's, and any abbey brewery are the ones I get really excited about.

FAVORITE LOCAL BEER
Fat Tug IPA, Red Racer IPA, and Crooked Coast are my standbys. I really liked this year's Sartori Harvest IPA, Hoyne Wolf Vine, and Pothole Filler. As far as 'local' local, the Longwood brewpub did a draught only one-off batch of saison from all their leftover ingredients one week and it was amazing.

FAVORITE BEER - OTHER
Lil' Scrapper and Sweet Nikki Brown, Trois Pistoles and Terrible, SNPA and Celebration Ale, Arrogant Bastard and Stone IPA, Schneider Aventinus and Hopfen-Weisse, Celebrator and Ur-Weisse, Nøgne Ø Imperial Stout and #500, Ommegang Abbey Ale and Hennepin, Fuller's Vintage Ale and 1845, and any dark abbey beer have been the really good ones for me this year.

NEW LOCAL DISCOVERY
Parallel 49 and Townsite

NEW DISCOVERY - OTHER
Croucher out of New Zealand, Creemore Springs.

NOTABLE BEER-CHIEVEMENT
Tried my first Russian River and Drie Fonteinen beers

LOCAL BREWERY TO WATCH
Hoyne, a strong first year. Lighthouse, a noticeable improvement in quality and creativity. Phillips and Driftwood because you never know what they'll come out with next. Parallel 49 looks good too.

BREWERY TO WATCH - OTHER
Half-Pints, always good stuff coming from there. As a blanket statement, American brewers, they're doing the most interesting/creative stuff for craft beer right now.

LOCAL BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED
I don't come from a beer area with much hype, but I always find Dead Frog disappointing. Lighthouse Pumpkin Ale - usually Lighthouse has been pretty decent this year but this one was just bad. I didn't enjoy Phillips/GLB Puzzler either. Both beers had a peculiar burnt flavour, not my thing.

BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED - OTHER
Everything I've tried from Green Flash. Otherwise I don't get to try many hyped beers.

MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO TRYING (OR HOPE TO TRY!)
Thor's Hammer, Woolly Bugger, Nectar of the Gods, Cantillon, Firestone Walker, Founders, more Great Divide, Stone, and Sierra Nevada, to name a few.

 

FAVORITE LOCAL BREWERY
Driftwood & Phillips
FAVORITE BREWERY - OTHER
Unibroue , Howe Sound , Deschutes , Elysian
FAVORITE LOCAL BEER
Driftwood -"Singularity" best beer buzz ever!!
FAVORITE BEER - OTHER
Phillips - "Crooked Tooth" & "Longboat Choc Porter" , Lighthouse -"Belgian Black"
Unibroue -"Maudite" , Howe Sound's -"Pumpkineater" & "Pothole Filler"
& Deschutes - "Obsidian Stout" & "Black Butte Porter"
NEW LOCAL DISCOVERY
Hoyne Brewing , good first year
NEW DISCOVERY - OTHER
Townsite Brewing (yes) , Parallel 49 (maybe)
NOTABLE BEER-CHIEVEMENT
Finally got to enjoy Elysian's "Dark O'The Moon" & "The Great Pumpkin"
& hit the 100 review mark
LOCAL BREWERY TO WATCH
Phillips , Driftwood , Hoyne , Lighthouse , Vancouver Is , in that order
BREWERY TO WATCH - OTHER
Duff
LOCAL BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED
Lighthouse -"Pumpkin Ale"
BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED - OTHER
For the second year in a row I had a bottle of Driftwood's -"Satori Harvest" in my hands and put it back on the shelf , I don't even remember what else I picked up instead
MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO TRYING (OR HOPE TO TRY!)
Chatoe Rogue -"Black Lager" & Gigantic"The City Never Sleeps" need another two bottle's to finish my review
Driftwood - "Satori Harvest" I will buy it next time , promise

 

FAVORITE BREWERY - OTHER
Russian River, Shorts, Surly, Avery

FAVORITE BEER - OTHER
Bitburger, Ballast Point Indra Kunindra, Lolita, Modus Hoperandi on tap!

NEW LOCAL DISCOVERY
Lucky Mart - a wicked Asian Grocery store that I've used as the inspiration for many fun casks this year.

NEW DISCOVERY - OTHER
Knee Deep In Powder (thanks to Vegas trader extraordinaire, Destral)
Bells This One Goes To 11

NOTABLE BEER-CHIEVEMENT
GABF, not so much the fest itself, but the breweries, people, and atmosphere in Denver around GABF. Now I see why people still go even if they don't have fest tickets.

LOCAL BREWERY TO WATCH
Fort Garry. There is passion there, it just needs to be fostered, not forced to brew more Rocky Mountain Pilsner or Lime beer.

BREWERY TO WATCH - OTHER
Surly and Avery - both have big expansion plans in the very near future.

LOCAL BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED
Quebec beers need better distribution around these parts (and Canada in general), thankfully I've got a good friend who brings beer that he and his buddies are drinking out there quite often. Sometimes they're brilliant, some times they're not all they're cracked up to be. I can imagine this is how raters in Quebec feel about Half Pints beers when traders hang onto the bottles for a whole winter then trade them the beers as if they were fresh in the spring. Nothing tastes more like fail than beer that's sat in someone's basement for six months plus.

BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED - OTHER
Anything by Rogue, except the Voodoo Donuts Maple Bacon - the only Rogue beer (other than Old Crustacean) to actually deliver. The Wynkoop Rocky Mountain Oyster Stout was a close second. It tasted too nutty.

MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO TRYING (OR HOPE TO TRY!)
Sin City in January, Montreal in May, Portland in August, San Diego in December.

 

FAVORITE LOCAL BREWERY
Brewsters here in Calgary has really stepped up their game.

FAVORITE BREWERY - OTHER
It is the same every year Dieu du Ciel!

FAVORITE LOCAL BEER
Brewster's Vampire Pilsner

FAVORITE BEER - OTHER
Thiriez Blonde drank a pile of this, this summer.

NEW LOCAL DISCOVERY
National on 17th Calgary's newest beer hall

NEW DISCOVERY - OTHER
Jester King these guys rock Thiriez's yeast hard!

NOTABLE BEER-CHIEVEMENT
All About Beer magazine asking me to write "It's My Round"

LOCAL BREWERY TO WATCH
Wild Rose grooving on fact that Brian Smith is driving the bus.

BREWERY TO WATCH - OTHER
Le Trou du Diable can't wait until they get the new brewery and bottles going.

LOCAL BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED
Village

BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED - OTHER
That Papat444 got excited and couldn't wait until I posted the annual poll for the fifth year in a row

MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO TRYING (OR HOPE TO TRY!)
Looking forward to getting lost in Oregon this fall.

 

FAVORITE LOCAL BREWERY
DDC, Trou du Diable and Brasserie Dunham

FAVORITE BREWERY - OTHER
Muskoka, Stone (I can't resist any Stone beers)

FAVORITE LOCAL BEER
To me, right now, it's Leo Breakfast IPA from Dunham. On tap or in bottles, simply awesome, no, its perfection. Trèfle Noir from Brasserie Trèfle Noir is amazing too.

FAVORITE BEER - OTHER
This year it was Spring Oddity from Muskoka (thanks liamt07 for that one). IPA from Midtfyns is pretty good too.

NEW LOCAL DISCOVERY
Brewery: Dunham
Beer: Leo Breakfast IPA... did I say amazing?

NOTABLE BEER-CHIEVEMENT
Getting some Cantillon and visiting the brewery

LOCAL BREWERY TO WATCH
Agrees with papat444, Dunham. They blow my mind everything I crack one of their beer open.

LOCAL BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED
Anything from Barberie this year seems pretty bland... I used to like them very much.

BEER DISAPPOINTMENTS / OVERHYPED - OTHER
That private import from HaandBryggeriet. The beers were only ok at best... and it cost me like two arms! Makes it very difficult to drink!

MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO TRYING (OR HOPE TO TRY!)
A trip to Munich to enjoy some German brews!