Its that time of year again. Best beer I had this year was a carbonated Cascade brought in for Caskdays 2017. My Best Canadian beer (my 11th highest rate out of over 1400 new ratings) was Omnipollo Prodomus. If you object to a gypsy brewing, the 12th was the Bellwoods Barn Owl Cherry (#5). Still a great year for Canadian beer.
I'll bite, but too hard without some categorization ... IPA - Overall: Tree House In Perpetuity; Canada: Boombox/Twin Sails Kicking In Speakers Stout - Canada and Overall: Nickel Brook Cafe del Bastardo (2017); Runner Up: Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout (2016) Sour - Overall: Bruery Sour in the Rye (2015); Canada: Bellwoods Motley Cru 2017 ... and I would remiss not to mention Bellwoods Pink Guava Milkshark, Barncat Pulp and Boreale IPA du Nord Est somewhere in here as a couple of additional top Canadian offerings.
Ill try to do this, memory isnt the best... IPA: Overall: Treehouse Doppelganger Canada: Superflux Colour and Shape Stout: Overall: Perrin No Rules 2017 Canada: 3 Minutes to Midnight 2015 Sour: Overall: Saint Lamvinus 2016 Canada: Motley Cru 2017 Bonus category Best 3 rated on untappd for me in 2017 not listed above: Treehouse Julius, 3f OG 2011, Tilquin Gueuze 2010
Best beers I've had in 2017: Top 10: 1. Trillium x J. Wakefield: Affogato 2. Hill Farmstead: Madness & Civilization 10 3. Burdock: Barrel 24 4. Tilted Barn: Violet 5. Trillium: Vicinity 6. House of Fermentology: Seurat Dot 7. Hill Farmstead: Double Nelson 8. LIC Beer Projects: Hollows 9. Brouwerij de Landtsheer NV: Malheur Bière Brut 10: Maine Beer Company: Another One Top 5 Canadian: 1. Burdock: Barrel 24 2. Boréale: IPA du Nord-Est 3. Stone City Ales: Yacht Rock Gose 4. Dominion City x Twin Sails: Northern Wish 5. Nickelbrook: Café Del Bastardo
BUMO II from Burdock would have to get my vote for Canadian Beer of the Year. Wonderfully balanced and complex/boundary pushing.
I had 3 new brews enter my all time top 50.... Hellshire VII Berserker Imperial Stout Rodenbach Alexander Honorable mention for cracking my top 100 all time (twice thanks to Drew) Sue #57 All time #100-#200 Double Stack Juice Box Bohemian Pilsner (yes a pilsner cracked my all time 200) Nelson Sauvin Brut (Chardonnay Barrels!) Birth Of Tragedy Döllnitzer Ritterguts Gose Abrikoos Imperial Hose Top Canadian was... Collective Project: IPA No. 1 At #200 all time Its been a pretty good year so far , bagged 3 summits (Mt Allen, Pigeon, and Ha Ling) , Plains of 6 glaciers hike, saw the total eclipse of the sun from Madras Oregon, experienced Portland and Hood River breweries, met my infant niece with a creepy uncle mustache I grew for 6 months. Wife made a turducken from scratch for thanksgiving out at moms farm in Vernon. Bought our first condo and had the pleasure of hosting some great BA's in our new surroundings. Somehow I lost 30lbs while having all this fun and actually feel pretty great about the year in general. Did I mention my Aussie wife finally saw a wild bear after 12 years of being outside, not one but 4 bears in two different provenience's on the same day? Years not over yet either, maybe the best is yet to come!!!!!!!!! I cant wait for next year, maybe some room to grow,,,,,,,
I still have some cellar to dig through, but so far: Best of the year (also highest rated wild/sour): Hill Farmstead Clover Highest rated stout: Alesmith BA Vietnamese Coffee Highest rated IPA: Tree House Bright: Citra Highest rated Canadian beer: BOYD b2 Best Mead: Schramm's Madeline Biggest Surprise: Boreal IPA du Nord-Est being as good as it is Biggest Disappointment: Lost Abbey DDG b2 - acetic mess Top beer available in LCBO: CBS (yeah, had to crack one) Favourite brewer: Bellwoods. Best event/release that I attended: The day after Witchstock. Stupidest thing I did all year: Driving home from Hill Farmstead in a blizzard. Dean's list of 2017 releases for Canada: Pink Guava Milkshark Barncat Lawrence Boreal IPA du Nord Est Left Field Laser Show Bellwoods Barn Owl Cherry Bellwoods Barn Owl Raspberry
Some beers that come to mind: Burdock Barrel 24, Boombox/Twin Sails Kicking In Speakers, Boombox Juicy AF, Superflux Colour & Shape, Superflux/Gigantic Pretty Much Ya, Coalesce Foreword, Bellwoods Motley Cru, Twin Sails As If, Twin Sails BA Stouts, Four Winds Bloom
GLB 30th BBA Russian Imperial Stout with coffee cocoa and vanilla inst getting the love it deserves. Best imperial stout in Ontario, i need to stock up before it vanishes. As a stout man, might be my Canadian beer of the year. Barn Owl 5 Cherries was scary perfect liquid cherry blasters. Boreale IPA du Nord-Est is something i cant get out of my head. Motley Cru 17 was unchallenged. Café Del Bastardo while watching the game of thrones finale was a perfect pairing. Stateside, Barrel aged Neckbeard Nectar was a recent revelation. Trillium Pot and Kettle Cold brew was like drinking a wonderful cake. Malted Milk Ball, same as above but with malted milk balls. CBS. people saying it is over hyped still can recognize its a 5/5 beer. And I hate to end on a note of negativity, but ugh, I'm still bummed by how Cutting Bells turned out. Talk about a hype machine disappointment. 2017 was amazing for Beer in Ontario. Toronto just makes it too easy to drink too much.
I'll steal @Jerk_Store format from 2016's Beer in Review: TOP 3 FAVORITE BEERS - YOUR PROVINCE STEAMWORKS BREWING Flagship IPA MOUNT ARROWSMITH Blonde Ale FIELDHOUSE BREWING Dry Hopped hazy sour double IPA TOP 3 FAVORITE BEERS - CANADA CASTOR BREWING Colorado American Wild Ale AMSTERDAM x BAR HOP Anniversary Farmhouse Ale ROGUE RIVER Apricot Sour TOP 3 FAVOURITE BEERS - OUTSIDE CANADA TRACK 7 x ALVARADO ST (Calif) Naughty by Nectar (kettle sour) CRUZ BLANCA (Chicago) Where There's Smoke (smoked dark lager) DE GARDE (Oregon) The Florist: Spontaneous Wild Ale, fermented and aged in Oak Gin Barrels for an average of 20 Months, then conditioned in barrels with Fresh Meyer Lemon and Duncan Grapefruit Zest and Juice. Blended in Collaboration with Fonta Flora Brewing. NEW DISCOVERY - YOUR PROVINCE Mount Arrowsmith Brewing (Parksville) Fieldhouse Brewing (Abbotsford) NEW DISCOVERY - CANADA Castor Brewing (QC) FAVOURITE BREWERIES - USA De Garde Brewing (Oregon) Wolves & People Brewing (Oregon) Cruz Blanca (Chicago) Chuckanut Brewing (Bellingham, Wash) MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO TRYING (OR HOPE TO TRY!) More Farmhouse/Wild ales
I'm going to go out on a limb and say 2017 was year of the (imperial) stout for me. Top 10 Beers that were new to me in 2017: Firestone Walker Stickee Monkey Allagash Curieux Oscar Blues Ten Fidy Founders Imperial Stout Founders KBS AleSmith Speedway Stout Smuttynose Baltic Porter Singlecut Jenny Said IIPA Collective Arts Collective Project IPA No. 4 Nickel Brook Cafe Del Bastardo Finishing 3rd in the Canadian Class of 2017 is: Collective Arts Collective Project No. 2 6 are stouts / porters 3 IPA's / DIPA's 2 bourbon barrel aged unique takes on Belgian styles from reputable brewers Hoping for more sours and maybe some classic German or English styles to make this list in 2018.
My top beers of 2017 from my cellar , Driftwood's 2013 Old Cellar Dweller , & Moon Under Water 2016 Sang Du Merle , new to me , Trou Du Diable La Buteuse Brassin Spécial (Barrel Aged) , & Moon Under Water 2015 Oud King Crow honorable mention , Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale
