The 50 Best Beers of 2021, According to Brewers and Beer Geeks

Do you have a brewery/brand that you would suggest for this list?

I really enjoyed the beers at had while visiting the pFreim brewery (Hood River, OR) with both the Pilsner and Kolsch being highlights for me. I really wish their Czech Dark Lager was available during my visit but...Maybe next time?

Cheers!

 

Another reason to not take the list too seriously. One or two Oregon beers should be on a list like this.

 

It also gets pitch black at night you turn the lights off you enter the void bro it’s scary dark in sepa

 

Pulling up their website shows a slew of slow pour tap handles. That's good enough for me.

Love seeing the focus on Czech lagers grow. Notch is doing it in the NE, Alma Mader does some Czech work in the Midwest. Now I've got a new stop after a hiking trip in the Rockies. Yum.

Sure there are many more, but those are the ones on my radar. Especially with an up-and-coming Boston trip, and an annual Colorado trip.

 

Montclair Brewing is in Montclair NJ and is listed in places. Fume is a Rauchbier. It has 2 reviews both 3.9.

 

Hmmm, I must have misspelled it during my search. My first misteak of the new year.

 

Those are Lukr side-pull faucets and the pour is not slow.

A half-dozen small, craft breweries have installed them in my area.

Below is a video illustrating the various pours which can be accomplished via this faucet.

Na Zdravi

 

pFreim is an excellent choice, if they've made a bad beer - I have not had it. I would say that their Pilsner is in the top tier of any of that style. This list is more of a one-off or rare beers that the contributors really want to stand out. This is not a list for regular beers that everyone anywhere can get. That is all fine, I suppose but many Oregon beers like pFreim Pilsner will not likely get included. I can get that at my local supermarket.

While I'm sure Pivovar Matuška Tonda 12° is a tasty beer, it's not likely to be at your local Safeway. It would give me a smile to see someone dare include Sierra Nevada Pale Ale in a hype list like this.

 

Does anyone know if there are any of these in NC? I’d love to try beer poured this way.

 

Sorry I accidentally deleted the text. Does anyone know if there are any of these in NC?

 

Yes, not likely to see this beer at your local supermarket.

While I have not had the pleasure of drinking a ½ liter mug of Pivovar Matuška Tonda 12° I did have the pleasure of drinking another brand of beer from Pivovar Matuška during my two week beercation to the Czech Republic in 2019. While visiting the Zlý Časy pub in Prague I drank Matuška Tmavé which I detailed on my trip report:

“I also had one glass of Matuška Tmavé special which was a very intriguing and enjoyable beer – it had a very complex flavor profile. Below is how this beer is described on the brewery’s website (English translation):

“DARK

Our dark is more hopped than is common in this species. It is also not sweetened.

Enjoy a mix of roasted malts with pleasant bitterness. Our Czech brewery terminology does not know the term “black beer”, therefore we mention dark with a dash of black. According to the analysis of the color of our dark, however, falls into the category of Schwarzbier, which is in the world commonly recognized. style Schwarz

stupňovitost 14 °

alcohol 5.8%

BITTERNESS 35 IBU

MALT Pilsner, Munich, caramel, roasted (colored), karapils, barley

HOP Saaz Special

FERMENTATION lower

AVAILABILITY frequent”

Na Zdravi

P.S. There are a number of other non-US brewed beers on that top 50 list which I am sure are not imported to the US. The Craft Beer scene is bigger that the US (Safeway).

 

I am not cognizant of NC and Lukr faucets.

Do you ever visit the craft brewery taprooms in Asheville? I would be willing to bet that at least one of those breweries has installed a Lukr faucet (or two) in the last few months.

In my area I have visited a few of my local, small craft breweries that have installed them within the past year: Troubles End, Von C, on other that I can't remember right now. I am aware of other local craft breweries in the area (Philly and suburbs) that have them as well: one example being Human Robot.

Cheers!

 

@TomFoley do you know where they are now? ive been curious myself.

 

Scattered hither and yon, Dawn is at Barley Mow in West Reading, Ross moved to Jim Thorpe and Jenna is at Brakeman's Café (and killing it) in Boyertown. Doug and Jillian are looking to open a cidery by the summer. Stay tuned.

 

I forgot about that Notch beer. It was fantastic. I hope they distro it more this year.

 

I would note that this is the 50 best new releases this year. So it may not be fair to tag these as one-offs quite yet, they could be rotational. Also, that would mean something like Sierra Nevada Pale Ale would not make the list.

"To find the best new releases of the past year, we asked brewers, cicerones, writers, podcast hosts and other beer professionals to share their personal favorites. These are the 50 beers that debuted and dazzled in 2021."

I would also not classify this as a hype list. It's made up of many styles that aren't New England IPAs or pastry stouts, and the ratings are quite modest for many of them.

 

Bourbon County Brand Fourteen Stout
Goose Island Beer Co.

 

Yeah, and despite the title, this isn't really a "best of" list in the traditional sense. It's a list of 50 different beers enjoyed by 50 different people. Might be more aptly titled, "50 New Beers Enjoyed By Brewers and Beer Geeks In 2021."

 

And I don't know how to succinctly add this to your existing title but it seems to me that most of the beers selected by the participants are from breweries near to them.

Not that this necessarily creates a 'conflict of interest' but it may raise eyebrows for some.

Cheers!

 

Narragansett Musik Express IPA!!!????

1 review and 5 ratings for a walloping 3.66 average on BA. Ummmm...

 

But Mike Souza, head brewer at Sterling Street Brewery likes it so…

Cheers!

 

Land & Labour (#34) are the side project of a brewer from Galway Bay, one of Ireland's main craft producers + pub chains.
They've been doing knockout Belgian sours, quite authentic.

I haven't cracked my (overpriced) bottle of Crimson yet but I can well believe it earned its spot on this list.

 

I live in the Piedmont, near Winston-Salem. I rarely make it to Asheville but love going there. Thanks for the reply. I’ll be on the lookout.

How do these faucets impact the beer? It looks incredibly creamy. Do they charge the same price per pour? I’m asking because I read the “milk” one that’s 90% foam is supposed to be consumed in one gulp. Thanks again.

 

Well I've had only # 50 that got ? / Cut off the list here.

PlanBee makes tasty farmhouse beers but small brewery, expensive bottles, probably would not be one of my favorites if not almost down the to street and great outdoor space and barn atmosphere

 

I worked from the list in that first post but should have opened the link to get the full story. I would never make a very good reporter if I miss facts like that.

I saw that ? but couldn't figure why it was there, like it was a mystery. Again, I should have opened that link to get the full story.

 

It creates a wet foam vs. the dry foam from 'regular' taps. I very much appreciate the wet foam aspect.

They charge a lesser amount for the "milk" pour.

Cheers!

 

Interestingly this beer popped up on Tavour this week.