Your Top Rated Beers of 2017

Top 5:
Marshmallow Handjee - 4.96
DDH Ghost in the Machine - 4.69
Tired Hands Almost Exactly - 4.68
Maman - 4.65
Modern Times One Million Tomorrows & Colombian Coffee Shop Vibes - 4.65

Honorable Mentions:
The Answer Barrel Aged King Molokai - 4.64
BL Backwards Compatibility - 4.64

 

Had a few that I rated highly, most notably, here is my top 10 for 2017:

Damon - Kieni (Coffee Collective)
Hill Farmstead Brewery
American Double / Imperial Stout 4.77

Northern Dusky
River Roost Brewery
American IPA 4.66

The Streets
Trillium Brewing Company
American Double / Imperial IPA 4.66

Clover
Hill Farmstead Brewery
Saison / Farmhouse Ale 4.64

Art Plum
Hill Farmstead Brewery
Saison / Farmhouse Ale 4.64

Double Nelson
Hill Farmstead Brewery
American Double / Imperial IPA 4.62

Fuzzy
Side Project Brewing
American Wild Ale 4.6

Nummy Nug Nug
Other Half Brewing Co.
American Double / Imperial IPA 4.6

Arthur Puncheon
Hill Farmstead Brewery
Saison / Farmhouse Ale 4.6

Atrial Rubicite
Jester King Brewery
American Wild Ale 4.59

 

Top 5 1st time beers for 2017.

Founders KBS 4.60
Stone Enjoy By - 4.47
DFH Fort - 4.40
Sole Artisan Over 9000 4.37
Bell's Expedition - 4.35

 

All are 5s for me.

COOP Ale Works Brandy Barrel DNR
Bottle Logic Dark Star November
Bottle Logic Red Eye November
Bottle Logic Jam The Radar
Lakewood Brewing Coconut Temptress
Cigar City Vanilla Hazelnut Marshall Zhukov
Avery Dui Cochi
Avery Pumpkyn

 

Alphabetically:
Atrial Rubicite (blend 7)
BA Sump
Ghost in the Machine
Iris (2004)
Nectarine Premiere (b3)
Rose de Gambrinus (1997)
Rye BA Vietnamese Speedway
The Rusty Nail (2017)
Vigneronne (2015)
Xyauyu Etichetta Oro (2009)

This was hard to narrow down from my initial top 25

 

I'm a BA rookie :-) - so I'm not going by my ratings...

The Alchemist - Crusher
Great Lakes - Nosferatu
Tired Hands - Hope Filled Piñata
3 Floyds - Zombie Dust
Ballast Point - Pineapple Sculpin
Half Acre - Double Galactic Daisy Cutter
Half Acre - Gone Away IPA
Sketchbook Brewing Company - Orange Door Double Dry

 

Top 5 New-To-Me Beers

1. Other Half Brewing - DDH Dream in Green IPA
2. Deviate Brewing - Anti Clarity RIS
3. Lagunitas - Born Yesterday Pale Ale
4. Toppling Goliath - Sosus DIPA
4. Other Half - DDH Space Diamonds DIPA
4. Deviate Brewing/Black Acre Brewing Collab - Hop Lunacy Quad IPA

Three way tie for fourth place according to my ratings. Just missing out were Lagunitas Willettized and AleSmith Speedway Stout.

 

My 5-rated new (for me) beers of 2017:

• Rushing Duck - Imperial Beanhead Coffee Porter
• The Alchemist - Pappy's Porter
• Allagash - James & Julie
• Hardywood Park - Trickery
• The Bruery - Mash & Coconut
• Fiddlehead - Second Fiddle
• Funky Buddha - Last Buffalo in the Park
• Alewerks - Bourbon Barrel Porter
• Foley Brothers - Loco Moco
• Locavore - Black Pearl Imperial Porter
• Hill Farmstead - Damon
• Hardywood Park - Foolery
• Cycle - Trademark Dispute: Hazelnut
• Evil Twin - Imperial Biscotti Break (Bourbon Maple Syrup Barrel Aged)

Lowest rated beers of 2017:

• Draai Laag - Apples & Pears (2.88)
• Adroit Theory - Two Headed Calf (Ghost 394) (3.04)
• Breakside - Bellwether: Gin Barrel-Aged Sour Double Wit (2.94)
• Coors Light (first time rating) (1.96)
• Smuttynose - Really Old Brown Dog (Julio's BBA w/ Cinnamon & Vanilla (3.10)
• Grimm - Neon Lights (3.16)

 

If I did ratings my highest ones would all be Alpine beers. In 2017 I drank quite a few of the best beers I've ever tasted at the Alpine tasting room. Keene Idea was one of the most impressive and deserves a very high rating along with Exponential and Bad Boy. I would rate Pliny the Elder almost as high as Alpines best beers. A couple other top-rated beers that i remember drinking in 2017, Hopslam and 120 min, would not make the cut on my list. I would still give them a very good rating but they're just not my style.

 

I rated 5 beers as a 5/5 in 2017:

Utopias
Central Waters 19
3 Sheeps Cuvee #3
The Veil Henry From Monkish
Funk Factory Framzwartje

 

Just relying on memory, these are my Top 10 list for the most memorable from 2017 (never had before):

Top Five (from my trip to Belgium):
1 - Cornet - Brouwerij Palm NV / Brouwerij De Hoorn
2 - Goliath - Brasserie Des Legends
3 - Triple Wild 2017 - Brouwerij De Halve Maan
4 - Barista Chocolate Quad - Brouwerij Van Honsebrouk (Bierkasteel / Castle Brewery)
5 - Avec Les Bons Voeux - Brasserie Dupont

Honorable Mentions:
Straffe Hendrik Heritage ( 2015 Armagnac Barrel-Aged) - Brouwerij De Halve Maan
Cuvee Van De Keizer Whiskey Infused - Brouwerij Het Anker
Rochefort 10 - Brasserie Rochefort
Quadruple - Brouwerij De Halve Maan
Brigand - Brouwerij Van Honsebrouk (Bierkasteel / Castle Brewery)

Top Five from The States:
1 - Finally Legal - Weyerbacher
2 - Two Juicy - Two Roads
3 - Even More Coco Jesus - Evil Twin
4 - High West Victory At Sea - Ballast Point
5 - Triple Maiden - Foley Brothers

Honorable Mentions:
Prospect - Foley Brothers
I'm So Excited, I'm So Scared - Funky Buddha
Barrel-Aged 3Beans - Sixpoint
Bee Keeper - Burlington Beer Co.
Molotov Surprise - Evil Twin