A move from the midwest to New England left me on the hunt for new "go to" beers. Far and away my favorite though was Ipswich Oatmeal Stout. Also Flower Power in bottles, and Double Jack and Wolavers Alta Gracia Coffee Porter on tap
Schlafly Tasmanian IPA has got to be my favorite "pick something up you've never seen because you're in another state" beer of the year. The hop profile is really incredible, and it is exceedingly drinkable for a 7% IPA.
Couple of good mentions already. I've gotta say, while certainly not my #1, De Molen/FFF's Zes Zes Zes = AWESOME. (But, then again I love pineapple-juice…)
Totally said the same thing to myself when I had this for the first time a fewmonths ago. Now, I only wish it was a bit cheaper
I've developed an unexpected appreciation for a couple of beers that I turn to when I want to give my taste buds a rest: New Belgium Shift Pale Lager Sam Adams Noble Pils A bit more aggressive, but still not quite the stereotypical kick in the face: Southern Tier 2XIPA
Flower Power IPA - I'm not a huge fan of the style, but damn that was a good beer Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout - available, inexpensive, tasty and comes in a can! Old Engine Oil - amongst the best porters I've ever had (expensive, though) Konig Pilsener - best pils I've had to date (home consumption) Mackeson XXX Stout - saw this in LI and picked up a 6pk of it on a whim. Good stout, not too pricy and packs in a ton of flavor, so much so that you wouldn't believe the abv is only 4.9%
MO by Maine Brewing company. It is just such a great beer and completely blew me away first time I had it and still does.
Flying Dog's The Fear Imperial Pumpkin was a surprisingly good pumpkin ale that I tried a month or 2 ago, very reasonably priced, and the only pumpkin ale I've tried with a nice hop note in the finish. I'm not usually a fan of Sam Adams, but their Stony Brook Red was astonishingly good. A barrel-aged Flemish red at $12 a bomber...it's hard to get good sours (let alone barrel-aged ones) at that price. I went back to where I found it and picked up 2 more bottles. And finally Speedway Stout...I was blown away by that guy. Awesome coffee stout. Gives FBS a run for it's money.
Founders All Day IPA. It's everything a whale should be; well rounded and balanced, full flavored, but it's also highly sessionable, inexpensive, and widely available. I was never super excited about Founders' IPAs until this one, and was definitely my surprise beer of 2012.
Great lakes Lake Erie Monster, although I did drink the entire four pack in a sitting so this may have distorted my opinion.
Oh, almost forgot Flying Fish's Exit 16 wild rice DIPA. FF has always been a hit-or-miss brewery for me, but their latest Exit offering is terrific.
this is still one of my favorites but the cans are getting harder to come by and I think the bottles don't taste the same.
I'll toss in NEBCO's 668 Neighbor of the Beast. Really great. Would love to get my hands on some Chardonneighbor of the Beast...
4 Hands' Prussia Berlinerweiss = 3.5% and DELICIOUS Civil Life's British Bitter = 4-ish percent abv% English Bitter w/tons of traditional flavor but Centennial Hops
Nope, one bottle is just as delicious as multiples. It's fantastic on draft, too. I'm excited to see what their double IPA in the spring will look like, considering Nosferatu is essentially a red/amber DIPA and Erie Monster is already a great double IPA in its own right. And, admittedly I am a bit sad to see the Doppelrock go. That beer's like drinking liquid barley, which was surprisingly enjoyable for me as someone who really tends to be more of a hophead, when it comes to American styles. I'm not even that keen on barley, to be honest.
I'm gonna go w/ New England Brewing's: Galaxy hopped Pale ale 4.8% a.b.v. w/ a massive flavor explosion-Tasty,stuff. Cheers All......
Stillwater's Table Beer really surprised me. I had no expectations and it turned out to be the best beer that Stillwater's ever done.
A rare, hyped, and/or expensive beer. The point of this thread is to appreciate the less hyped and reasonably priced beers that we've tried that 'wowed' us.
Ha! For a second, I thought your avatar was a Tauntaun. Anyway, non-whale surprise beer for this year . . . Epic's Utah Sage Saison, Stillwater's Cellar Door, and Jack's Abby's Hoponius Union were all outstanding.
Either everyone on page 1 expected it to be good and wasn't surprised when it was or they haven't had it yet (like me)?
I got into craft around this time last year, starting with SNPA. So, this was my first full year of craft drinking. That said, I was surprised and pleased very often, though the "newness" of craft drinking is wearing off. With that said, here are some of my first year surprises : - Founder's Breakfast. I hate absolutely hate coffee. The first sip of FBS I had, I didn't like it, but I paid for it and was going to finish it. After sitting for a while, I sipped again and fell in love. This is a mainstay in my fridge and probably a top 3 overall for me. - Ithaca Flower Power. I like IPAs, but most of them taste pretty much the same to me. FP is an exception. Like orange juice with hops soaking in it or something. Probably my current favorite beer. - Hating BCBS and most sours. I have a few bottles of BCBS and Duchesse De Bourgogne that I'm not sure what to do with. Also had my first Berliner and couldn't finish it.
I didn't even know Serendipity was a thing until I did my twice-annual New Glarus run last week. And then I complained loudly because I wasn't going to be able to have my Thanksgiving Belgian Red. And then I shut right the hell up because it's the best thing that's ever happened.
No mentions of Sierra Nevada Narwhal, yet? We finally have a (fairly) inexpensive RIS that's better than Old Rasputin and almost as readily available right now? Also, Logsdon's Fresh Hop Seizon.
Perennial Abraxus- probably the best spiced stout I will ever have Founders RIS Fantome Saison Not exactly sure what qualifies as a non-whale, but those are the three beers I was most blow away with that I think aren't whales?
viven imperial IPA. real nice stuff there ! way to small and unknown brewerie, they have like maybe 4 kinds of beer i guess, are 'unfindable' due to its unknown-being, not cause they're extremely wanted or such. cheap cheap beer, but can compete with some of the best IPAs , double and imerial IPAs out there. soesnt beat heady, but price/ quality... well.. this is THE beer
Brux was something I found to be tasty but underwhelming. I am saving my second bottle because I'd really like to see what the Brett will do to it in another year or so.
Everything I've tried from Marble Brewing Co out of New Mexico. Had a generous BA send me an IPA, a red, an anniversary(I think) and a Barrel Aged Imperial Stout. All have been exceptional. The Imp Stout was the best beer I've had in a while. Over BCBS, BA Pt5, KBS, etc. Any locals can surely send me more of these brews and I'd be glad to send you MI brews.
