More Top 5's From 2010

In December we reached out to some of our favorite beer folks to determine what some of their top beers of last year were. The response was quite good. Some people didn’t get their votes in until later than our deadline, and between traveling and tasting, we frankly forgot to add a few. So here are some more top five picks as well as some craft beer trends from 2010 coming from craft beer lovers whose opinion we trust.

Jeff Dense – Eastern Oregon Beer Advocate

• Founder’s Canadian Breakfast Stout, in Washington DC at the Big Hunt. A real treat, lucky to have experienced this.
• 2008 Stone Imperial Stout Bourbon Barrel Aged at Aces and Ales Lost Wages. Crazy Good.
• HOTD Little Dog (Matt). Gave new meaning to what a ‘small’ beer could taste like.
• Cascade/Raccoon Bourbonic Plague at PIB, from the lab of the Mad Scientist Extraordinaire, Ron Gansburg.
• Barley Brown’s Head Shake DIPA at Beermonger’s (Growler). Dope.

All of the above are excellent, but the Barley Brown’s Chaos (yeah, that’s right, Chaos) I had from the bright tank tonight in Baker City takes the cake.

Shane “Shizzo Dubs” Walz – Hombrewer, musician, and New Seasons employee

• North Coast- Old Rasputin (always on my list)
• Columbia River Brewing Company- Porter (had it last night, super intense roasted chocolate flavor, 7.5%, stunning)
• Cascade- Sang Noir (barrel-aged sour perfection, he’s got it down!)
• New Old Lompoc-Monster Mash (the bourbon barrel aged version was also bitchin)
• Walking Man -Jaywalker Russian Imperial Stout (at your house homey!)

I’ve got a 22 of Boundary Bay’s Old Bounder Barleywine that I expect to be tits. Can’t vote for it though, haven’t cracked it…

Geoff Phillips – owner and bartender, Bailey’s Taproom

Always a difficult task;

• One that stands out for me was Astoria’s West Coast Lager. I’m calling this thing an IPL (India Pale Lager), and is a hop trend I could get behind. An abundance of NW hops with a nice clean finish.
• I really liked the KLCC collaboration brews that came out this year. I know Hop Valley surprised me with theirs. A Belgian Rye Cascadian Dark Ale sounds like a terrible idea, but it worked for me.
• Pick any Cascade beer. Oh, fine, I’ll pick the Bailey’s Quadratic Formula, because I’m biased that way.
• Block 15 is another brewery that is becoming really difficult to choose a favorite from. The Ferme de la Ville Provision might be the one though.
• I liked most of the new 22s from Caldera, and most of the single batch series Oakshire and Upright are always putting out.

Good thing I just stuck with Oregon beers, if I added some other states, I have no idea what I would choose.

Tim Ensign – Oregon manager, Mountain Peoples Beer and Wine Distributors

• Sierra Nevada Estate Harvest Ale- After living in Chico for 9 years I became a huge fan of Sierra Nevada, especially their Fresh Hop Harvest Ale. This was the second vintage of this beer made with ALL estate grown Hops & Barley, last year’s really disappointed me with a lack of hop character but the 2010 vintage was amazing. As a small scale farmer, I think the concept of what they are doing with this beer is inspiring.
  
• Block 15 Figgy Pudding- Brewer Nick Arzner makes some amazing beers at Block 15 in Corvallis and this is just another great example. I tried this (a few times) at the Holiday Ale Fest and it is just delicious! Figgy Pudding is an English strong ale matured in brandy barrels and conditioned with figs and a touch of spice.
  
• Fort George Omegatex Imperial IPA- This brew is from Fort George, one of Oregon’s best up and coming breweries. They produce Vortex IPA one amazing beast of an IPA at 7.5abv with so much hops it’s bigger than many imperial IPA’s out there, so they decided to brew an imperial version for the Pacific NW Brewcup and they nailed it, at over 9%abv this hop monster was just delicious!
  
• Blue Frog 10th Anniversary Barrel aged Imperial Stout- This smaller brewery out of Fairfield, CA has gone under the radar of most Oregonians due to the limited quantity of beer that makes it here. We were lucky enough to grab 40 cases of this 10.5%abv monster that was aged in wine cask for 16 months. This beer has smooth layers of dark malt, is slightly sour, and oh so delicious.
  
• El Toro Awesome IPA- After El Toro made it into the Oregon market this year I have been reminded of how amazing their beers are. Brewer/Owner Geno’s Acevedo Awesome IPA is a true testament to the hop with over 4lbs per barrel and at only 6.5%abv this is one of the most flavorful best uses of hops out there. Medium bitterness with HUGE hop flavor (take that Pliny)……

Kyle Larsen – Double Mountain Brewer

Man I don’t have top 5 this year, I didn’t do shit outside of Hood River this year and the one beer event that goes on in Hood River I worked like a dog. Plus my cellar is 3+ years old and I have been drinking it down… Just had a 2006 Oaked Yeti and it was awesome, just enough oxidization for some sherry notes while still maintaining its original character. My one thought is that CDA was the beer style of the year, shit even Full Sail finally made one. It became to much of a trend for me and for better or worse. I’m now jaded towards the style, although it is mostly from the name Cascadian Dark Ale, Its a black IPA to me.

Jeff Alworth – Beervana Blog

As you probably know, I’m working my way through these already. I have a trends post up and will soon name my Satori. The long list is out, but if I had to go with five beers (without naming the best–yet), I’d say:

• Block 15 Figgy Pudding
• Cascade Noyeau
• Ninkasi Maiden the Shade
• Oakshire Well-Mannered Gnome
• Prodigal Son Bruce/Lee Porter

(But according to my poll, the top five are: Hop in the Dark, Maiden, Noyeau, Figgy, Widmer W ’10–in that order.)

Jonathan Carmean – Manager, Saraveza Bottleshop & Pasty Tavern

• Upright “Jonathan the Younger” Farmhouse… Delicious!
• Cascade “Straight Bourbonic” from the Barrel
• Block 15 “La Ferme De Demons” aged 6 extra months on Brett
• Double Mountain “Killer Green” Fresh Hop IPA
• Duvel “Tripel Hop” Belgian IIPA

Beer trends: •Gose (Cascade and Upright being very noteworthy examples)

• CDA (Yup.)
• New Breweries (The more the merrier)
• Food & Beer pairing being taken to the next level (More to offer than wine…yeah, I said it)

Matt Wiater – PortlandBeer.org

• Ferme de La Ville Provision, Block 15 — On a trip to Corvallis this summer, I happened across this beer and remember telling at least three people that day that it might be the best beer I’ve had this year.
• Beckberry, Cascade Brewing — While almost all of the Cascade Brewing beers made an impact this year, Beckberry was my favorite by a slim margin. An accidental Brettanomyces infection created a very unique beer which also included blackberries, sour cherries, barrel aging, and lactic fermentation.
• 14, Firestone Walker — Each anniversary release from Firestone Walker impresses more and more people at our annual beer tasting for both beer geeks and casual beer drinkers. By blending 6 complex beers, Firestone Walker is able to create the perfectly balanced beer.
• Deadlift, Widmer Brothers — This beer made my list simply because of the sheer quantities of empty bottles in my recycling bin. The distinctive 4 packs were always in my shopping cart with every trip to the grocery store. Big, sticky, imperial IPA.
• Jubel 2010, Deschutes Brewery — This beer wasn’t on my mind recently since it was released near the beginning of this year. Then I opened one last night. It rocketed into my top five. Dark fruit, spice, molasses, caramel, oak, dark chocolate…

In 2010, Portland saw the further diversification of the beer industry through competition. With so many breweries, many have to come up with new ideas, create new beers, and experiment with techniques and process to stay at the forefront of a scene filled with an educated beer drinking population. Unique ingredients, more barrel aging, complex blending, and different brewing methods like open fermentation are definitely starting to gain ground among the thirsty masses. The Portland beer scene is growing up and showing no signs of stagnation.

Sean Campbell – Co-founder of The BeerMongers

• Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Fritz and Ken’s Stout–My favorite of this great set of beers, yummy well carbonated stout.
• Lompoc Bourbon Barrel Aged Eight Malty Nights–On draft at The BeerMongers this beer was fantastic, I believe it was blended with new 8 Malty Nights for a subtle bourbon flavor, hints of vanilla, but not overpowering, loved it.
• Block 15 Figgy Pudding–On draft at the pub, out of the tank in the cellar at the brewery and from the bottle this beer was a revelation. So complex and boozy without being overwhelming.
• Beetje B-Side Saison–Great nano brewery, I love the story of the brewery and the beer. Mellow, tart, and refreshing I am really looking forward to more brews from Mike Wright.
• Boulevard Tank 7–This is one of my favorite breweries in the country, they are able to make great Belgian styles and “regular” beers, not many can do this (Russian River and Cascade manage it well). Tank 7 has all the complex fruity and hoppy flavors one would expect from a true Belgian beer.

As far as a trend I would say the push back against all things hoppy is a welcome development. Consumers appear more interested in more unique styles such as sour beers and barrel aged fare.

Brady Walen – The Daily Pull Blog

• Great Divide 16th Anniversary Oak Aged Double IPA
• Jolly Pumpkin Noel de Calabaza
• Upright Fatali Four
• Full Sail Colesch
• Fort George Murky Pearl

Barrel-aged beers seemed to be the trend that stood out most for me in 2010. As more brewers have started to experiment with barrel-aged beers, we’ve been introduced to a lot more variety in terms of styles, creativity, and flavor combinations – which has been great – but unfortunately also meant several barrel-aged beers that simply missed the mark. More than in years past, I think we learned that just because it’s barrel-aged, doesn’t mean it’s better.

Bill Night – It’s Pub Night Blog

Top five Oregon beer experiences this year:

• Deschutes Fresh-hopped Mirror Pond
• Ninkasi Total Crystallation
• Upright Redwood-smoked lager
• Green Dragon Chamomellow
• Hopworks Piledriver

That was a really hard list to come up with.  Lots of worthy stuff got left off.  It’s also kind of lame since only one of those is regularly available.

The beer trend that caught my eye this year was breweries labeling things as “fresh hop” beers, that had only dried hops in them.  I think Sierra Nevada started this — and ridiculously labeled Celebration “A Fresh Hop Ale” this year — but locally we saw Hopworks and Widmer do the same thing, as did Hales.  When I’ve brought the subject up with brewers who use “wet” hops in their fresh-hop brews, they are baffled that anyone would pull a stunt like that.  Hey, if you don’t like the result of using fresh hops, no one’s holding a gun to your head — don’t use them.  Just don’t pretend that a beer with no fresh hops is a fresh-hop beer.  Here are my two rants on the subject: http://www.its-pub-night.com/2010/09/attention-dried-hops-are-not-fresh-hops.html, http://www.its-pub-night.com/2010/09/fresh-hops-2010-second-report.html#fh2010.2rant .

Jim Fick – Co-owner of General Distributors

Here’s my Top 4 (only 4 I tried really stood out because I haven’t tried as many different beers as I would like).

• Deschutes The Abyss
• Ninkasi Oatmeal Stout
• Oakshire Watershed IPA
• Fish Brewing Co 10-Squared

Here’s my beer trends: “Something New” – different and/or “experimental” beers/ciders trends way up as people search out new and interesting tastes. Sub-Premiums also way up as buyers “trade down”. Rest of the market is flat or down.

Ezra Johnson-Greenough – The New School Beer Blog

2010 was a little short on revelatory beers for me, usually there is atleast one fresh hop beer that blows me away and usually an Imperial Stout as well and the Dogfish Head Bitches Brew neo Imperial Stout did make my top 5 but was not revelatory. The 2 beers that were this year are:

• Hopworks Secession Black IPA: This beer tasted exactly as a CDA should taste in my mind, the definition of what makes a CDA stand out as a west coast staple which is ironic considering Hopworks decided to rename it a Black IPA. With its uber dank pungent hopping and that fruity citrusness we have came to expect from west coast IPA’s even if it were not black it would have been the best IPA of the year and was all the more remarkable how each element of this beer worked and did not step all over each other. I dont know if it’s because they called it a Black IPA or Deschutes is just a bigger name but this was definitely the CDA of the year in my opinion.
• Cascade Glueh Kriek: I have been obsessed with beers served heated for years ever since I had my first italian one at Captain Neil’s house. I have been wanting to create a beer to be served heated forever and finally sort of did with the Wassail beer cocktail we created for Brewing up Cocktails 2 so I was delighted to see Cascade try their hand at it shortly afterward. I love beers that challenge ones perception of what a beer is supposed to be like, lots of times they dont pull it off but this one works wonders. The cherry juice, the tartness and the spice work together brilliantly and they serve the drink with an orange wedge floating in it much like we served the Wassail with a lemon star. As much as I dont like fruit in my beer this is a different animal and the slight pithy bitterness and fresh zest aroma really completes this wonderfully unique beer that may be my all time favorite winter drink from now on.
• Upright Four Play: Is it a Kriek or a Saison? I would say decidedly a saison but with the wonderful cherry and tartness of a fruit lambic that never overpowers the wonderful soft wheat and farmhouse character of the underlying beer.
• Firestone Walker Parabola: Simply one of the best barrel-aged beers and Imperial Stouts in years.
• Dogfish Head Bitches Brew: A wonderful tweak on an Imperial Stout that somehow makes itself rich and yet light and refreshing at the same time.

Best new Trend (A trend can be anything from cask beer to extreme beer to simply the marketing of beer. As long as it is beer related.)

• Cascadian Dark Ales
• Beer Cocktails
• More Sour Beers

Worst new Trend:

• Collaborations
• Calling anything dark with hops in it a CDA
• Everyone trying to make a sub-par Sour Beer
• Banning of Homebrew Competitions
• Price creep at Beer Bars and Restaurants
• High Alcohol Beer Arms Race (aka Brewdog)
• Meat Beers
• Mediocre Nano Breweries on every corner

Harry Sanger – Homebrewer, beer geek extraordinaire

• Block 15 – La Ferme de Demons
• Ninkasi – Maiden the Shade
• Sierra Nevada – Hopsichord (or the whole 30th series if you want something more accessible)
• He’Brew – Jewbilation Blend
• Cascade – Vlad the ImpALEr

Beer Trends:

Collaboration brews have been occurring left and right. I think this actually is a self-defeating trend in some ways as more people do it the excitement lessens. With that said, after brewing the Hopsichord down at Sierra Nevada I haveexperienced how beneficial a good collaboration can be. Single hop beers had a brief moment of glory and somewhat related both Sierra Nevada and Rogue put out beers brewed with “estate” ingredients (may be an up and coming trend related to sourcing locally). CDA seems to have become more popular in the region, screw the rest of the country, I think if we can continue to produce quality CDAs and call them that here then the term will stick. Sour beers and limited releases (somewhat related) are picking up steam, I long for the days of $7 Abyss (or even $10) and the only thing over $20 a bottle was Scaldis Prestige. I know you only asked for a sentence or two but one last thing that stuck out was the increase in releases of barrel aged beers that highlight the individual barrels (Full Sail’s horizontal tasting, 50/50, JW Lees, Revelation Cat, etc.).

Steve Chase – Homebrewer, beer connoisseur

• Boneyard Brewing Armored Fist
• Oakshire Watershed IPA
• Ninkasi Tricerahops
• Amnesia Copacetic IPA
• HUB Abominable (…or the Cask IPA – sorry, that’s 6)

Jim Bonomo – Portland Beer Advocate, homebrewer

• Upright Fatali Four, early 2010 version: Tart wheat meets citrusy pepper flesh, finishing with a pleasant, zippy heat. Super drinkable, flavorful, and exciting.
• Hair of the Dog Peach Fred: Benefitted from the contrast between this beer’s complex barrel & bourbon notes and sister beer Apricot Fred’s harsh vinegar tone. Peach Fred brought a fresh fruit kick that made this beer taste like a cocktail.
• Elysian Bye Bye Frost: An imperial BiFrost, this beer brought fresh, piney hops on a luxurious toasty malt canvas, echoing positive past experiences with draft Bigfoot.
• Dogfish Head Namaste: Sessionable Belgian-style witbier with beautiful citrus rind character.. all of the Dogfish skill present and none of the nonsense. Hope this makes wider Festina-like distribution for next summer.
• New England Brewing Company Ghandi-Bot: A refreshing, hop-forward, mind-blowing dry DIPA in a can. I witnessed this beer blow Sam Calagione’s palate, so you know it’s got some balls.

Last year, I noticed a CDA revolution which underwhelmed entirely. Bring back the salad days of IPA, give me a stout, and let me mix them on my own. I also liked the push towards recognizing the advantages of enjoying single-barrel versions of typically blended barrel-aged beers. Ubernerdy offerings like this appeal to the evolving palate of us aficionados, and will surely be sought out in 2011. Finally, there was the beer cocktail. I sampled, and as much as I enjoyed some flavors, I’ll keep my beer separate from my spirits going forward. That’s one trend that is surely short-lived.

Billy Broas – Billy Brew Craft Beer & Homebrewing Blog

• New Belgium La Folie
• Petrus Aged Pale
• Dry Dock Vanilla Porter
• Cigar City Jai Lai
• J.W. Lees Harvest Ale

Well, that looks like a wrap. If we missed your top 5 and top trends of 2010, we apologize. Feel free to leave it as a comment for others to see. Now, go raise a glass of great beer to 2011!

To see the rest of 2010’s Top 5 Lists, click here. To see 2009’s Top 5 Lists, click here. To see 2008’s Top 5 Lists, click here.