So, as I was sipping a growler from a local brew pub last night (The Yak & Yeti, awesome Indian/Nepalese food and home-brewed beer) I thought of something a little striking.
I have had a massive plethora of different beers this year. So, I thought I'd try to list them all. Now, I'm not including the varieties at the GABF because well... that's the point of the GABF. Further, GABF serves very small portions, which means the beer doesn't have time to settle on the palate over the course of say, a pint or two, and since you're drinking so many different beers, your palate tends to get corrupted. Yes, corrupted. Even after water.
So here's the list of what I drank, by brewery, in 2010. If there are no notes to follow, it's because it just wasn't worth much memory.
Abbey Brewing Oregon, US - A division of Port
Angel's Share - Burbon Aged Stout
Gift of the Magi - Oak Aged Golden Ale
Serpent Stout - Imperial Stout
Odell Brewing Company Ft. Collins, CO - 1 block from New Belgium!
IPA (on and off Nitrogen) - Self Explanatory
Red - Seasonal Dry Hopped Red
90 Shilling - Dry Hopped Scottish Style Ale
St. Lupulin - Extra Pale Ale
Easy Street Wheat - Hefeweizen
Town Pump Pail - The epitome of good shitty beer. It's some unknown variety of Ale.
Mountain Standard Reserve 2009 - "Deep Mahogany Ale"
Mountain Standard Double Black IPA 2010 - Darkly Malted IPA
India Barley Wine - Dry Hopped IPA style Barley Wine
Deconstruction Ale - 44% Golden Ale, 33% Oak Aged, 20% Burbon Barrel Aged, 3% Wine Barrel Aged
Woodcut No. 4 - Aged Double Marzen Lager
Hop Secret 393 - Scotch Ale brewed with a special breed of Hop that develops a maple taste as it warms.
Double Pilsner
New Belgium Ft. Collins, CO
Fat Tire - Classic Amber
Sunshine Wheat - Hefeweizen with Orange Peel and Coriander
Le Fleur Misseur - A Dry Hopped Golden wild fermented with Brettanomyces.
Sahti - A rye ale with Juniper
Biere De Mars - Barley, Oat and wheat malted pale ale, with lemon and again fermented with Brettanomyces.
Mighty Arrow - A Pale Ale with Honey
2 Below - Dry Hopped Amber (As a personal note, this beer is what fat tire was supposed to be.)
Hoptober - Golden Ale with 5 different hop varieties.
1554 - A Classic Belgian Black Ale
Ranger IPA - New Belgium's foray into the IPA sporting 3 World Class Colorado hop varieties; Simcoe, Cascade and Chinook hops.
Belgo IPA - A belgian take on the IPA, dry hopped then fermented with a Trappist yeast strain.
Rogue Oregon, US
Imperial IPA - Name says it all, a well aged IPA.
(I didn't like rogue much, if you didn't notice.)
Port Brewing Oregon, US
Anniversary Ale - Dry Hopped Imperial IPA
High Tide IPA - Fresh Hop IPA
Hop 15 - Carmel malted Double IPA
Avery Boulder, CO
duganA IPA - Colorado Hopped seasonal IPA
Joe's Pilsner - A classic pils brewed craft style
Stone Brewing - Escondido, CA
IPA - A dry hopped (chinook and target I believe) IPA
Pale Ale - A richly malted pale ale, of deep amber color.
Levitation Amber - A lighter take on the pale ale.
14th Anniversary Emperial IPA - Stone's dry hopped take on the imperial IPA.
Cali-Belgique IPA - A Belgian take on the IPA, fermented with Brettanomyces.
Ruination IPA - Carrying a record setting and immeasurable IBU levels thought in excess of 120+ IBU's. They really just don't know though. It's my favorite beer.
The Bastards:
Arrogant Bastard - The argued pinnacle of an even combination of hoppiness and maltiness.
Oak Aged Arrogant Bastard - AB... on oak.
Double Bastard - An "imperial" version of the Oak Aged Arrogant.
Lukcy Basartd - A culmination of the three previous bastards, mixed.
Vertical Epic(s): This year I drank the 090909 and 101010 - Having missed the 090909 last year. 09 was a stout of sorts, 10 was a golden ale brewed with three different GRAPE varieties (yes, grapes.)
The Sublimely Self-Rightous Pale Ale: A heavily hopped take on Arrogant Bastard.
Mikkeller Denmark, EU
Story: Mikkeller is a Danish brewing company, that ran a line of beers I followed directly. They released a series of IPA's that were American style IPA's brewed with a single hop variety. I was able to track down...
Simcoe
Cascade
Warrior
Tomahawk
Nelson Sauvin
I unfortunately could not find the Amarillo single hop.
Regardless, these five beers expanded my understanding of hops exponentially.
Russian River Oregon, US
Pliny the Elder - This may be the worlds greatest IPA to date. A multi-hop DIPA produced in small batches by RR. If you can get it, buy it, resell it on your local Craigslist at 100% mark up... or more. A local bar here in Denver occasionally has it on tap when they release a keg or two.
Two Brothers Brewing Warrenville, IL
Heavy Handed IPA - A seasonal release. Interestingly enough, I remember drinking the beer, but don't have a solid recollection of it's characteristics. Chicago was a busy time with many beers.
Cane & Ebel - This I DO remember, very distinctly. A dry hopped red ale, malted with rye and a touch of Thai cane sugar. This beer floored me. A slight creamy sweetness to offset the bitter of the dry hopping process. Quite possibly the best red I've ever had.
Hop Juice - An Imperial/Double IPA (Same thing I stick with what the brewer labelled) that carried distinct pine and citrus characteristics (likely from a combination of Cascade (or Citra) and Chinook Hops) and carmel malts.
Left Hand Brewing Longmont, CO
Polestar Pilsner - A very complex craft take on the typical Pilsner Lager. It's been a while since I've had it, I can't comment much on it's flavor.
Warrior IPA - A single-hop seasonal from Left Hand using only warrior hops, giving it a very unique citrus characteristic (almost that of a lime, compared to the grapefruit character in Cascade hops.) Carmelized malts are used to soften balance the bitter from high alpha hop varieties.
Milk Stout (on and off Nitrogen) - I'm not much of a stout guy, but the name comes from the use of natural sugars in milk in conjunction with darkly roasted malts. One of the better stouts in the world.
Great Divide Brewing Denver, CO
Titan IPA - A more piney IPA, very similar to the ranger, with a slightly darker malt, and no Cascade hops.
Fresh Hop Pale - This is a very "woody" beer. The hop variety has distinct pine characteristics, and the malt imparts a wooded flavor. A typical result of a fresh hop beer, but the standard by which all other fresh hops should be judged.
Samurai Rice Ale - An awesome session ale that imparts a slightly sweet rice character. Nice and light.
Hades Belgian Style Ale
Hoss Rye Lager
Hibernation Ale (Seasonal)
Hercules Double IPA
Rumble - Oak Aged IPA
Goose Island Chicago, IL
Matilda
312 - A solid Hefe.
Up Slope Brewing Boulder, CO
IPA
Pale Ale
Maui Brewing Hawaii, US
Big Swell IPA
Golden City Brewing Golden, CO
Evolution IPA - This is a genuine IPA. I mean GENUINE. The beer is nearly flat when it's opened, which is how traditional IPAs were served after a having sat on a boat during the trip from England to India. - It carries distinct Cascade and Simcoe Characteristics, which has a very fruity citrus character. Sad shame it's only available within about 1 mile of my house.
Clear Creek Pale Ale - A pale with a distinctly taste of grain - Clear and crisp for a pale.
The Legendary Red Ale - For those who don't know, GCB is the second largest brewery in Golden CO. Formerly owned in part by my old college Japanese professor, I first had this beer at Metro State in our Japanese class. I revisit it a few times a year. An all around good Red.
Elysian Brewing Washington, US
I just discovered these folks, who are now being bottled by their partner, New Belgium.
Jasmine IPA - I've said this is the best 4 dollar bomber you can buy. I'll stick to it. The character is that of a beer I'd expect to spend 12 or 13 bucks for. The Jasmine tends to sweeten the IPA, and in conjunction with a variety of hops I'm not entirely familiar with, the beer has the bitter freshness of an IPA, with a finish similar to a white wine without the sweetness.
Immortal IPA - After the Jasmine, it's hard to make this noteworthy.
BiFrost Winter Seasonal - A very unique take on a winter ale. Of note: It's color is similar to a hefeweizen, instead of a the more typical amber or darker ales. A light malt combined with earthy (likely Noble) hops make this a very unique winter seasonal. Worth a drink.
Meantime UK, EU
Meantime IPA
Bridgeport Bridgeport, OR
Hop Czar Imperial IPA
The Bridgeport IPA - A bottle conditioned IPA with a distinct pine flavor that finishes with a spicy taste similar to pepper. Sounds bad, it's very good. The spice likely imparted by the yeast left in the bottle for conditioning. Drink a Ruination first, and follow it with one of these.
Ska Brewing - Durango, CO
Nefarious Ten Pin Porter
Modus Hoperandi
Hoperation Ivy
True Blonde
Green Flash Brewing
The Greenflash IPA
Dogfish Head Brewing
60
90
120 Minute IPAs
Personal Note: Dogfish Beers are kinda like buying an expensive wine just because it's expensive. You may not like it. Hell, it might not even taste good, but it's expensive, so there's some sort of social "oh my gosh that MUST be good" aspect to it. I wasn't impressed with ANY of their IPA's, and many of their other beers, such as Jiahu or Pangaea are eastern-style beers. What I mean is that these beers aren't hopped, but rather flavored with fruits or herbs (such as the Jiahu.) While still legitimate beer, traditionally we think of beer as Barley, Yeast, Hops. If it wasn't blatantly obvious, I love hops. Ergo, I don't like Dogfish. /endrant
Lagunitas Brewing CA, US
Hop Stoopid
Deschutes Brewing Portland, OR
Hop Trip Fresh Hop IPA
Hop Henge IPA
Twilight Summer Ale
Inversion IPA
Obsidian Stout
Anderson Valley Anderson Valley, CA
Hop Ottin' IPA
Imperial IPA
Bear Republic CA, US
Racer 5 IPA
Kona Brewing Company HI, US
Longboard Lager
Fire Rock Pale Ale
Wailua Wheat
Ommegang Brewing
Hennepin - A spiced saison
Rare Vos
Redhook
Long Hammer IPA
Redhook Lager
Breckenridge Brewing Company Denver, CO
Remarkable Vanilla Porter
Lucky U IPA
Small Batch IPA
Misc:
McNair / Ballast Point / Stone Collaboration Session Ale
Moylan's Hopsickle DIPA
The Brewpub Section - Not officially bottled or sold outside the tap house.
The Yak & Yeti Arvada, CO
Himalayan IPA - GABF Winner. It's good but... I'm not sure who judges those things.
Namaste Pilsner - Probably the most noteworthy. A near hefeweizen taste, and coloration close to a Witbier
The Rock Bottom Brewery Denver, CO and other states
Falcon IPA - Traditional Standby, also had on the cask.
16th Street Wheat
Red Rocks Red
American Dream IPA
A Saison I can't remember the name of.
Blitzen Old Ale
Hop Bomb DIPA
Dry Dock Brewing Co Note: I put them here, because their beer is only sold in two places in Colorado. Aurora, CO
Paragon Apricot Blonde - An interesting thing, to fruit an otherwise ultra light beer.
USS Enterprise IPA - Pales in comparison to their DIPA
U-Boat Hefeweizen
Urca Vanilla Porter - I enjoy a vanilla porter every now and then.
Breakwater Pale Ale
HMS Bounty Old Ale
Seven Seas Double IPA - Up there along with Pliny, Ruination and a few others for a favorite IPA/DIPA. Clear use of simcoe and citra hops, and tastes almost like they used fresh hops, as it finishes with a very grainy/woody taste.
The Mahogany Ridge - Epic little brewpub in Steamboat Springs. Great food as well. Steamboat Springs, CO
Rodeo Rye
Lil' Lyddie's IPA
Alpenglow
The Wynkoop Denver, CO
Mile HIPA
Silverback Pale Ale
The Steamworks - Like Dry Dock - Here because they're not very well distributed. Durango, CO
The Conductor IPA - Another fruity IPA... small brewers love Simcoe hops, also very citrusy - Cascades or Citras. Very similar to Odell's IPA.
Spruce Goose - A beer brewed with spruce! Very unique, only worth a beer or two.
Third Eye PA - Their standard IPA
Carver Brewing Company Durango, CO
Cascade Canyon Cask IPA
Jack Rabbit Pale Ale
Well I think that's it. I'm actually pretty sure that's only the last six months of 2010, but I'm not sure that I can remember what came before. At any rate, the count is about 133 (123, if I miscounted) different beers this year. Now to wonder if I'm an alcoholic, or just a beer snob. Perhaps this is the first step - Admitting what you've done... or a matter of pride. I'm not really sure, I'm just amazed that I've had over 120 varieties of beer in one year. Colorado Rules.
