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Beer of the Year 2018

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Released in 2018?

VSOJ
Also regular SJ from early in the year, maybe Feb.

Aaron 2018

Was there a Juicy release in 2018, or was I late receiving and drinking it?

Second that emotion for Upright Ives B2 and Afterthought Tradition Vermouth.
damn i compel teku forgot about VSOJ, excellent excellent beer!
 
Alarmist Le Jus, because it kinda changed everyone's perception on "the hazy trend" after they won gold at GABF, and has therefore had the largest effect upon not only the consumer, but the industry as a whole. The overarching takeaway here is that Hazy, much like IPA 10 years ago, is not going away, and it's going to continue to evolve and change while also be codified into substyles...the sheer amount of hazy entries overtaking the IPA category was kinda landmark in and of itself, but specifically the winner being from Chicago takes the "NEIPA" designation and has made it as relevant as "West Coast IPA" is now: which is to say just a historical footnote as the gears of beer commerce grind forward.
 
keeping this to beers that were released for the first time in 2018 to winnow down the options. no b2's here.

pilsner: HF Poetica 2
lambic: Tilquin Pinot Gris
American wild: De Garde The Framboise
Saison/Farmhouse: HF Flora Blackberry/SARA A Thousand Summers
Barleywine: Green Bench The Obscure
Mead: Pi Vanacadamia/Sahtipaja Meadme Lost Cherry Vanilla/Pips There's a Snake in My Shews
IPA: Hill Farmstead Mosaic IPA
 
no b2's here.
HF Poetica 2

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I consider each Poetica a unique beer. Plus Poetica 1 was also released in 2018. What I actually meant was that I was trying to keep it to beers that debuted this year. So if b1 and b2 were both released this year, that would meet my made up criteria for inclusion in my personal list. I apologize that my attempt at brevity did not consider these outlier scenarios. You can be sure that I will not make any such mistakes in 2019.

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Mirage is my favorite new brewery of 2018. Yeah they had a couple releases right at the end of 2017 but they hit their stride this past year with killer hazy IPAs, pilsners/lagers and a nice limited selection of mixed fermentation bombers. Ski Mask Helles Lager was the best fizzy yellow thing I drank all year and the Groove Me IPA they just did for Full Throttle Bottles' anniversary is amazing.

Floodland just kept getting better even if the shitlords are doing their best to ruin a good thing. I love that Adam publicly outs them.

de Garde's Kriekenblosem was hands down unbelievable. Drank it alongside some Cantillon Kriek vintages and it was definitely better.
 
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I I don't tend to do a single best beer but I have been tracking a ten best the last couple of years. These are beers that I have never had before not necessarily released in 2018.
Order is date of consumption:
Modern Times: BA Monsters Parkw/ BA Maple syrup Imperial Stout
Karl Strauss: Isomerizer IPA
Saint Archer: Mosaic IPA
Alesmith: Imperial .394 DIPA
Toolbox Brewing: Grass Fed Lettuce Dry hopped AWA
Resident Brewing: Hazy Vacation Hazy IPA w/ coconut
Pizza Port: California Honey Blonde Ale
Sante Adairius Rustic Ales: Westly AWA w/ Apricots
Belching Beaver: Fall of Troy Orange Vanilla Milkshake DIPA
Lost Abbey:Veritas Kriek AWA w/ Cherries (This beer might be the single best of the year it really blew me away)
 
Cantillon Lambic d'Aunis
Logsdon Spontane Blanc
Deschutes Black Butte Cubed
Pelican MOAS (2013)
BFM Bon Chien (2008)
Pizza Port 18th Anniversary

...but I had a lot of really great beer in 2018.
i had logsden saraveza sour this year and loved it! dunno if it was released this year but that beer was fantastic!
 
SARA Nonna's 14. Haven't been drinking beer (other than local pale ales, pilsners, etc.) regularly this year but Nonna's 14 was mindblowingly good. So glad I opened it solo.
i really wish i had some bottles left of that one
 
For me in terms of stuff released in 2018 I didn't get to try that much. I'd say some of the new 2018 BA cakes or De Cam
Gooikoorts. I don't get to tick too many new beers these days.
 
2018-Released Beers
Anna, always fresh Anna
Nuit Bruxelloise (actually think I preferred to to D'Aunis and Magic).
Art b5
Black Magick (silver)
IPA I'd say Burden of Gratitude from Tired Hands

Non-2018
St. Lam '13
The Mix: Advanced Peach Cut
CD22
Blended 2017
 
Side Project Foeder Beer on cask via handpump is far and away #1
Funk Factory Geuzeria Cervino Sangiovese
Side Project Derivation - literally only one of maybe 3 high ABV dark beers I've had this year

Basically I only seek out American Wilds. Other than that I crush High Life and whatever the local nano has new, usually meh to medium meh in taste.
 

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