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Slideshow
Top 10 beers in the world press
Anchor IPA, California, USA
Evan Benn, writing in the Miami Herald, recommended the California Anchor Brewing Company’s newest addition, the Anchor IPA.
He said: “Talk about hoppy. Anchor Brewing Co.’s newest beer has seven varieties of hops, including one so new it’s called Experimental No. 431. South Florida is one of several markets to get a preview of Anchor IPA through May, when it joins Anchor’s year-round lineup nationwide.
“Anchor IPA’s orange-rind bitterness melds with the orange marmalade and cuts through the unctuousness of the jerk-rubbed foie gras at Ortanique in Coral Gables.”
Style: India pale ale, 6.5%
Magic Hat Dream Machine, Vermont, USA
Chris Morris picked Magic Hat’s recently launched Dream Machine as his beer of the week writing in New Jersey’s Star Ledger this week.
He said: “The new beer, Dream Machine, a 5.70% ABV India Pale Lager, was launched this past weekend, and will be hitting shelves near you soon. Dream Machine pours a perfectly clear, medium gold with a finger-and-a-half thick, fluffy white head. Lacing is top notch, and as I sit here typing this, the head is still a finger thick, over ten minutes after pouring it.
“Healthy carbonation helps bring the aroma out. Amarillo and Sterling dry hops add a bright, citrusy aroma with a touch of spice on top of pale malts. The body is more pronounced in the taste. A slight sweetness hits the tongue first, followed by the citrus hop notes. It finishes with a nice spicy hop finish and aftertaste. Overall, surprisingly smooth and well-balanced for a 50 IBU beer.
“The mouthfeel is pretty good as well. It’s a bit thin as the beer warms, but overall, a medium-light body with a healthy carbonation makes for a smooth, easy-going drink.
“Overall, this is an impressive beer, well worth the wait from Magic Hat. It has a great hoppiness to it that hopheads will love, without being too much, as some IPA/IPLs can be.”
Style: India Pale Lager, 5.7%
Raging Bitch IPA, Flying Dog Brewery, Maryland, USA
This IPA produced by the Flying Dog Brewery in Maryland was Megan McCaffrey’s beer of the week writing in New York’s, The Journal News, this week.
She said: “The Raging Bitch IPA from Flying Dog Brewery is sweet and malty with hints of grapefruit.
“Pair it [with] Wasabi, ginger, jerk, Cajun or cayenne. Also try a tangy cheese with fruit, or dark chocolate.
“If you like this, try: Harpoon White IPA, Harpoon Brewing Co.”
Type: Belgian-style IPA, 8.3%
Firestone Walker’s Pivo Hoppy Pils, California, USA
Jay Brooks, writing in the San Jose Mercury News, recommended the Pivo Hoppy Pils which he said was one of the best American Pilsners he had tasted.
He said: “It’s a really excellent example of a hoppy pilsner, with both German and Bohemian roots.”
He added: “If you have occasion to be in or near Paso Robles, be sure to stop by the brewery. The folks over there have a great tour available, and they’ve added a tasting room with a restaurant. There is a Firestone Walker restaurant, serving all its beers, in nearby Buellton — and later this year, the company will be opening a pilot brewery and restaurant in Venice. The food is great, actually, and the beer is at its freshest, making it a one-of-a-kind experience for beer lovers.”
Style: American Pilsner, 5.4%
33 Acres of Darkness, 33 Acres Brewing Company, Vancouver, Canada
This “superb schwarzbier” was beer pick of the week for Jan Zeschky, writing on Canada’s theprovince.com.
He said: “A superb schwarzbier that’s full of delicious subtleties. And yes, that’s a schwarz beer all right. Only some garnet-mahogany highlights betray the fact that it’s not ink. On top, a frothy, fizzy tan head fades to thick rim and patchy cap, and also laces nicely on the glass.
“On the nose there’s a lovely clean graininess with gentle roast malt to back it up – raising faint notes of chocolate – along with a faint whiff of sulphur.
The flavour profile begins with gently sweet caramel-chocolate notes that are superseded by a richer roastiness, before a delicious, almost nourishing graininess rounds things out. This fades before the beer moves into a stunning, dry mineral finish and an aftertaste featuring tantalizing notes of nutty chocolate.”
Style: Schwarzbier / Black lager, 5%
Azimuth, Hardknott Brewery, Cumbria
In the UK Michael Bates, writing for the York Press recommended the first “proper” IPA from the Hardknott brewery in Cumbria.
He said: “Pouring a golden copper with a loose, titanium white head, a refreshing, delicate aroma of crisp russet apples and quinces finishes with a nudge of apricots and nectarines. Light and dry on the palate, with an initial burst of pear sweetness, a woody, drying bitterness soon spreads across the tongue.
“There’s a touch of lemongrass and black pepper here too, playing across the blanket of pine laid down in the finish. It’s not an endurance test, it’s a delicate, complex, and ultimately drinkable take on a style that many brewers have tried, and failed, to achieve.”
Style: India pale ale, 5.8%
Green Flash Black IPA, San Diego, USA
Brandon Hernández, writing in the San Diego Reader, chose this black IPA from the Green Flash Brewing Co, based in San Diego.
He said: “With an inviting aroma that smells like taking a whiff of a pint glass filled with freshly shorn pine needles, it smells like any golden or orangey IPA. And though when it hits the tongue, a mild roast is the first thing taste buds pick up, an abundance of foresty freshness and an assertive bitterness takeover, leading to a super dry finish that leaves only pleasant resin on the back palate.
“While other black IPAs may exhibit a bit more balance between hops and dark malts, this is the most West Coast-style black IPA being produced in San Diego today — 90% hop pine and bitterness with just a faint touch of chocolate to diversify a beer I’d be happy to see available all year long.”
Style: Black IPA, 7.2%
North Coast Grand Cru, Fort Bragg Brewery, California, USA
Nick Anderson, writing on Virginia’s Arl.com, recommended this North Coast Grand Cru.
He said: “Grand Cru is a beer I feel like enthusiasts are just discovering; fermented with North Coast’s Belgian yeast (used in its La Merle Saison), Grand Cru is made with 100 percent Pilsner malts and agave nectar, and is aged in bourbon barrels because reasons. Grand Cru is unique even among high-gravity American craft beers: it has a touch of boozy heat from the barrel-aging, fruitiness from the agave, and a smooth feel thanks to the richness of its Belgian yeast and easy-going nature of the malt. Drink now, cellar, it’s all good — Grand Cru is excellent.”
Style: American strong ale, 12.5%
Innis & Gunn Smokin’ Gunn, Edinburgh, Scotland
Richard Taylor is a member of the British Guild of Beer Writers and was awarded the Brains SA Gold Award for online media at the 2013 Guild of Beer Writers’ Awards for his work writing Edinburgh’s Beer Cast. This week he recommended Innis and Gunn’s newly launched Smokin’ Gunn.
He said: “This latest project was the result of a competition – over three hundred bartenders came up with ideas for a new beer for Innis & Gunn, and the winner had their concept turned into reality at I&G’s corner of the Wellpark facility. That winner was David Ashton-Hyde – head barman at the Hind’s Head in Bray, owned by Heston Blumenthal. Maybe he bounced his idea off the bespectacled uber chef over half a Staropramen; who knows?
“It came out on top, though, a 7.4% ‘rich, robust and complex smoked beer’, inspired by David’s love of American whiskey, pancakes with maple syrup, and rainy afternoons in Glasgow. The malts were fire-smoked, the beer was then aged in bourbon barrels, and with I&G’s chip-cannon, the Oakerator, before maple syrup was added. The whole thing was aged, in total, for two and a half months.
“So, how is it? Well, if you had the word ‘sweet’ on your Innis & Gunn review bingo card, you can mark that off with your dabber. However, it’s not solely sweet – there’s an aroma of woodsmoke, campfire, toffee and stone fruit. It looks a treat too – a lovely deep caramel bronze, like the colour of a fairground toffee apple. Taste wise, there’s plenty of sweet oak, a touch of Brunswick ham, and a mid to heavy rising maple tackiness. It’s more BBQ sauce than Frazzles, but it’s good. Nothing dominates; the tickle of smoke helps with the sweetness.”
Style: Smoked, 7.4%
Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout
Will Hawkes, who won the award for writing in the UK national media at the British Guild of Beer Writer Awards 2013, highlighted this chocolate stout in his latest column for The Independent.
He said: “The name gives it away: there’s plenty of chocolate character in this complex sipper. Ages well.”
Other recommendations were for the Ska Modus Hoperandi which he said was a “superb” IPA “dominated by piney, resinous hops” and the Odell 5 Barrel Pale Ale which he described as a “lemony, zesty, golden treat.”
Style: Chocolate stout, 10%