Top 5 Reasons I don’t listen to John Wurth’s rules when making top 5 lists.

Everyone loves lists right!?!?

Local face-for-radio personality, John Wurth, asked me to produce a list of my five favorite local beers of 2013.  I could do this, but I also wanted to produce a list of my top 5 favorite beers of the year which weren’t local.  As I got to writing down some memorable beers, checking out some of my Facebook mobile uploads, and doing my best to think back to January 2012, I came up with too many damn beers.  Hello, my name is John (Hi, John)…and I like craft beer from everywhere.

For me, it’s impossible to narrow down my top five beers of 2013 because I don’t use Untappd! and I don’t write things down in a nerdy little notebook, therefore I can’t recall everything.  So below is a half-ass list of the things I can remember or technology has told me I consumed.

Note: I did not include any LOCAL beers because they are on another post. Carry on.

Note Deuce:  These are just my thoughts from the beers I’ve tried.  My article, my opinions. ::sticks tongue out::

Top 5 Beers of 2013 that were new to me

1. Funky Buddha No Crusts– You lust for what you cannot have.  Thanks to the Great American Beer Festival, I was able to have my fair share of this peanut butter and jelly flavored beer.  Amazeballs.  The group I was with loved it.  Julio speaks the truth.  Thank you Sharon, Lois, and Bram for the Damn Peanut Butter song being stuck in my head.
2. Westbrook Mexican Cake– Enjoyed at a Bluegrass Beer Geeks tasting awhile back.  The perfect mix of cinnamon and vanilla with a bit of kick at the end.  So many flavors it becomes a beer experience you must enjoy with amigos.  Need more please. Paging Scott S.
3. Wicked Weed Beet IPA- My New Holland buddy brought this up from a Asheville trip.  Bright red in color with a fragrance of beets.  The hops are subtle in this IPA, but it’s a clean and crisp beer.  I peed red for days.
4. 3 Floyds Permanent Funeral– 3 Floyds excels at yet another Imperial IPA after giving us Dreadnaught and Arctic Panzer Wolf. Looking forward to an ATG knockoff named Perfumed Flatulence.
5. Cascade Vlad the Imp Aler– A blend of oak barrel-aged sour blonde quadrupel, sour bourbon barrel tripel, and sour strong spiced blonde. Wild yeast was added during the barrel aging.  Drank this beer while attempting to brew something similar.  Results have yet to be proven but this beer was amazing.

Top 5 IPAs of 2013

1. Alpine Duet– This American IPA lives up to its West Coast hype.  Like drinking a hop-heavy fruit juice box.
2. Hill Farmstead Susan–  Arrived at Hill Farmstead at 12:30.  Due to the line, left at 2:30.  Well worth the wait to try this and many other offerings from the acclaimed Shaun Hill.  Another American IPA. USA 2: AUSSIES: 0.
3. Lawsons Kiwi Double IPA– Another beer from my Vermont trip where I actually ran into Mr. Lawson himself in the basebox.  Lawson, who gained fame for his Double Sunshine IPA, crammed New Zealand hops into this DIPA. Damnit. USA 2 AUSSIES 1
4. Schlafly Tasmanian IPA- Damn you Scott Shreffler and bringing this magical goodness wherever you go.  This beer should rank higher really.  The cask at the Highlands Beerfest was amazing.  It’s tied. USA 2 AUSSIES 2.
5. Alchemist Heady Topper- Drink from the can, but don’t try to buy the cans from the Cannery anymore.  Although some geeks call it overrated, I’ve always been a huge fan.  Wait a second….USA 3 AUSSIES 2 with two coming out of Vermont.  If it wasn’t so damn cold and snowy there, I’d say Vermont wins.

Top 5  Barrel Aged Beers

1. Cigar City California Brandy Barrel Aged Hunahpu Imperial Stout- Long name, amazing results.  Another beer shared at the Bluegrass Beergeeks tasting thanks to Joel.  A creamy stout with a hint of cocoa, coffee, and cinnamon engulfed in a brandy barrel flavor.  I’ve never drank brandy before  but this beer makes me want to appear sophisticated.
2. Crooked Stave Bourbon Barrel Cherry Origins- CS excels at saisons and sours and this dark sour is no exception.  Acquired through an in-person trade while I was at GABF and it somehow made it safely back to Kentucky.  Sour cherries and oak resonate in the mouth while sour sits on the tongue.
3. Dark Horse Bourbon Barrel Plead the Fifth-^{What the heck font! Why are you doing this. Damnit…I don’t care about fixing this either.  I’ll be honest and say I am not a big fan of Dark Horse besides their stout series.  I haven’t been really impressed yet.  They knock it out of the park here.  I say age it.}
4. Bells Black Note- Although it was a 2012, I didn’t get to drink it until 2013, so it still counts for this year.  A tough to come by beer here in Louisville, this barrel aged stout is one to keep the whole year round.  It does very well with age, but is also best fresh at the Holy Grale.
5. Bruery Mash and Grind– A bourbon barrel aged barleywine with coffee.  Thank you for combining my three favorite things in the world!  Usually the Bruery is too over-the-top for me but this beer was a surprising take on a BA barleywine that I’ve never seen.
   

Top 5 with some age on them

       1. Lou Pepe Framboise 2008- I supposedly drank this.

2. Founders Nemesis 2009– A killer extra from a trade.  Nemesis sticky and sweet. Nom nom nom.

3. Firestone Walker Abacus 2011– Two years age on a barleywine is the best

4. Deschuttes Abyss 2008– Chocolate Milkshake. The Beetus.

5. 3 Floyds Behemoth 2011– As thick and sweet as the lady on the bottle. Well played.

Top 5 non-LOCAL beers but are Kentucky or Indiana made minus 3Floyds.  No comments necessary, which means go ahead and go try them and make your own damn comments!

1. Bloomington Brewing Company 10-Speed- Hoppy Wheat
2. Country Boy Brewing Cliff Jumper-IPA
3. Daredevil Liftoff-IPA
4. Flat 12 Half Cycle- IPA
5. West 6th IPA

I’m tired of writing. Cheers!