My Best Beers of 2012

I try not to buy into beer geek hype, but Heady Topper delivered

It's been another great year for beer. Below I've pasted in my three top new-to-me beers. A few of my top brews were old favorites  and variations, like Surly's Furious double-dry-hopped in a cask, but I let myself sit back, enjoy, and not nerd out over notes. A few more beers at the top of my 2012 list: Boom Island Hoodoo, Oude Lambiek De Cam, Firestone Wookey Jack, and Hill Farmstead Everett. What were your top beers of the year? Comment or tweet at me @mdallyn.

Heady Topper
The Alchemist
American Double / Imperial IPA | 8.00% ABV

4.47/5
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5
Picked up a couple six-packs at the cannery. I'm told they were packaged just a week ago.

I wasn't sure what to make of this beer at first, which says a lot because DIPAs aren't usually a surprising style with a lot of leeway. It's most easily described as "hop juice," not an IPA. The balance of hops is unique in that the flavor is huge, but it's never over the top, where overly-hoppy beers become perfumey messes (I'm thinking of Weyerbacher's old Hop Explosion).

The aroma has a clean and clear floral grapefruit character with an earthy, citrus seed edge—think about when you're eating an orange and you get a seed on your tongue. The flavor is intense but manageable. In addition to the vivid grapefruit and orange peel citrus, there's a vague grassiness, tropical notes, and an odd (and thoroughly unexpected) touch of barbeque sauce that fades as the beer warms.

I approached this beer as a skeptic, but it's easily one of the most complex beers I've tried, and one of the most drinkable at that. I should have bought a case.

Death & Taxes Black Beer
Moonlight Brewing Company
Euro Dark Lager | 5.00% ABV

4.38/5
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Had this a couple times on tap on a recent trip to San Francisco. I'm always a fan of the style, seeking out new (at least to me) examples, and this is the best I've had. It has the agreeable drinkability of your standard dark lager or schwarzbier, but the depth of a great Baltic porter. There were fruity, cherry tones at times, and then dry toffee and cocoa with an interesting cola edge. I'm so impressed by how many, clean distinct (and delicious) dark malt flavors are crammed into this lager. Go find this beer. You need it.

Monk's Mistress 
Midnight Sun Brewing Co.
Belgian Strong Dark Ale | 11.50% ABV

4.38/5
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Picked up a bomber for $12 at City Beer in San Francisco. In hindsight, I wish I'd picked up a second bottle. The beer open with a big spicy Belgian character that reminded me of Gouden Carolus Cuvee Van De Keizer (that's a big compliment). From there, the beer fades into subtle fruit and soft brown bready malts with a little toffee. What really sets this Belgian ale off, and sets it apart, are the clean, intermittent notes of chocolate that pop up. It's little touches like that that elevate this beer above other fine examples of the style. The body feels like a 8%-9% ABV beer, so watch yourself. It's delicious, just don't get too carried away. And make sure to buy a second bomber.