My Favorite New England Beers of 2013

When I moved to New England a few years ago, I was sad to leave my favorite craft breweries of the Southeast behind, worried that my palate would be forever homesick. Today, I find myself equally anguished trying to narrow down a very long list of my favorite New England brews to a list of just three. After great deliberation and a couple Heady Toppers, here are three beers that helped make me and my taste buds feel right at home this year.

Double Dose IPA – Collaboration: Lawson’s Finest Liquids & Otter Creek Brewing

In years to come, when I think of New England craft beer and 2013, this will be my first thought. With Otter Creek’s release of Kind Ryed IPA this year combined with Lawson’s Finest Double Sunshine still holding the #1 position on my list of favorite beers of all time, this was an easy choice for my top three. This beer was a true New England collaborative effort beyond just the hops, grains, and yeast right down to the water. The yeast was a blend of both breweries’ house ale yeast, the hops were grown by The University of Vermont along with a handful of local hops growers, and the grains were malted by Valley Malt in Hadley, MA. The most interesting part of this collaboration, however, has to be the water, which was a blend of Otter Creek’s supply in Middlebury, VT and Sean Lawson’s well water that was trucked over to the Otter Creek brewery from his home down the road in Warren, VT. Sean’s wife wasn’t happy with the two days they had to go without water after the tanker pulled away and from what I hear, may have forbidden such activities in the future. Let’s hope they figure it out so we can all enjoy this wonderful beer again someday.

2013 Ale – Collaboration: Maine Beer Company, Allagash Brewing Company, and In’finiti Fermentation and Distillation

This “Hoppy Belgo-American Pale Ale” struck all the right nerves with me from the very first sip. Anyone who knows me well and has spent any time sampling beers with me knows that my two favorite styles of beer are American IPAs and Belgium Farmhouse ales. This head-on flavor collision of those two styles was perfectly executed by three of my favorite New England breweries and again, was an easy choice for my top three.

Vinland Two – Mystic Brewery

Here’s where things get interesting, as this beer is the result of some serious bootleg biology. The yeast used in this GABF gold medal-winning farmhouse ale was obtained from lowbush blueberries in the town of Norridgewock, ME. Just like the very first farmhouse ales that were open fermented in, well, farmhouses in Belgium, Mystic relies heavily on the flavors created by regionally indigenous yeast strains. The fermentable flavors of this particular yeast, which is very dominate in this beer, transport you directly to the blueberry fields from which it was obtained and when it’s gone, you’re sad to leave.