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I had a lot of good craft beer in 2013. A lot. Maybe more than you. But probably not, to be honest. But I did move from Los Angeles to Seattle halfway through the year, which certainly upped my average beer consumption compared to years past. So how do you possibly choose just three to highlight out of so many incredible brews? If you’re me, you choose three that came out of nowhere and smacked you upside the head with that first glorious taste. I just love it when a beer surprises me, and each of these three had something truly unexpected to offer that captured my imagination.
Dark o’ the Moon – Elysian Brewing Company
(Not THAT Dark of the Moon.) Elysian’s Dark o’ the Moon is certainly not news to Seattle craft beer drinkers, but it sure was new to me when I tried it at the Tacoma Craft Beer Festival in August. Elysian is an institution in the Seattle craft beer market, with three popular pub locations and a dominant presence on tap as well as in bottle shops and big grocery chains, and yet this particular beer has somehow escaped my attention all this time. One tiny taster of this daring seasonal is enough to get you doubletriplequadruple taking. Packed with enough cinnamon to start a fire (or as I lovingly described it at the time, “a cinnamon sandwich”), this not overly sweet pumpkin stout is just one of a slew of Elysian seasonals that get it Just. Damn. Right.
Bourbon Barrel Dark Star (Kentucky Dark Star) – Fremont Brewing Company
Fremont Brewing Company is literally spitting distance from where I live (that is, if you can spit, like, two blocks). The Mister and I make the short walk to their busy little neighborhood tasting garden often and have come to know their regular tap list well, including their standard Dark Star Oatmeal Stout – which is a darn fine beer itself. Throw it in a bourbon barrel and leave it to its own mysterious devices, though, and it becomes something miraculous. Smooth, smoky, and perfectly sweet, this extremely limited Bourbon Barrel Dark Star bottle release is worth every penny and more. In my opinion, it is the darling of their entire repertoire and was a big favorite of mine in 2013.
Fresh Hop Mosaic Belgian Wheat – Pfriem Family Brewers
Lest you think all three of these would be fancy seasonal stouts, rounding out my top picks from 2013 is this Fresh Hop Mosaic Belgian Wheat out of Hood River, Oregon by craft beer newcomer Pfriem. Yes, I strayed from the Great State of Washington for this one, because it just packed a heckuva punch that deserves a reverent nod. This is a strange beer that hit hard upfront and didn’t convince me until about halfway through that it was truly one of the most interesting and complex brews I’ve experienced. Instant taste bud whiplash ensued after the first sip, as I tried to take in the cavalcade of funky, musty, bread-and-citrus flavors attacking my senses. It was honestly a little weird for my taste… at first. But this little charmer eventually captured my olfactory senses and lingered in my mind long after the last golden suds were lovingly drained from the glass. For days after having this beer, I craved it again and again. Can’t say that’s ever happened to me before. And I sure hope it happens again in 2014.
