To quote My Morning Jacket, “The weeks go by like days.” It’s hard to believe but we’re about to turn the page on yet another year. While it feels like 2023 just began, we are only a few weeks away from the start of 2024.
If you’re anything like us, you’ve likely sipped a few brews over the past 365 days. Underrated beers, Desert Island beers, session beers — the whole gamut. With more than 9,000 breweries operating in the US alone, there were a lot of beers released this year. Hopefully, you had fun chasing them down, we certainly did.
Today, we’re winnowing the monster list of brews we tested down to 50. Fifty sour ales, IPAs, pilsners, imperial stouts, barleywines, and everything in between. The list is a mix of brand-new releases, seasonal favorites, and annual bangers. Not only that, but we also ranked them based on balance, flavor, and overall drinkability. Ready to dive in? Let’s gooo!
50) KC Bier Light
ABV: 3.5%
Average Price: $11 for a six-pack
The Beer:
With a name like KC Bier Light, you should have a pretty good idea of what this beer is. This light, German-style pilsner from KC Bier Company is made with 100% malt (not corn or rice like some light beers) and hops. It’s only 3.5% ABV and crushable.
Tasting Notes:
Even as a light beer, the nose was surprisingly fragrant with aromas of cereal grains, caramel malts, and grassy, floral hops. The palate is a mix of cereal grains, honey, citrus, hay, and grassy, floral, lightly bitter hops. It’s crisp and highly crushable.
Bottom Line:
Instead of opting for one of the giant macro-brews when you want a light beer, grab one of these surprisingly refreshing, highly crushable pilsners.
49) Boulevard Dank 7
ABV: 7%
Average Price: $16 for a six-pack
The Beer:
If you’re a fan of Belgian-style Saisons, you’ve probably enjoyed Boulevard’s Tank 7 at least once or twice. Well, this is the Kansas City-based brewery’s take on its popular brew. But instead of a Saison, this is a Belgian-style IPA brewed with seven different hop varieties.
Tasting Notes:
The most intriguing thing about this IPA is the fact that due to its Belgian flavor profile, it begins with a nose more reminiscent of a farmhouse ale or Saison. There are citrus peels, bananas, fruit, and light spices. There are also floral, grassy hops to remind you that it’s an IPA. There’s not much malt flavor on the palate, but it’s compensated with a ton of lemon peel, tangerine, spices, and grassy, floral, lightly bitter hops.
Bottom Line:
Not only is this a unique IPA that needs to be tasted to be believed, but it’s also a well-made, balanced, flavorful IPA perfect for fans of Belgian-style beers.
48) Pure Forgotten Brilliance
ABV: 12.3%
Average Price: $15 for a 500ml bottle
The Beer:
San Diego’s Pure Brewing Project might be most well-known for its award-winning IPAs, but the brewery is also producing myriad other memorable brews. This includes Forgotten Brilliance. This 12.3% ABV barleywine is brewed with Maris Otter and English Crystal malts. It’s more than just a warming barleywine though. It gets its bold, bright hop presence from the addition of Cascade and Strata hops, making for a unique, memorable beer.
Tasting Notes:
On the nose, you’ll find scents of dried fruits, almond cookies, candied orange peels, a nutty flavor, and sweet caramel. The palate continues this trend with a ton of candied orange peel, almond paste, honey, peppery rye, and a nice kick of floral, grassy, earthy hops at the end. The finish is a nice mix of caramel sweetness and hop bitterness.
Bottom Line:
This is a must-try barleywine. It has the warming, caramel, and dried fruit flavors you might expect from the style. But it’s also a bold, American take on the style with a healthy dose of hops.
47) Deschutes Tropical Fresh IPA
ABV: 6.5%
Average Price: $12 for a six-pack
The Beer:
The folks at Deschutes named this new year-round beer Tropical Fresh IPA because they wanted every drinker to know that one sip of this beer would transport them to a tropical paradise. They did this by brewing it with 2-row pale malt, unmalted wheat, and Mosaic, Simcoe, Strata, and Experimental 586 hops.
Tasting Notes:
Unsurprisingly, this beer begins with a ton of mango, caramelized pineapple, passionfruit, guava, tangerine, grapefruit, bready malt, and light pine notes. Drinking it only adds to the tropical getaway with notes of orange peels, grapefruit, pineapple, peach, mango, bready, caramel malts, and a gentle kiss of hop bitterness at the finish.
Bottom Line:
This is an extremely aptly named beer. It’s like a tropical vacation in a pint glass. The kind of beer you’ll want to drink all year long, no matter the weather outside.
46) New Belgium Oak Spire (2023)
ABV: 9%
Average Price: $17 for a six-pack
The Beer:
While many breweries lean into stouts when it comes to barrel-aging, New Belgium instead opted to mature an amber ale. New Belgium first launched Oakspire back in 2018. In 2022, it teamed up with Four Roses to age this malty ale that’s brewed with ale yeast, Pale, Munich, and Caramel 80 malts, as well as rye and roasted barley. It gets its hop presence from the use of Nugget and Sabro hops.
Tasting Notes:
It begins with a complex nose of raisins, candied fruits, vanilla beans, honey, toffee, and a nice kick of sweet bourbon. The palate only adds to this with dried cherries, more honey, vanilla beans, sticky toffee, fog, and more warming bourbon. The finish is sweet, warming, and leaves you craving more.
Bottom Line:
New Belgium Oakspire is a nice fruity, sweet respite from the world of dark, malty, chocolate and coffee-filled barrel-aged beers.
45) Idle Hands Smokin’ Peaches
ABV: 5.1%
Average Price: Limited Availability
The Beer:
If you’ve never had a grisette, it’s best described as a mix of a farmhouse ale and a gose. It’s earthy, tart, and low in alcohol. Idle Hands’ version is made with more than fifty pounds of locally sourced and smoked peaches as well as peach puree. The result is a sweet, tart, lightly smoky, dessert-like beer.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is surprisingly smoky and loaded with ripe peach and other fruity aromas. The palate is a nice mix of sweet, ripe peaches, honey, and lightly tart, refreshing flavors. The finish is sweet, lightly acidic, and filled with gentle smoke. Sweet, smoky, and highly memorable.
Bottom Line:
This is a very unique beer. It’s sweet, filled with peach flavor, light fruity tart flavor, and a gentle kiss of smoke. It’s not something you’ll try every day.
44) SKA Double Modus
ABV: 9%
Average Price: $14 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans
The Beer:
SKA Modus Hoperandi is the Durango, Colorado-based brewery’s flagship beer. It’s a classic piney, floral, citrus-filled IPA. It’s balanced, bitter, and flavorful. It couldn’t get better than that, right? Well, recently, the brewery released a double IPA version with more hops, flavor, aroma, and ABV than the original.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is loaded with dank pine needles, candied orange peels, caramel malts, honeydew melon, grapefruit, and pineapple. On the palate, you’ll find notes of juicy grapefruit, tangerine, lemongrass, bready malts, caramel, and floral, dank, piney hops. The finish is pleasantly bitter.
Bottom Line:
If you enjoy West Coast IPAs, especially double IPAs, you’ll love the dank, resinous pine, and citrus of this very special beer.
43) Allagash Cur-8
ABV: 6.5%
Average Price: $16 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans
The Beer:
Allagash is most known for its award-winning Allagash White. But if you limit yourself simply to this beer, you’re yourself a disservice. One of its best new beers from 2023 is Allagash Cur-8. This blend of a pilsner and barrel-aged tripel It’s a collaboration between Allagash and Crowns & hops.
Tasting Notes:
An interesting and memorable nose of fruity yeast, oak, vanilla, lemon, honey, and floral hops starts things off on a great footing. The palate is a nice mix of ney, citrus, fruity, crisp pilsner, an,d caramel, yeasty, fruity, and oaky tripel. It’s sweet, malty, fruity, and surprisingly refreshing.
Bottom Line:
The beer might seem strange, but it’s great. The two different beer styles meld together seamlessly to make a great, flavorful beer.
42) Rogue Dead Guy Pale Ale
ABV: 5.5%
Average Price: $21 for a 12-pack
The Beer:
When it comes to American-made Maibock beers there are few more well-known than the iconic, skeleton-adorned Rogue Dead Guy Ale. But did you know that this year the brand launched a whole line of Rogue Dead Guy beers, including an epic pale ale? Brewed with El Dorado and Sabro hops, it’s a fruity, citrus-filled pale ale that belongs in your fridge.
Tasting Notes:
Take a moment to breathe in the aromas of ripe pineapple, tangerine, lemon, grass, honeydew melon, and a nice kick of floral, earthy, herbal pine. The palate continues this trend with flavors like orange peels, lemongrass, caramel malts, peach, grapefruit, pineapple, and a nice kick of bitter pine at the finish.
Bottom Line:
Sometimes pale ales can lean a little too heavily into piney hops. Rogue’s new pale ale isn’t like that. It has a great balance between citrus, malt, and piney aromas and flavors.
41) Brooklyn Fonio Rising
ABV: 6.4%
Average Price: Limited Availability
The Beer:
On top of being brewed with Hallertau, Perle, and Saaz hops, this double pilsner is brewed with fonio. Often referred to as the “seed of the universe”, fonio is a super grain that’s been grown in West Africa for more than 5,000 years. Using it in a pilsner gives the beer crisp, tropical fruit flavors and aromas.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is loaded with floral hops, bready malts, honey, and a nutty sweetness. The palate is surprisingly creamy for a pilsner. It’s sweet, easy to drink, filled with citrus peels, candied nuts, and caramel malts. The finish is crisp, sweet, and memorable.
Bottom Line:
Crack one of these open and you’ll be confused by the “double pilsner” labeling. It’s creamy, sweet, and refreshing, but not a traditional pilsner.
40) AleSmith Speedway Stout Affogato Edition
ABV: 12%
Average Price: $16 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans
The Beer:
If you’re a fan of Imperial Stouts, there’s a good chance you’ve enjoyed your fair share of Alemsith Speedway Stouts. Recently, the San Diego-based brewery launched an Affogato Edition of the beloved stout. This version gets its name because it was brewed with espresso beans and Tahitian vanilla beans.
Tasting Notes:
Caramel, chocolate, roasted malts, and freshly brewed coffee offer big aromas on the nose. Sipping it reveals hints of espresso beans, dark chocolate, roasted malts, toasted vanilla beans, and toffee. The finish is lightly bitter and loaded with coffee flavor.
Bottom Line:
This is an imperial stout for the coffee fans. It’s indulgent and filled with espresso flavor. It feels like the perfect accompaniment to dessert.
39) Hopworks Barrel-aged Rindless Watermelon Gose
ABV: 6.7%
Average Price: Limited Availability
The Beer:
This summer release from Hopworks epitomized everything that we love about summer. Brewed in collaboration with Northwest Trail Alliance, this rindless watermelon gose was matured for a full six months in barrels that previously held tequila. The result is a sore, tart, sweet, oaky, lightly salty, exceptional beer.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is all ripe watermelon, oaky wood, citrus peels, and sea salt. The palate continues this thirst-quenching trend with notes of juicy melon, tart, acidic lime, lemon, and sea salt. Salty, sweet, and highly refreshing, especially during the summer months.
Bottom Line:
This beer was a summer release and was only available in limited quantities. It’s fresh, salty, sweet, and very refreshing.
38) Deschutes Black Butte XXXV
ABV: 11%
Average Price: Limited Availability
The Beer:
When it comes to well-known American-made porters, there are few as well-known and beloved as Deschutes Black Butte. That’s why we were so stoked when the iconic Oregon brewery released a 35th-anniversary version in January. They decided to brew a porter that tasted like a classic black forest cake. It even has cherries, cocoa, and vanilla added to achieve that flavor.
Tasting Notes:
Before your first sip, you’ll breathe in aromas of dark chocolate, dried cherries, vanilla, and floral, earthy, hops. Drinking it brings forth notes of dark chocolate, vanilla beans, and tart cherries. The finish is semisweet and pleasantly bitter. All in all, a very memorable limited-edition porter.
Bottom Line:
This beer was brewed as a celebration of thirty-five years of Black Butte so it was no surprise that it was a cake-themed beer lives up to the hype.
37) BKS Pivo Project Bohemian-Style Pilsner
ABV: 5%
Average Price: Limited Availability
The Beer:
In 2022, BKS Artisanal Ales started an offshoot called Pivo Project. The goal was to make high-quality, well-made lagers. The first lager made in the new project was Pivo Project Bohemian-style Pilsner. It’s a complex, crisp, well-balanced Czech-style lager brewed with Czechia-grown Saaz hops.
Tasting Notes:
First, you’ll notice classic pilsner aromas of grassy hops, honey, citrus, and bready malts. Drinking it brings you a great balance between bready, caramel malts and grassy, earthy, floral, lightly piney hops. It’s crisp and refreshing and finishes with just a hint of bitterness. It’s a very crushable, well-made beer.
Bottom Line:
If you’re a fan of Pilsner Urquell and other traditional Czech-style pilsners, you’ll love the balance and refreshing nature of this American version.
36) Anchorage Bleed Out
ABV: 16%
Average Price: Limited Availability
The Beer:
To say this is a complex beer is a ridiculous understatement. It begins its life as a barleywine that aged in Woodford Reserve bourbon barrels before being moved to Willett and then eventually to Buffalo Trace for a total maturation of eighteen full months. But that’s not all. It’s then blended with an imperial stout that was aged for 21 more months in bourbon barrels.
Tasting Notes:
A lot is going on with this beer’s nose. There are memorable aromas of chocolate fudge, dried fruits, toffee, vanilla, coffee, and oak. The palate continues this trend with butterscotch, vanilla, toasted coconut, chocolate, candied nuts, oak, molasses, and more chocolate fudge making appearances. It’s sweet, warming, and belongs as a complement to a warm fire.
Bottom Line:
If you can get your hands on a bottle of this unique beer, do it. It’s a boozy, warming, complex sipper for the winter months.
35) Finback Headspace
ABV: 5.5%
Average Price: $19 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans
The Beer:
This classic West Coast IPA was brewed in collaboration with Portland, Maine’s Foundation Brewing Company. It gets its hoppy bite from the liberal use of Simcoe, Citra, Cascade, and Centennial hops. It’s known for its mix of tropical fruit flavors, citrus, and pleasant bitter bite.
Tasting Notes:
This classic West Coast IPA begins with a nose of caramelized pineapples, mango, tangerine, and grassy, piney hops. The palate is dominated by bready malts, ripe grapefruit, tangerine, pineapple, and more grassy, earthy, pine needles. The finish is dry, refreshing, and perfectly bitter.
Bottom Line:
West Coast IPAs can often be a little too bitter for some drinkers. Finback Headspace manages to have the bitter finish IPA drinkers crave, but it’s also balanced with other flavors as well.
34) Stone 27th Anniversary Lemon Shark Double IPA
ABV: 9.6%
Average Price: $17 for a six-pack
The Beer:
Released in August, this double IPA gets its 9.6% ABV from 1996, the year Stone was founded. To celebrate its 27th anniversary, the iconic California-based brewery created a complex IPA brewed with Peacharine, Mosaic, and Riwaka hops as well as ingredients referred to as “Phantasm” that comes from the skins of sauvignon blanc grapes.
Tasting Notes:
A bold, complex nose of orange peel, lime zest, fresh peaches, pineapple, cereal grains, and floral hops starts this beer off on a great footing. The palate is loaded with lemongrass, orange peels, juicy grapefruit, peach, mango, melons, white grapes, and more lightly bitter, floral piney hops. The finish is dry, refreshing, and memorable.
Bottom Line:
This is a very flavorful, well-balanced IPA. The use of “Phantasm” only adds to the overall complex, fruity, highly drinkable flavor.
33) Fidens Firecracker
ABV: 8.5%
Average Price: Limited Availability
The Beer:
Firecracker from Fidens is a double IPA brewed with a smattering of hops including Strata, Rakau, Citra, and Nelson. It’s well-known for its hazy, creamy mouthfeel and bold kick of citrus and tropical fruit flavors. This aptly named beer is an explosion of juicy flavor.
Tasting Notes:
There’s a ton of fruit right away on this beer’s nose. Ripe pineapple, tangy grapefruit, mango, guava, and gentle, floral, herbal hops start it all off. One sip and you’ll be transported to a world of juicy, hazy magic centered on ripe peaches, tangerine, caramelized pineapple, mango, and just a hint of spicy hop bitterness at the finish.
Bottom Line:
If you’re a fan of juice bombs, you should add Fidens Firecracker to your list of must-try beers. It’s filled with juicy tropical fruit flavors.
32) Firestone Walker No Vacancy
ABV: 6.5%
Average Price: $19 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans
The Beer:
Firestone Walker collaborated with Alvarado Street Brewery to create No Vacancy. This limited-edition West Coast IPA was brewed with Cascade, Mosaic Incognito, and Mosaic Cryo Hops as well as Mosaic T-90 Pellets. The result is a tropical fruit take on the classic West Coast IPA.
Tasting Notes:
Classic aromas of grapefruit, orange peel, lemon zest, grass, and piney, dank hops make for a tremendous start to this beer. On the palate, you’ll find biscuit-like malts, ripe pineapple, peach, orange peel, berries, and a nice kick of resinous pine. The finish is dry, piney, and pleasantly bitter.
Bottom Line:
This is a great take on the classic IPA. It’s a great mix of citrus and pine that West Coast IPA drinkers expect as well as a nice jolt of tropical fruit flavors.
31) Hi-Wire Mountain Wheat
ABV: 5.3%
Average Price: $14 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans
The Beer:
Light, refreshing, and easy-drinking, Hi-Wire’s Mountain Wheat was released in April as a new addition to the brewery’s “Mountain” line of beer. It’s known for its mix of lemon and other citrus flavors as well as spices like coriander. It was created to be easy-drinking and refreshing like a shandy.
Tasting Notes:
On the nose, you’ll find notes of sweet wheat, lemon peels, tangerine, and gentle spices. The palate continues this trend with notes of wheat, bready malts, lemon peels, orange zest, honey, and coriander. It’s sweet, citrus-filled, and gently spiced. All in all, a great wheat beer for any time of year.
Bottom Line:
This is a complex, flavorful wheat beer. It has everything wheat beer fans crave. Citrus, gentle spice, and sweet wheat flavors and aromas. What’s not to love?
30) Ska Brewing Peppermint Bark Stout
ABV: 7%
Average Price: Limited Availability
The Beer:
For the second year in a row, SKA Brewing dropped its popular Peppermint Bark Stout in early November. This milk stout was brewed with cocoa nibs, mint, lactose, and peppermint bark (made with white chocolate, dark chocolate, and candy cane pieces from Animas Chocolate Company) in the mash. The result is an indulgent, minty seasonal stout that drinkers are beginning to look forward to every year.
Tasting Notes:
A nose of dark chocolate, candy canes, caramel, and roasted malts greet you before your first sip. Drinking it only adds to this wintry experience. There’s a ton of milk chocolate, bitter chocolate, candy cane, and roasted malt flavor. It’s creamy, indulgent, and very satisfying.
Bottom Line:
The brewers at SKA attempted to make a milk stout that tasted like melted peppermint bark in beer form and that’s exactly what they did.
29) Half Acre Green Torch
ABV: 4.5%
Average Price: $12 for a six-pack
The Beer:
Released this summer, Green Torch is Half Acre’s take on the classic lime lager. It’s a highly sessionable 4.5% ABV and a nice mix of cracker-like malts, vibrant citrus peels, and a crisp, refreshing, easy-drinking finish. What’s not to love? It’s the perfect kind of refreshment any day of the year.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is a mix of cereal grains, honey, citrus peels, and light, floral hops. A very welcoming start. The palate is centered on more cereal grains, lime zest, honey, crackery malts, and light floral hops. It’s citrusy, crisp, and totally refreshing on a hot day.
Bottom Line:
This is the epitome of a no-frills summer beer. It’s light, crisp, and easy to crush with a nice kick of lime added in to bring it all together.
28) Weldwerks The Nerdy Professor
ABV: 5.2%
Average Price: $15 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans
The Beer:
Nerds are a nostalgic candy for many. They’re sweet, and tart, and eating them reminds us of days gone by without as many responsibilities. The brewers at Colorado’s Weldwerks took that nostalgia and made it into a beer. Weldwerks The Nerdy Professor is a sour ale that’s brewed with grape and strawberry crunchy candies as well as grape and strawberry puree.
Tasting Notes:
There’s a lot of fruit on this beer’s nose. There are notes of ripe strawberries, raspberries, and tropical fruits. The palate continues this trend with a ton of strawberry and grape flavor as well as melon and other tropical fruit juice. The secondary flavor is tart and lightly sour.
Bottom Line:
This beer is nostalgia in a can. It’s a tart, sour, sweet beer that tastes like your favorite childhood candy.
27) Hill Farmstead Civil Disobedience #36
ABV: 6%
Average Price: Limited Availability
The Beer:
Hill Farmstead doesn’t do anything simple. Civil Disobedience is a blended barrel-aged dark farmstead ale, also known as a barrel-aged Saison. It consists of a Saison called Phenomenology of Spirit aged in port barrels and Edith, a dark farmstead ale, aged in wine barrels. Both were aged for at least a year. Afterward, it’s dry-hopped with New Zealand-grown Motueka hops.
Tasting Notes:
The expected barnyard funk of a well-made farmhouse ale starts everything off right. Then, you’ll find some fruit esters, brown sugar, chocolate, and oaky wood. There are more yeasty, funky barnyard flavors on the palate along with caramel malts, dried cherries, red wine, oak, chocolate, and light spices. The finish is sweet and dry.
Bottom Line:
If you’re a fan of funky, yeasty, barnyard, and wine-centric Saisons, this is a beer you should seek out as soon as possible.
26) Grimm Ambient Fizz: Koyo Berry
ABV: 4%
Average Price: Limited Availability
The Beer:
This unique offering from Grimm Ales is a fermented and oak-age sour ale that gets its flavor and aroma from wild yeast and bacteria. While that alone would make for a great beer, it’s then re-fermented using Koyo berries from Oishii. The result is a tart, effervescent, highly refreshing berry-centric beer.
Tasting Notes:
A nose of citrus peels, ripe strawberries, oak, and tropical fruits greet you before you even take a sip. There’s more of the same on the palate, but it’s not just oaky wood, ripe strawberries, and citrus zest on the palate, there’s also a tannic, wine-like flavor, and a memorable, tart, lightly acidic flavor throughout.
Bottom Line:
Not only is Grimm Ambient Fizz: Koyo Berry a great sour ale, but it’s also a great choice for fans of big, bold strawberry flavors and aromas.
25) KCBC Welcome to the Underworld
ABV: 4.7%
Average Price: Limited Availability
The Beer:
When it comes to an all-weather beer, it’s difficult to beat a well-made Helles-style lager. KCBC made a great one with its Welcome to the Underworld. Brewed with pilsner malts, it gets its hoppy aroma and flavor from the use of Celeia, Tettnang, and Saaz hops.
Tasting Notes:
Breathing in the nose, you’ll find scents of floral, earthy, Noble hops, citrus peel, sweet honey, and light spices. Drinking it only adds to this beginning. There are notable flavors of orange peels, honey, pilsner malts, and floral, bright, Noble hops. It’s a well-balanced, pleasantly dry, and bitter lager for all occasions.
Bottom Line:
Not only does KCBC Welcome to the Underworld have a great name and it’s sold in a visually appealing can but, it’s also amazingly balanced and refreshing.
24) Ommegang Manhattan Shine
ABV: 12%
Average Price: $18 for a four-pack
The Beer:
Brewery Ommegang set out to make a beer that tasted just like a Manhattan cocktail and it’s safe to say, that they accomplished this goal. This Belgian-style amber ale matured for nine full months in barrels that formerly held whiskey. While that gives the beer a boozy kick, the brewers were far from done. To emulate the flavors of an iconic cocktail, they added dark cherry and orange.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is heavy on orange peels, maraschino cherries, and boozy whiskey-like aromas. You almost feel like you’re smelling an actual Manhattan as opposed to a beer. The palate continues this trend with bold, rich, complex flavors of dark cherries, candied orange peels, caramel malts, and a nice, warming kick of oaky whiskey. This is truly an indulgent, warming beer.
Bottom Line:
Fans of whiskey-based cocktails who want a respite from the usual barrel-aged stouts will love this aromatic, flavorful take on the classic cocktail in beer form.
23) Aecht Schlenkerla Weichsel Rotbier
ABV: 4.6%
Average Price: $20 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans
The Beer:
Beer fans know Aecht Schlenkerla for its myriad of smoked beers. Its newest brew (Aecht Schlenkerla Weichsel Rotbier) was released in the summer of 2023. To create a fruity, sweet, smoky aroma and flavor, the brewers at the Bavarian-based brewery dry their malts over a cherry wood fire.
Tasting Notes:
There’s a lot of smoke on the nose and it’s expected from this style and this brewery in particular. But it’s not all smoke. There are also notes of butterscotch, ripe berries, bready malts, and dried cherries. The palate is all bready malts, caramel candy, brown sugar, dried cherries, yeasty, fruity flavors, and a ton of robust, sweet smoke.
Bottom Line:
This is a smoky, rich, robust beer. But it’s also surprisingly creamy and sweet. It’s definitely a can’t-miss beer from this year.
22) Rogue Rolling Thunder 2023 Imperial Stout
ABV: 13.7%
Average Price: $21 for a four-pack
The Beer:
Brewed with 2-row malt, Munich malt, naked oats, chocolate malt, roasted barley, C-75 malt, black malt, cacao nibs, rice hulls, brown sugar, dark Belgian candi syrup, Cascade hops, and Pacman yeast, this imperial stout is matured for a full nine months in barrels that previously held Rogue Dead Guy Whiskey.
Tasting Notes:
Butterscotch, raisins, chocolate fudge, coffee, vanilla beans, and oaky, whiskey-soaked wood are the first aromas you’ll notice when you breathe in this imperial stout. One sip and you’ll find yourself immersed in a world of dark chocolate, coffee beans, vanilla, anise, raisins, and a ton of warming, boozy, oaky whiskey on the finish.
Bottom Line:
While some of the other barrel-aged stouts get all the press. You absolutely shouldn’t sleep on Rogue’s epic Rolling Thunder.
21) Toppling Goliath Haze Bus
ABV: 7.8%
Average Price: $20 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans
The Beer:
Toppling Goliath is most known for its hazy, juicy, Citra-hopped IPA. And while that beer is a great example of the style, it’s not the only hazy beer from the Iowa-based brewery. This year it released Toppling Goliath Haze Bus, a citrus and tropical fruit-filled IPA brewed with Citra, Mosaic, and Simcoe hops.
Tasting Notes:
This beer is surprisingly aromatic with scents of mango, tangerine, passionfruit, toasted coconut, and caramelized pineapple taking center stage. The palate is juicy, and sweet, and carries more tropical fruit flavors like mango, papaya, peach, coconuts, tangerine, and grapefruit. The finish is sweet and lightly tart with very little bitterness.
Bottom Line:
If you’re a fan of hazy, juicy, tropical fruity bombs, this is the IPA for you. It has everything hazy fans look for in a beer.
20) Brooklyn Black Ops (2023)
ABV: 11.5%
Average Price: $18 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans
The Beer:
Released in mid-November, Brooklyn Black Ops is an annual barrel-aged stout that’s eagerly awaited by Brooklyn Brewing fans. While the brand doesn’t release as much information about this beer compared to some of the other barrel-aged beers on the market (hence the name), we know it’s matured in barrels that formerly held Four Roses Small Batch bourbon. That’s all we need to know.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is all vanilla beans, bitter chocolate, dried fruits, roasted malts, and boozy bourbon. The palate is a mix of toasted vanilla beans, raisins, dark chocolate, oaky wood, dried cherries, and a ton of warming, boozy whiskey. It’s a great mix of malt, chocolate, oak, and a nice kick of booze that ties everything together nicely.
Bottom Line:
There’s a reason Brooklyn Black Ops is so eagerly awaited each year. Its collaboration with Four Roses guarantees a warming, flavorful beer each year.
19) Fat Head’s Green Grunge
ABV: 5%
Average Price: $13 for a six-pack
The Beer:
Released in March, the aptly named Green Grunge from Fat Head’s is a bold, vibrant IPA loaded with Chinook and Citra hops. The result is a citrus and tropical fruit-forward IPA with pleasing, classic bitterness at the finish. This is one for the hopheads
Tasting Notes:
This is a classic IPA through and through and that begins with the nose. You’ll find a mix of tangerine, lime, lemongrass, and a ton of dank, resinous pine needle aromas. Sipping it reveals more tangerine, grapefruit, grass, lemon peels, and a nice, pleasantly bitter finish of floral, dank, piney hops.
Bottom Line:
Chinook and Citra hops give this IPA a classic pine and citrus-heavy flavor profile with the perfect amount of bitterness at the end.
18) Alaskan Smoked Porter (2023)
ABV: 6.5%
Average Price: $9 for a 22-ounce bottle
The Beer:
When it comes to eagerly awaited, unique, annual beers, it’s tough to beat Alaskan Smoked Porter. Brewed with “glacial fed” water, five different malt types, two kinds of hops, and no adjuncts to speak of, it gets its notable, robust, campfire aroma and flavor from the use of selected malts that are smoked in small batches. Using locally sourced alder wood.
Tasting Notes:
Roasted malts, campfire smoke, chocolate, dried fruits, and vanilla make for a very inviting nose. On the palate, you’ll find notes of brown sugar, dark chocolate, raisins, vanilla beans, and a wallop of robust, rich, woody smoke. The finish is dry, lightly bitter, and highly memorable.
Bottom Line:
Porters are known to be sweeter and creamier than their stout counterparts. That’s why the idea of smoking a porter is so great. It’s sweet, smoky, and perfectly bitter.
17) Half Acre Waybird
ABV: 6.5%
Average Price: $12 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans
The Beer:
Launched in January of this year, this new, year-round hazy IPA is brewed with El Dorado and HBC 586 hops. It’s known for its cloudy, juicy appearance and citrus and tropical fruit backbone. But, while some hazies are juice bombs without much substance, Waybird also has the slight bitter sting IPA fans crave.
Tasting Notes:
Papaya, mango, caramelized pineapple, tangerine, grapefruit, bready malts, and light pine make for a fantastic nose. The palate is sublimely juicy with notes of tangerine, grapefruit, passionfruit, peaches, bready malts, and lightly bitter hops. A nice mix of sweetness and bitterness.
Bottom Line:
This isn’t your average hazy IPA. Instead of simply being a juicy, fruity, sweet IPA, it has a nice bite of hop bitterness at the finish that ties everything together nicely.
16) New Glarus Pilsner
ABV: 4-5%
Average Price: $9 for a six-pack
The Beer:
Launched in April, the most unique thing about New Glarus’ Pilsner is the fact that the brewery didn’t release the beer’s ABV. But it’s more than just a gimmick beer. A mix of German and Czechia-style pilsners, it’s made with heirloom pilsner malt and Diamant, Mittelfrüh, Saphir, Select, and Hallertau Blanc hops.
Tasting Notes:
Classic pilsner aromas of pale malts, honey, citrus peels, grass, and floral, Noble hops start this beer off. The palate continues this positive trend. There are notable flavors of bready malts, citrus peels, honey, yeast, and floral, earthy, lightly piney hops. It’s crisp, refreshing, and highly drinkable.
Bottom Line:
This is a beer that manages to be both incredibly complex as well as crisp, crushable, and easy to drink.
15) von Trapp Schwarz
ABV: 5.2%
Average Price: $12 for a six-pack
The Beer:
If you’re a fan of authentic, European-style beers, you’re probably already a big fan of Vermont’s von Trapp. This year, it released an exceptional beer called von Trapp Schwarz, a Bavarian-style black lager. It’s a Schwarzbier brewed with a mix of roasted malts and Noble hops.
Tasting Notes:
This is a highly complex beer that begins with a nose of butterscotch, dark chocolate, vanilla, coffee beans, and roasted malts. Sipping it leads you to a world of rich roasted malts, freshly brewed coffee, toffee, and bitter, dark chocolate. The finish is surprisingly crisp and dry and leaves you craving more.
Bottom Line:
von Trapp is the kind of brewery that produces nothing but traditional, well-made bangers. Its new Schwarzbier is no different.
14) Lawson’s Finest Hazy Rays
ABV: 5.3%
Average Price: $17 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans
The Beer:
Lawson’s Finest Sip of Sunshine is one of our favorite New England-style IPAs on the market. That’s why we were so excited when Lawson’s Finest Liquids launched Hazy Rays back in April. It’s a nearly sessionable, highly crushable, juicy, flavorful hazy IPA brewed with a smattering of Citra and Mandarina Bavaria hops.
Tasting Notes:
There’s a ton of citrus on this beer’s nose. There are memorable notes of grapefruit, tangerine, and lime zest as well as peach, pineapple, lemongrass, and light, floral hops. The palate is light but surprisingly flavorful with notes of honeydew melons, peach, tangerine, and other citrus flavors. The finish is resinous and hoppy, with little to no bitterness.
Bottom Line:
Sometimes you want a big, bold high-ABV hazy IPA and other times you want a crushable, low-ABV, high-flavor hazy. This is that beer.
13) Wallenpaupack Lichtenhainer
ABV: 4.2%
Average Price: Limited Availability
The Beer:
If you haven’t paid attention to Wallenpaupack Brewing Company in the last few years, it’s time to take notice. This brewery (named for the very real lake in which Michael Scott took his infamous “booze cruise” on The Office) has been crafting award-winning beers since it opened in 2017. One of its newest beers is Wallenpaupack Lichtenhainer, a kettle sour brewed with oak-smoked wheat malt as well as cherry wood smoked barley malt.
Tasting Notes:
To say this is a unique beer is an understatement. It begins with aromas of yeast, cereal grains, cracker-like malts, and a gentle kiss of robust campfire smoke. The palate is tangy, tart, and lightly acidic with fruit esters, citrus peels, honey, and smoked malts making appearances. The finish is sweet, tart, and perfectly smoky. A must-try beer.
Bottom Line:
Smoke and tart don’t usually work well together. But there’s something about Wallenpaupack Lichtenhainer that just works.
12) Parish Murphy DIPA
ABV: 7.6%
Average Price: $20 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans
The Beer:
Not only is this a great beer from Broussard, Louisiana’s Parish Brewing, but it’s also adorned with an image of its late brewery “good boy” Murphy. Brewed with Citra, Strata, and Idaho-7 hops, this double IPA is known for its heavy tropical fruit aroma and flavor.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is heavy on ripe peach, tangerine, grapefruit, passionfruit, and a nice kick of dank, resinous hops. The flavor continues this trend with a ton of caramelized pineapple, tangerine, passionfruit, mango, juicy peach, and a lightly prickly, dank, hoppy finish.
Bottom Line:
Even at 7.6% ABV, this is a surprisingly easy-drinking double IPA. Loaded with tropical fruits with a gentle hoppy finish, this is a real winner of a beer.
11) Firestone Walker Parabola (2023)
ABV: 13.5%
Average Price: $10 for a 12-ounce bottle
The Beer:
This popular imperial stout was matured for a full twelve months in both eight-year-old Blanton’s bourbon barrels as well as 12-year-old Weller wheated bourbon casks. The result is bold, rich dark chocolate, vanilla, and coconut-centric imperial stout that’s heightened and intensified by the use of barrel aging.
Tasting Notes:
Complex aromas of molasses cookies, raisins, roasted malts, dark chocolate, oak, and whisky greet you first. Take a moment to sip this beer and you’ll be treated to flavors like dried cherries, dark chocolate, molasses, roasted malts, toffee, and oaky, warming, boozy bourbon at the finish.
Bottom Line:
This barrel-aged imperial stout is velvety smooth and incredibly indulgent. It’s the kind of beer you’ll want to drink after a heavy meal.
10) Great Lakes Barrel Aged Imperial Amber Lager
ABV: 12.1%
Average Price: Limited Availability
The Beer:
To celebrate its 35th anniversary, the brewers at Great Lakes brewed an amber ale based on one of the original recipes from 1988. It was made with 2-row base, Munich, Cara 45, and Caramel 40 malts as well as Mt. Hood hops. It was then aged in barrels that previously held Bulleit Bourbon.
Tasting Notes:
This beer begins with aromas of bready malts, toffee, butterscotch, charred oak, and sweet bourbon. Drinking it brings forth notes of brown sugar, vanilla, bready malts, oak, and boozy bourbon at the finish. It’s sweet, warming, and very unique.
Bottom Line:
In a world of barrel-aged stouts, this bourbon barrel-matured amber ale is unique, interesting, and very flavorful.
9) Maine Beer Thank You (2023)
ABV: 6.1%
Average Price: $8 for a 500ml bottle
The Beer:
The coolest thing about Maine Beer’s Thank You IPA is that the recipe is slightly different every year. It’s brewed to pay tribute to all the people involved in making their beer what it is, including the drinkers, employees, wholesalers, retailers, and non-profit partners. This year it was brewed with Citra, Mosaic, and HBC 586 hops as well as Maris Otter malt, Vienna malt, Light Munich malt, Carahell C-40 malt, and flaked oats.
Tasting Notes:
Before your first sip, you’ll be met with aromas of ripe peach, citrus peels, pineapple, grapefruit, and dank pine. Drinking it reveals notes of ripe mango, juicy peach, bready malts, lemongrass, caramelized pineapple, cracked black pepper, and floral, earthy, dank, resinous pine at the finish.
Bottom Line:
This is an extremely well-balanced IPA. All of the aromas and flavors seem to land exactly where they should. Fruit, citrus, pine, this has everything IPA drinkers crave.
8) Untitled Art Barrel Aged Midnight Toffee Stout
ABV: 14.9%
Average Price: $20 for a two-pack of 16-ounce cans
The Beer:
This collaboration between Angry Chair Brewing and Untitled Art is not to be missed. It began as a pastry stout from Untitled Art and, over time, became something more after it was aged in former bourbon barrels for a full fifteen months. The result is a barrel-aged imperial pastry stout brewed with brown sugar, Belgian candi syrup, as well as natural and artificial flavors.
Tasting Notes:
There’s a ton of sweetness on this beer’s nose. There are scents of molasses, butterscotch, brown sugar, vanilla beans, and chocolate fudge. The indulgent flavor continues on the palate with notes of sticky toffee pudding, cocoa powder, brown sugar, roasted malts, dried fruits, and boozy, oaky wood. It might as well be a dessert beer.
Bottom Line:
This beer is the equivalent of having a sweet caramel cake and pouring bourbon all over it. Boozy, sweet, and very memorable.
7) Fremont Brew 7000 (2023)
ABV: 13.9%
Average Price: $30 for a 22-ounce bottle
The Beer:
Brewed to celebrate Fremont’s 7,000th beer brewed, it’s made with US Golding and Magnum hops as well as white wheat, Maris Otter Pale, and Carafa 2 Special malts. This English-style barleywine is matured for sixteen months in 10-15-year-old ex-bourbon casks. The result is a caramel, dried fruit, oaky, boozy barleywine for the coldest of days.
Tasting Notes:
A lot is going on with this complex beer. There are aromas of dates, raisins, cereal grains, butterscotch, brown sugar, chocolate, freshly brewed coffee, and oaky wood. There’s more of this on the palate with notes of molasses cookies, candied nuts, dried fruits, vanilla beans, brown sugar, oaky, and warming, lingering whiskey at the finish.
Bottom Line:
The sweet, rich flavor of the barleywine is only heightened and elevated by the length of the barrel aging. Seek this beer out if you can.
6) Central Waters Twenty-Five (XXV)
ABV: 13.1%
Average Price: Limited Availability
The Beer:
Released in February, Central Waters Twenty-Five is a barrel-aged stout made to celebrate the Amherst, Wisconsin-based brewery’s twenty-fifth year of brewing. It’s bold, complex, and warming from being matured in casks that formerly held bourbon whiskey. It’s the kind of beer you’d want to drink on a celebratory chilly evening.
Tasting Notes:
Light smoke starts this beer off on an interesting note. It’s followed quickly behind by aromas of roasted malts, vanilla beans, raisins, dark chocolate, and oaky wood. Drinking it brings forth notes of dried fruits, cherries, dark chocolate, vanilla beans, oak, caramel candy, and warming whiskey at the finish. It’s sweet, boozy, and great on a cold night.
Bottom Line:
This is a classic bourbon barrel-aged imperial stout. It ticks all the boxes and does it well. Refined, nuanced, and highly memorable.
5) Tree House Breakfast Juice
ABV: 9%
Average Price: Limited Availability
The Beer:
Tree House is well-known for its hazy, juicy IPAs like King Julius. It should come as no surprise that it released a hazy, breakfast-themed IPA back in February. This companion to its popular Breakfast Shake, Breakfast Juice is a triple IPA that gets its fruity, juicy tropical fruit flavor from various hops as well as guava, mango, peach, and mango purees as well as milk sugar.
Tasting Notes:
It all starts with a nose of ripe mango, peach, tangerines, grapefruit, bubblegum, and floral, earthy, lightly piney hops. Drinking it is an experience all on its own. This aptly named IPA is loaded with flavors like peach, mango, guava, papaya, passionfruit, ripe berries, tangerine, and honeydew melon. It’s juicy, and sweet, and ends with just a hint of appreciated hop bite.
Bottom Line:
This IPA is the closest thing to freshly squeezed tropical breakfast juice in beer form as we’ve ever tried. It needs to be tasted to be believed.
4) Goose Island Bourbon County Original Stout (2023)
ABV: 14.1%
Average Price: $14 for a 16.9-ounce bottle
The Beer:
While it seems like there are countless bourbon barrel-aged stouts on the market, Goose Island Bourbon County Stout was the OG. This style didn’t exist before Goose Island brewed the first batch back in the early 90s. Matured for twelve months in ex-bourbon barrels from Buffalo Trace, Heaven Hill, Four Roses, and Wild Turkey, it’s just as popular today as it has ever been.
Tasting Notes:
Dark chocolate, toasted vanilla beans, coffee, candied almonds, toffee, and sweet bourbon whiskey are prevalent on the nose. The palate is full of roasted malts, toasted marshmallows, vanilla beans, dried cherries, dark chocolate, coffee, charred wood, and whiskey. The finish is sweet, and warming, and leaves you wanting more.
Bottom Line:
The thing that sets this beer apart from the pack is the attention to detail when it comes to crafting all of the various aromas and flavors. It’s sweet and indulgent but the oak and whiskey flavors are present at all times. It’s a really special stout and one you have to try.
3) Anchorage For Cory
ABV: 16.8%
Average Price: Limited Availability
The Beer:
This 16.8% ABV collaboration with Side Project Brewing is an American strong ale. But it’s so much more than that. To make this highly-rated beer, the brewers blended a few barrel-aged ales to honor Cory King of Side Project. The ales included are Triple Paled Deal with the Devil (aged in three types of bourbon barrels), Triple Oaked Deal with the Devil (aged in bourbon, bourbon, and cognac barrels), Triple Oajed Wendigo (ages in three types of bourbon barrels), and Double Oaked Double Dark Ale (ages in rye and bourbon barrels).
Tasting Notes:
This beer smells more like an oaky, long-aged whiskey than an ale. It starts with notes of toffee candy, dried cherries, vanilla beans, chocolate, brown sugar, oak, and a lot of whiskey. The palate continues this. There are myriad notes of peppery rye spice, toffee, caramelized sugar, dried cherries, chocolate, and oak. It is syrupy and indulgent with a ton of pleasurable whiskey heat.
Bottom Line:
In a world of crushable, light beers. Anchorage For Cory should be treated like a glass of whiskey or cognac and be enjoyed slowly, preferably at room temperature to bring out all the aromas and flavors.
2) Schilling Jakobus
ABV: 5.1%
Average Price: $15 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans
The Beer:
Released in February, Schilling Jakobus is one of the best American versions of the classic German pilsner style that you’re likely to ever try. Brewed with crackery malts and Hallertau Mittelfruh and Saphir hops from Bavaria, it’s known for its crisp, refreshing, well-balanced aroma and flavor.
Tasting Notes:
With aromas like yeasty bread, lemon zest, honey, wet grass, and floral, earthy hops, this is a very exciting nose for a pilsner. One drink and you’ll fall into a world of German pilsners goodness featuring freshly cut grass, bready malts, lemon peels, cereal grains, honey, and a ton of floral, bold, bright hops. The finish is dry, crisp, and effortlessly refreshing.
Bottom Line:
Some drinkers might see this beer and assume it’s just a crushable, refreshing pilsner. And they’d be sort or right. But it’s also surprisingly well-balanced and flavorful.
1) Revolution V.S.O. Gravedigger
ABV: 14.9%
Average Price: Limited Availability
The Beer:
Released in March, this skeleton-adorned beer is anything but spooky. It’s an imperial Scotch ale that was barreled for two years in a combination of Elijah Craig and Eagle Rare ex-bourbon barrels as well as Whistlepig Rye whiskey casks. The result is a complex, malty beer featuring woody, oaky, dried fruit, and whiskey flavors and aromas.
Tasting Notes:
A nose of maple candy, oaky wood, caramelized sugar, dried fruits, and gentle campfire smoke is an outstanding start. The palate is a symphony of flavors including sticky toffee pudding, raisins, maple syrup, peppery rye, honey, brown sugar, dark chocolate, and oak. The finish is warm, and boozy, and lingers for a long time.
Bottom Line:
This is an outstanding, unique barrel-aged beer. It’s a great respite from the usual stouts and porters. The Scotch ale flavors might even work better with bourbon barrels — making this our top pick in all of 2023.
