Talking Head: The Year in Beer - The Highs and Lows of 2008
Dec 24, 2008 by Jeff Holland - Creative Loafing
Top 10 Beers I Had This Year: 2. Gamma Ray (Terrapin Beer Company) – Heavenly wheatwine, sweet, spicy, and boozy.
It’s that time of year where we reflect on the past 12 months and consider what happened and whether it was good or bad. Oh, and we make a bunch of lists. Here are mine:
Best of 2008
Terrapin Side Projects. Brewer Spike Buckowski finally got his own brewery in Athens and with it the luxury of space for experimenting with small batches of unusual beers that he has always wanted to make. He hit the ground running and has already put out three of these with a fourth on the way in January. While the first two were enjoyable enough, he hit one out of the park with his wheatwine. These offerings seem to get better and better, and I can’t wait for Volume 4, a porter made with two kinds of cocoa. Such one-off projects are increasingly popular and a great way for breweries to generate excitement and keep things fresh. Sweetwater has recently begun a similar project, known as the Dank Tank, and Atlanta Brewing Company plans to release an anniversary beer this year.
Top 10 Beers I Had This Year:
1. Peche Mortel (Brasserie du Ciel) – Stunning coffee imperial stout from Canada. 2. Gamma Ray (Terrapin Beer Company) – Heavenly wheatwine, sweet, spicy, and boozy. 3. Double Simcoe (Weyerbacher Brewing Company) – Hoptastic! 4. Saison Imperiale (De Proefbrouwerij) – Flowers, honey, spices, and fruit. 5. Smoked Porter (Stone Brewing Company) – Smoked beer that doesn’t taste like a campfire. 6. Hugh Malone (Allagash Brewing Company) – Nails the Belgian IPA concept cold. 7. Motorboat (Sweetwater Brewing Company) – Whatever it is, it is tasty. Make more. 8. Palo Santo Marron (Dogfish Head Craft Brewery) – see above. 9. Southern Hemisphere Harvest Fresh Hop Ale (Sierra Nevada Brewing Company) – Juicy! 10. Doppelsticke (Uerige Obergarige Hausbrauerei) – Altbier might be the next wave in American craft beers.
See the whole story: http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/omnivore/2008/12/22/talking-head-the-year-in-beer-the-highs-and-lows-of-2008/
Tagged: gamma ray, side project, top 10 beers, wheat wine