1. Hill Farmstead – I was lucky enough to spend time in New England this Summer and this brewery is based in Vermont near Stowe. Unfortunately we weren’t able to visit their tasting room in Greensboro (it was a bit far out) but there were several examples of their beers on tap in various establishments around the state. This brewery is often voted “best in the world”, a moniker I’m rather skeptical of, but the beers were truly exceptional! “Balance” is probably the word to describe them best, perfect equilibriums of hop flavour, malt, bitterness, yeast compounds and alcohol; hard to see how they could be improved upon and definitely best drunk fresh and close to the source, a stunning range of brews, easily #1 on my list (by a long chalk!)
2. Trillium – Another US heavy-hitter, based in Boston and surrounding area this brewery is so successful and growing so rapidly it’s almost bursting out of the “craft” category. There are several places you can buy their beers around the city, but the best (IMO) is their taproom in the Seaport district. A custom-built space also serving excellent food, it’s the perfect place to sample the range. The place is invariably packed out, and the turnover is such that you can easily visit every day of the week and find different beers on tap to try with the excellent tacos. Trillium do many styles of beer these days but perhaps they’re most well known for their hazy New England IPA’s, which are excellent, so flavoursome, so smooth and uber murky a real taste experience.
3. Verdant – What can I say about these Cornish maestros that I haven’t already said in the many posts about their beers on this blog. A pillar of the UK craft scene, renowned for their hazy NE IPA’s and murky hop bombs, it’s hard to find a better more consistent exemplar of the style in this country. I’ve enjoyed many beers from Verdant this year, most of which I’ve tried before but nevertheless, still great and still noteworthy!
4. Treehouse – The US brewery that makes up a holy trinity with Hill Farmstead and Trillium, this Massachusetts based brewer has also been growing unfeasibly over the last year or two. While in NE this Summer we visited their taproom in Charlton, Mass which TBH was more like a theme park! I must say though, the people there were really helpful, they had a “WEB only” ordering policy but not having Wi-Fi access I struggled to access their WEB site! Anyway, they quickly realised that I wasn’t “local” and lent me a “house iPad” to make my order on. I snagged a dozen cans of various brews to stick in the boot of our hire car and sample over the course of a couple of days travelling around the state, they were lush!
5. Siren – My local hero’s, Siren is based only a few miles from where I live and was one of the first craft breweries that I became interested in back in 2013. The variety and quality of their brews hasn’t diminished over the years and this year has seen a rich vein of new ideas and recipes. Particularly noteworthy was their “Time Hops” series back in the Summer, a look back to the early days of craft beer and the pioneering beers that launched the movement. In June I spent a hot, but enjoyable, afternoon over at Reading University tasting four examples of beers brewed to emulate four specific US brews showcasing particular hop varieties, the project was a roaring success and has since garnered the brewery much praise in the local press and industry publications.
6. BBNO (Brew by Numbers) – Back in September I took a trip along the Bermondsey beer mile as far as the Brew by Numbers tap room under the arches in Enid Street. My son and I stopped a while and supped a pint outside their taproom under the arches, sitting in the late Summer sun sampling the beer was superb. As fresh as you like and so flavoursome, classic American hop flavours and perfectly balanced, the beers we had that day was truly memorable. It’s a trip we vowed to repeat next year when time allows, a great boy’s day out and a standout set of producers all within a mile or two of each other, a real treat.
7. DEYA – Not much to add that I haven’t already said about DEYA, these West country brewers specialise in hazy pale ales that showcase a multitude of different hop and malt combos. Always decent and occasionally spectacular, their beers are well worth seeking out. I really must find some time to go visit them in Cheltenham, it’s only a couple of hours from me on the train, just need a suitable excuse, and someone to hold my hand..
8. The Kernel – Another Bermondsey resident, The Kernel is one of the original UK based craft brewers that started up around 2005 and sells over 90 per cent of its beer in London. It’s one of those producers that sells everything it makes (easily), and often very quickly! The “Hill Farmstead” of the UK is how I see them! Kernel blends the best of British cask tradition with modern methods and new US hop varieties, the result is almost always superb and if you’re lucky enough to spend any time in London their brews can usually be found in the best pubs, on a regular basis.
9. Foam – Another find on my US excursion this year. Foam is based in Burlington, Vermont and has a particularly striking taproom on the shores of lake Champlain (see picture above!), it’s a gorgeous spot! We spent a good few hours there in the Summer gazing out over the lake to the mountains beyond and supping their delicious selection of hazy pales and IPAs, and some splendid, fruited sours too. A great brewery, but unfortunately tiny in size and their beers are unlikely to ever be seen in the UK, still, Vermont is a nice place to go, anytime of the year!
10. Anspach & Hobday – Yet another Bermondsey beer mile veteran, this brewery launched a rather splendid porter this year called “London Black”, with it, they aim to reinstate the tradition for this style of beer in the capital (full disclosure, I made a small investment in them this year). Porter used to be the most popular drink in London but fell out of favour as more commercial paler styles took over in the early 20th century. This thoroughly modern version of the style is a delight to drink, rich, creamy full of chocolate and coffee flavour from the dark malts it gives that other famous “black-beer” a good run for its money, in fact, I think I prefer it.
