Obligatory End of Year List Time!

     As we get closer to the end of the year, it's time to do what every other dang blog in the world is going to do.  A Top 10 in 2013 list!  In this case I'm going to do The Top Ten Beer I had for the first time in 2013.  They don't have to have come out in 2013 (and I think that would be a less interesting list because it would ultimately include lower-rated beers thanks to the added criteria), just I had to have that beer for the first time in sometime in 2013.  That would include any "version" of the beer so... let's get an honorable mention out of the way.  I loved the heck out of Stone Brewing Co's Stone Enjoy By 04.01.13 IPA, it's technically just a different batch of a beer I had for the first time on 2012.  So, despite it being one of my higher rated beers in 2013, it didn't make the cut.  Oh, and if you're like me and noticing omissions of certain brewers I've shouted my love from the rooftops for, it's probably because I simply had most of their beers in 2012 or prior.

    Before getting in to this, I should add a blah blah that these are purely my opinions, but I also am notoriously bad about picking a favorite anything.  That said, I didn't want this list to be a cop out, so the criteria for ordering these is basically a mash-up oh how well I rated the beers on Untappd (and how consistent that rating was over repeated tastings) and my memory of how feverishly I sought out more of that beer because I just had to have more.

     Enough doobly doo, let's get in to it!

10.  Brash Brewing Company Smoglifter - The first couple of entries on the list are going to be pretty similar in that I only got to try this beer once, but was super impressed by it.  Smoglifter is a chocolate milk stout that lived up to it's name.  It's rich, sweet, and hides that fact that's got a 10% ABV pretty well.  When I aggregated this list, I was actually surprised I rated it so favorably but hadn't sought it out since, so here it sits at the bottom.  I may have to correct that mistake pretty soon, though.

9.  Founders Brewing Co Doom - Another big beer that I had only once, but this time that was due to the fact that this one's rather hard to come by.  Very often, as I've talked about before, I get less interested in beer when there's crazy hype around it and people stepping over their own grandmothers to get at a bottle, so I never personally sought this out.  Instead, someone brought it along to one of our monthly tastings, and I'm sure glad they did because it ended up beer of the night.  Silky oak, apricot, honey and perhaps a touch of rind made this a unique IPA if I've ever had one.

8.   Sixpoint Brewery 3Beans - Beer is pretty great, right?  So's coffee.  Some of my first ever craft beers were coffee porters.  Although Sixpoint never really makes anything that can be pinned down to any one style, this is a dang fine coffee something-or-other.  It's another big one, so it comes in one of those "nanokegs", which is a crying shame because I always wanted a bigger serving of this one.  Le sigh.

7.  Uinta Brewing Company Sea Legs - I'll tell you a secret about me, but you have to promise not to tell nobody.  Cool?  I love Baltic Porters.  If Baltic Porters were a sexy lady, I'd marry them.  If they were a bowl of Boo Berry, I'd have them for breakfast.  Porters are actually my favorite style of beer, and adding some anise and big boozy sweetness just ups the ante.  I got to enjoy this one a couple of times in 2013, and it was a dark and creamy good time on all occasions that we got to be in the same room.

6.  Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits Victory at Sea Coffee Vanilla Imperial Porter - Yes, it's another dark beer.  Get used to it, bucko, because this is my list!  Also, it's another imperial, so let it be said that I've never been afraid of a beer that could take me in a fight.  This one was so lovely, I even recommended it to Aquaman (ah, the good old days).  Another hint at how much I enjoyed this one... my initial notes for tasting it just say "wow".

5.  Jack's Abby Brewing The ABCS - Let's step away from dark beers for a hot minute and talk about lovely, lovely Double IPL.  Jack's Abby has put out a few beers of this style, and they've all beer vastly different.  This one is downright tropical, and is a treat from the first smell.  In fact, this could probably top a best-smelling beer list, but we must taste beers, too!  The mouthfeel I can only describe as juicy.  I'm salivating a little bit just remembering it, which I think is very appropriate for a top five beer.

4.  Idle Hands Craft Ales Absence of Light - And just like that, back to the dark.  Now, I may be bending the rules for this one just a little bit, but if that makes you upset... well, why don't you get a friend with a brewing operation and write posts for him unrelated to his brewery in the name of web presence instead?  *ahem*  Anyway, I had a different version of this prior to 2013 when it was a pilot batch called "Belgo Stout".  I can assure you, though, that this is a different and more complete beer.  Everything about it works.  The candy sugars, which find cloying in some beers, really add to this and help it become an amazing stout.

3.  Slumbrew (Somerville Brewing Company) Sittin' on Hop of the World - Those sly devils at Slumbrew put out a lot of "limited" batches in the last couple of years, and this one is probably my favorite beer they've ever done.  In fact, in the limited window of release on this simply divine Peach IPA, I managed to have five full bottles of it.  It was just right.  Not too bitter, not too sweet, just enough peach... and smelled beyond amazing.  I even found a late, hop-faded bottle of this and didn't care because the smell was still that good.

2.   Stone Brewing Co / Aleman / Two Brothers Dayman Coffee IPA - Sometimes, love hurts.  This limited collaboration dropped at my local shop with a two bottle limit, and the idea of combining coffee and IPA had me all too excited to meet that quota.  When I tasted the dark, fresh coffee with just the right balance of citrusy hops, it was like someone had bottled the dreams that I never even new I had.  But, alas, after that first two bottles, I couldn't find any more.  And believe me, I looked at and called every place I could think of in the area.  I eventually found it on tap a few months later, and nearly dropped dead of joy-shock.  Unfortunately, both the coffee and the hops had faded, making it a bittersweet reunion with my one-time love.  Seriously, there needs to be more coffee IPAs out there.  I may have had one besides this ever.

...You're probably wondering what could possibly top that tale of passion.

1.  Jack's Abby Brewing Barrel Aged Framinghammer - The tale of a love denied can only be bested by the tale of a love fulfilled!  This big Baltic had it all, and I totally let it take me behind the jungle gym on the playground at the middle school.  Every time I saw this beer, I bought the heck out of it.  I enjoyed it myself on multiple occasions, and brought it along more than a few times when hanging with friends just so that they could experience this beer.  Bourbon, chocolate, vanilla and coffee notes.  The anise was a bit covered up, but still there.  This was a complicated beer to start, and it was even better with some age on it.  9 months brought out a really smooth, warm vanilla feel to it.  This beer is also mere weeks away from 2014 release, and you can be sure I'll be doubling down on this one now that I know what it has to offer.

     That's it for this year!  Agree?  Complaints?  Hate my guts?  Comment and list some of your favorites from this year!