HoppyBoston Best Beers: Summer 2014

I can’t believe it is September, this summer absolutely flew by. My beer reviews this summer weren’t centered around a specific type of beer or theme. I just kind of grabbed anything that looked interesting and gave it a try. There ended up being some trends though. I drank lots of IPA (pretty common year-round), plenty of pilsner and gave some sours and shandys a try. I have a general theme in mind for the fall and I’m going to need a little help with it, stay tuned for the details next week. Before we get to that, here is a quick review of my favorite selections amongst the beers I reviewed this summer. As always, the beer names are links to the full reviews. Enjoy!

Allagash Prince TuesdayAllagash/Maine Beer Company/Rising Tide Prince Tuesday: Three of the best breweries in the burgeoning beer scene in Maine combined to brew this big Belgian IPA. This beer contains the perfect complementary combination of expressive fruity esters from the Belgian yeast and citrus/tropical fruit flavors from the American hops.

Peak Organic Fresh CutPeak Organic Fresh Cut: Probably my favorite pilsner. The crisp and clean lager flavors are taken up a notch by the dry hopping process that adds extra hop aroma and flavor without adding bitterness.

Stone Enjoy ByStone Enjoy By… IPA: A bold and in-your-face double IPA, exactly what you’d expect from a brewery that doesn’t tend towards subtlety. Gigantic hop flavor, tongue numbing bitterness and plenty of booze.

Maine Beer Co LunchMaine Beer Company Lunch: There is a reason people go nuts for this beer and compare it to the best IPAs in the world. Flavorful, drinkable, hop-forward but balanced, this beer is close to perfection.

Pretty Things There's No Place Like TherePretty Things/Naparbier There’s No Place Like There: The hardest thing about enjoying a great collaboration beer is knowing that when it’s gone, it’s gone. This is especially true for IPAs, since you can’t stock up and store them. Crazy drinkable for a boozy DIPA with delicious hop flavor.

Treehouse HazeTreehouse Haze: I highly recommend the trip out to Treehouse, regardless of what they have on tap. This was the standout of the beers I tried on my most recent trip, hop forward without killing your palate, tons of flavor, but still easy to drink.

 

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