Top Tastings 2010

Pic: Gillian Evans.

Here’s my Top Tastings list for 2010, a little late thanks to the time dedicated to my forthcoming book (see right or under London above).  As in previous years, they’re not necessarily new beers, just beers I happened to taste for the first time, or retaste after a long break, during 2010, and which made me grateful to be involved in such an exciting and satisfying area of human endeavour as beer and brewing. They’re not necessarily the “best” beers I tasted during the year, though all of them scored on the high side for quality, but they’re all rich in interest and character.

As in the past the selection is coloured by my beer drinking itinerary during the year. There’s more than the usual quota of beers from the USA, thanks to my first visit to the Great American Beer Festival, and a welcome first appearance in these lists for Czech beers, thanks in part to my first trip to Prague in a long time. But the rest cover a very varied range, including some truly unusual and impressive British beers that came my way in my capacity as BEER magazine’s Real Ale in a Bottle reviewer.

The 30-strong selection is listed in alphabetical order with no internal ranking implied. Click on the links for detailed tasting notes and background information. Enjoy.

• Avery Maharaja Imperial India Pale Ale 10.5%, Boulder, Colorado, USA
• Beck (Trabelsdorf) Zoigl Kellerbier 5.8%, Trabelsdorf (Lisberg), Franken/Bayern, Germany
• Bernard Sváteční Ležák 5%, Humpolec, Vysočina, Czech Republic
• Blythe Ridware Pale 4.3%, Hamstall Ridware, Staffordshire, England
• Boon Oude Geuze Mariage Parfait 2001 8%, Lembeek, Vlaams-Brabant, Belgium
• Boston Samuel Adams Utopias  2009 27%, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
• Breconshire Ysprid y Ddraig  6.5%, Aberhonddu, Powys, Cymru
• Cigar City Humidor Series India Pale Ale 7.5%, Tampa, Florida, USA
• Dolle Brouwers Stille Nacht Reserva 2005 11.5%, Esen, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium
• Dry Dock Altbier 5.3%, Aurora, Colorado, USA
• Ducato Verdi Black Jack 8.2%, Roncole Verdi, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
• Duck-Rabbit Schwarzbier 5.8%, Farmville, North Carolina, USA
• George Gale Prize Old Ale 2007 9%, Horndean, Hampshire, England
• Green Flash Le Freak 9.2%, Vista, California, USA
• Greene King Strong Suffolk Ale 6%, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England
• Hardknott Granite 10.4%, Millom, Cumbria, England
• Marble Chocolate Marble 5.5%, Manchester, England
• Matuška IPA Raptor 6.2%, Broumy, Středočeský kraj, Czech Republic
• Medvidků Oldgott Barrique 13° 5.2%, Praha, Czech Republic
• Modrá Hvězda Dobřanská Hvězda světly ležak 12° 4.5%, Dobřany, Plzeňský Kraj, Czech Republic
• Molen Hel en Verdoemenis 666 11.5%, Bodegraven, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands
• Moor JJJ IPA 9.5%, Pitney, Somerset, Engand
• Mordue Workie Ticket 4.5%, North Shields, Tyne & Wear, England
• Oud Beersel Oude Lambik 5%, Beersel, Vlaams-Brabant, Vlaanderen
• Port Hop-15 10%, San Marcos, California, USA
• Samuel Smith Yorkshire Stingo 9%, Tadcaster, Yorkshire, England
• SweetWater Dank Tank Magnum IP Imperial Pilsner 9%, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
• Thornbridge Saint Petersburg Highland 2006 7.7%, Ashford-in-the-Water, Derbyshire, England
• Timothy Taylor’s Landlord 4.1%, Keighley, West Yorkshire, England
• Tröegs Troegenator Double Bock 8.2%, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA