Top Tastings 2012

Your author sampling the wares at the Borefts Bierfestival, Bodegraven, Netherlands, September 2012. Pic: Stephen Robinson.

2012 was another great year for tasting beer. Britain’s brewers got ever more eclectic and adventurous, and London’s share of good breweries and top venues multiplied apace. The developing Belgian scene was well reflected in the newly expanded Zythos Bierfestival. My first visit to the Borefts festival at De Molen in the Netherlands amply satisfied my geekiest cravings, while trips to San Diego and to San Francisco again yielded more delight from the ever-growing Californian scene, including some fine new session beers. I also took the opportunity to return to some well loved classics.

For the fifth year running, I’ve tried to whittle the many hundreds of beers I sampled during 2012 down to 30 examples that between them best demonstrate why liquids fermented from cereals are worthy of my and your time, energy and enthusiasm. It’s difficult to say whether they’re the absolute best of the year, but they’re ones that particularly stuck in my mind, and together provide a broad palette of styles and taste sensations, with a limit of one beer per brewer.

Compiling this list never gets any easier, so for the second time I’ve resorted to appending some additional honourable mentions. Both lists are in alphabetical order, with no further ranking intended, and the clickable links will take you to detailed tasting notes and background information.

• Adnams Southwold Bitter 3.7% Southwold, Suffolk, England
• Anchor Porter 5.6% San Francisco, California, USA
• Arbor Brigstow Bitter 4.3% Bristol, England
• Batemans Combined Harvest 4.4% Wainfleet, Lincolnshire, England
• Budějovický (Budweiser) Budvar 12° nefiltrované 5% České Budějovice, Jihočeský Kraj, Czech Republic
• Coniston No 9 Barley Wine 8.5%Coniston, Cumbria, England
• Deschutes/Hair of the Dog Conflux No 1 Collage 11.6% Bend, Oregon, USA
• Dying Vines/Linden Street Dee’z English Mild 4% Oakland, California, USA
• FiftyFifty Eclipse Imperial Stout White Wax 2011 9.5% Truckee, California, USA
• Fuller’s Past Masters Old Burton Extra 7.3% London W4, England
• Girardin Gueuze 1882 (Black label) 5% Sint-Ulriks-Kapelle, Vlaams-Brabant, Vlaanderen
• Greene King Old 5X 12% Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England
• Heineken Italia Moretti La Rossa 7.2% Milano, Lombardia, Italy
• Ilkley Siberia 5.9% Ilkley, Bradford, England
• Jester King Le Petit Prince 2.9% Austin, Texas, USA
• Knee Deep Simtra Triple India Pale Ale 11.3% Lincoln, California, USA
• Le Brewery Odo 6.6% Joué du Bois, Orne, France
• Marble/Emelisse Earl Grey IPA 6.8% Manchester, England
• Maximus Stout 6 6% Utrecht, Netherlands
• Mikkeller/Proef Big Bad Worse Barley Wine 12% Lochristi, Oost-Vlaanderen
• Oskar Blues Old Chub Scotch Ale 8% Longmont, Colorado, USA
• Panil Barriquée Sour 2012 8% Torrechiara, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
• Rodenbach Grand Cru 6% Roeselare, Oost-Vlaanderen
• Russian River Pliny the Elder 8% Santa Rosa, California, USA
• Schneider Tap X Mein Nelson Sauvin 7.3% Kelheim, Bayern, Germany
• Shepherd Neame India Pale Ale 6.1% Faversham, Kent, England
• Ska Steel Toe Working Class Milk Stout 5.4% Durango, Colorado, USA
• Societe The Pupil 7.7% San Diego, California, USA
• Tempest Brave New World 7.8% Kelso, Scottish Borders, Scotland
• Weihenstaphaner Vitus 7.7% Freising, Bayern, Germany

Honourable mentions: 3 Fonteinen Faro, Alpine New Millennium, Augustiner Maximator, Beeston Norfolk Black, Borgo L’Equilibrista, Clarence & Fredericks Best Bitter, Driftwood Spars Alfie’s Revenge, Ducato The Masochist, Durham White Stout, Evil Twin/ Fanø Hey Zeus!, Faust Auswandererbier 1849, Firestone Walker Walker’s Reserve, Heretic Shallow Grave Porter, Jandrain-Jendrenouille VI Wheat, Kernel Export India Porter Bramling Cross, Lion à Plume/Bastogne Pastiche, Logsdon Seizoen Bretta, Lover BeerBera, Magic Rock Bearded Lady Bourbon Barrel, Molen Bommen & Granaten Cascade BA, Nethergate Nicholson’s Lamplighter, Plain Incognito Port Stout, Port/Lost Abbey Red Poppy Ale, Ranke Saison de Dottignies, Redwillow Soulless, Seef/Roman Antwerpse Seef Bier, Senne Zinnebir, Tap East 3 Shades of Black: The barrel-aged, Williams Brothers Nollaig, Worthington Czar’s P2 Imperial Stout.