2016 Beer in Review: Black’s Best Sours, Breweries, Imports and Out-of-Staters
“2016 was the year of the Sour”, said Jason Black, as he sipped his way to almost a 5,000th different beer at a local Baltimore watering hole earlier this week. “Everybody had to make a Gose or a Berliner Weisse, and most did it reasonably well.”
Well, I still don’t love sours. I like ’em, but this one is all Jason Black.
Black’s Favorite Sours:
1) Union Older Pro, Chardonnay Barrel-aged with Boysenberries
2) Rodenbach Alexander
3) Brewer’s Art Tartuffe Fraise
4) 3 Stars Raspberry Dissonance
5) Terrapin Watermelon Gose
Best Imports:
1) Rodenbach Alexander (Flanders Red)
2) Van Honsebrouck Barista Chocolate Quad
3) Dieu du Ciel! Genèse (Belgian Tripel)
4) Ritterguts Gose
5) Schlossbrauerei Stelzer Schloss Export Lager
Sorry, Germany, looks like Belgium wins this round – consider this payback for the 1914 invasion!
Top 10 Breweries:
1) Boulevard Brewing Co.
2) Cigar City Brewing
3) Oskar Blues Brewery
4) Allagash Brewing Company
5) Funky Buddha Brewery
6) Stone Brewing
7) Union Craft Brewing
8) Devils Backbone Brewing Company
9) Laughing Dog Brewing
10) Avery Brewing Co.
Best non-Maryland area beers:
1) Veil Dirt Nap (Imperial IPA, Virginia)
2) Dogfish Head Siracusa Nera (Russian Imperial Stout, Delaware)
3) 3 Stars Raspberry Dissonance (Berliner Weisse, DC)
4) Dogfish Head Beer To Drink Music To (Belgian Tripel, Delaware)
5) Blue Earl Top of the World (Imperial Stout, Delaware)
Top styles:
1) Imperial Milk Stout (Stone Xocoveza)
2) Imperial American Stout (Peabody Heights Mocha Obscuro)
3) English Barleywine (Cigar City Trousseau)
4) Belgian Quad (Off Color Growl)
5) Imperial Oatmeal Stout (Black Flag Brunch)
The Two Non-Beers Worth A Damn:
1) KingView Trocken Dry Mead
2) Red Shedman Raspberry Cider
—J. Black
