Top 5 Beer Experiences in 2019
It’s time for my annual ranking of my top 5 beer experiences of 2019. Fun to go through my instagram and untappd and see what stood out.
Here are the ground rules:
- This is based on the quality of beer and/or the atmosphere where it was imbibed. I might rank a good atmosphere over a great beer or vice versa. Ideally it’s a combination of both.
- The beer must be drank at a bar, restaurant, or brewery and not at a home or apartment. I might make a separate list for that.
- This is my list and it’s subjective
- Remember rule #3
So, with that in mind, here are my favorite beer experiences of 2019:
1. Lost Highway Double Black IPA; Mother Road Brewing; Flagstaff, AZ
I was on a mini-road trip with my 14 year old son out west and we stopped here for dinner. It was a great beer, great brewery, and amazing weather at the beginning of August. But, the company was even better.
2. Haze The Lord; TDM 1874 Brewery; Hachi Record Shop and Bar; Kyoto, Japan
I snuck out in the middle of the afternoon while my family rested and found a little craft beer bar in a jazz record shop. It was early and I was the only one in there. The bartender was an older guy that spoke no English, but I ordered a few beers and he spun jazz records. It was pretty surreal and pretty awesome.
3. Cullahaza Vol 5; Satulah Mountain Brewing; Highlands, NC
I took my sons and nephew up into the NC mountains to beat the heat in July. After spending 3 days rafting and hiking with 3 preteen boys, a buddy from Tampa happened to be in town and we met up for beers at Satulah Mountain Brewing for a couple of pints and I found my favorite beer of 2019. A very citrus forward IPA.
4. Yodapants; Arkane Aleworks; Largo, FL
I went to the Sour Fest at Arkane not particularly impressed with sours as a whole.. And then I was handed a fluorescent green beer to taste first. And it was really, really good. And I’m slowly coming around on sours now.
5. Light and Dark Ale; McSorley’s Old Ale House; New York City
McSorley’s Old Ale House is a NYC institution and it doesn’t look like it’s changed at all since it opened in 1864. And it hasn’t. This isn’t craft beer. You order the light or the dark. I ordered one of each and they gave me 2 of each. The beers are just okay. But sitting in an old pub drinking their traditional brewed beers in the middle of NYC in January was pretty cool.