Top 5 Beer Experiences in 2020
It’s time for my annual ranking of my top 5 beer experiences of 2020. Great way to wrap up a year in beer. It goes without saying, but 2020 was a strange year and a lot of my beer drinking was done at home, at a friends (outside, of course) or at an AirBnB.
Here are the ground rules:
- This is based more on the atmosphere and circumstances around the consumption of the beer rather than the actual taste of the beer. Though bad beers are unlikely to make this list.
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.Rule not valid during a pandemic- This is my list and it’s subjective
- Remember rule #3
So, with that in mind, here are my favorite beer experiences of 2020:
1. Hunahpu Stout(s); Cigar City Brewing; Private Dock; Davis Islands, Tampa
2020 sucked and of course it affected beer experiences, too. I had my tickets to attend my first Hunahpu’s Day beer festival for Cigar City Brewing and three days before festival date, they made the (right) call to cancel the event. But this was still at the beginning of the pandemic and I was pretty bummed. Fortunately, my friends and I had already picked up our bottles that were previously released so we held our own Hunahpu’s Day on the dock behind a friend’s house. Four friends who split three different Hunahpu bottles( and a few more, too, if I’m being honest). The beers were great. Hunahpu’s are always solid. But it’s more memorable for what didn’t happen and what that would mean to the rest of our year.
2. Sun Squishy IPA; Suncreek Brewery; Clermont, FL
In January, I fulfilled one of my bucket list travel experiences and did a multi-day bike tour across most of the width of Florida. From Lakeland to Titusville. You can read about the whole trip here, but all that matters for this post is that I drank this beer after my first day of the trip and my first time hitting 45 miles on a single ride. It’s just an unbelievable feeling stepping off that bike and walking into the brewery. Accomplishing something you’ve dreamed about for years. And while the people there just wondered why I stunk so bad, I got to finish my day at a brewery and that was the perfect finish.
3. Surf Wax IPA; Burial Brewing Co; Secret Falls Trail; Highlands, NC
Burial is a fantastic brewery and Surf Wax has it’s place as a solid, not great beer. But this is about experiences. I was up in Highlands, North Carolina for the week after Christmas to get some family time in during an otherwise shitty year. One afternoon my wife and I were able to sneak out and get in a hike by ourselves. And it ended up being everything I want a hike to be. We drove down to Secret Falls Trailhead because I had read it was a hidden gem. But I had no idea that we’d be the only people on their for the entire hike from start to finish. It’s a secret because everybody else would give up before getting to the trailhead. It’s a crazy lane, windy, unpaved road through the woods. But the hike was great. It was just less than a 2 mile up and back through a moderately technical trail that ended at this great waterfall where we could sit and on a big tree stump and talk by ourselves. And share a beer, of course. So many of the hikes are crowded with people, dogs, and kids that you don’t get that tranquil finish that you want from a hike. This one couldn’t have been more perfect and I was so happy I decided to pack a beer just in case. Forces you to stay a bit and take it all in.
4. Feed Your Head IPA; Reve Brewing; Atlantic Beach, FL
In the heart of the pandemic, my oldest friend in the world’s dad passed away (not from covid). He was stationed in Jacksonville which was only a few hours away. I quarantined myself before and after but I knew I had to head up there. The plan was to hang back at his apartment but we also wanted to grab a few beers at the local breweries. While I was in the car driving up, Florida’s governor closed all bars and breweries (despite reopening them a month later when the covid numbers were worse). We adapted quickly and did a beer run instead. We hit Reve Brewing, Engine 15, Southern Swells and Aardwolf and grabbed as many bottles, cans, and crowlers as we could. Then we sat out for the next two nights and drank through most of it reminiscing, bullshitting, and talking craft beer. So glad I had that weekend with him and the beer played the perfect and necessary distraction. Reve’s beers were the highlight from that beer run.
5. Universal Love Pale Ale; Brighter Days Brewing; Tarpon Springs, FL
On my birthday in November, I decided to do a bike and brewery trip by myself. You can’t get more socially distanced than that. My wife and I stayed the night in a condo in Indian Shores and then I rode my bike up the next morning through Clearwater and then on the Pinellas Trail to Brighter Days Brewing Company. It was 25 miles up there for my first beer. And it was fantastic. I had the brewery to myself (I’m an introvert, so that’s a good thing). I ended up riding down back down the trail for another 15 miles hitting DeBine Brewing in Palm Harbor and 7venth Sun in Dunedin before my wife graciously picked me up.