2014 ~ The Year’s Beers

If my statistics from Untappd are to be believed, I tasted no less than 606 unique beers in 2014. This annihilates my number from last year, which was a paltry 207 unique brews. I began using Untappd midway through 2014 because it was utilitarian and allows me to catalogue my alcoholic explorations with a greater degree of detail and efficiency. I also joined Beer Advocate and began to do some trading and also some tourism, visiting breweries in New York City, Tampa, and Orange County. Midway through the year I began a biweekly beer night with a number of friends in San Diego. Now it has essentially has become a glorious bottle share that happens twice a month. On the horizon? Hopefully hosting a beer podcast. I just need to buckle down and DO IT.

Since listing them all here would be a fool’s errand, resulting in a very long post, I will simply break down some of my favorite brews from the most popular categories I imbibed.

India Pale Ales (IPAs) – tasted 76 unique

1. Treehouse Green
2. Russian River Blind Pig
3. Alpine Nelson
4. Noble Ale Works Waimea Showers
5. Kern River Just Outstanding
6. Alpine Duet
7. Ballast Point Grapefruit Sculpin
8. Societe The Pupil
9. Alpine Bine & Vine 3rd Anniversary
10. Acoustic Ales Back N The GSSR
11. Rip Current Lupulin Lust
12. Bells Two Hearted
13. Culture Mosaic IPA
14. Modern Times Aurora
15. Cigar City Experimental Hop #291
16. Modern Times Phalanx
17. Cigar City Jai Alai
18. Fat Heads Head Hunter
19. Mother Earth Sinister Prime Minister
20. Cismontane Coulter IPA

Imperial India Pale Ales (IIPAs, DIPAs, TIPAs) – tasted 71 unique

1. Belching Beaver Poundtown
2. Columbus Bodhi
3. Brick Wall Brewing Pliny the Tagger (PtE recipe home-brew)
4. Russian River Pliny the Elder
5. Alpine Pure Hoppiness
6. Stone Enjoy By 4.20.14
7. Alpine / New Belgium Super IPA
8. Lagunitas Sucks
9. Knee Deep Hoparillo
10. Pizza Port 5th Gear Pinned
11. Founders Double Trouble
12. Bells Hopslam
13. Lagunitas Waldo’s Special (Waldo’s 420)
14. 3 Floyds Dreadnaught
15. Green Flash West Coast IPA
16. 3 Floyds Arctic Panzer Wolf
17. Fat Head’s Hop JuJu

Imperial Stouts / Double Stouts / Russian Imperial Stouts – tasted 44 unique

1. Modern Times Monsters Park 2014 – 12%
2. The Lost Abbey Serpents Stout 2014 – 11%
3. The Bruery So Happens It’s Tuesday (with Coconut) – 11.5%
4. Southern Tier Mokah – 10%
5. Port Santa’s Little Helper – 12%
6. Avery The Czar – 8.5%
7. Stone Stochasticity Master of Disguise – 9.7%
8. Prairie Bomb! – 14%

Barrel-Aged Imperial Stouts (subset)

1. The Bruery Black Tuesday 2014 – 19.2%
2. The Lost Abbey Track #10 Bat Out of Hell – 13.5%
3. Against the Grain Bo & Luke – 13%
4. Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout (KBS) – 11.2%
5. Avery Tweak – 16%
6. Avery Mephistopheles Stout – 16.8%
7. Hanger 24 Barrel Roll No. 3 – Pugachev’s Cobra 2013 – 13.8%
8. Stone W00tstout 2.0 – 13.5%
9. Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout 2013 – 15%
10. Praire Pirate Bomb! – 14%
11. The Bruery Grey Monday – 18%
12. Port Older Viscosity – 12%
13. Great Divide Chocolate Oak-Aged Yeti – 9.5%

American Strong Ales – tasted 25 unique

1. Stone Double Bastard 2008 – 11.2%
2. Stone Double Bastard 2009 – 11.2%
3. The Lost Abbey Deliverance – 12.5%
4. The Lost Abbey Angel’s Share Grand Cru – 12%
5. Stone Double Bastard 2010 Aged in Bourbon Barrels – 11.2%
6. Stone Lukcy Basartd – 8.5%
7. Lagunitas Brown Shugga’ – 9.9%
8. The Bruery Mélange No. 3 – 15.5%
9. Stone Bastard in the Rye – 10%
10. Lagunitas Undercover Investigation Shut-Down – 9.7%

American Pale Ales (APAs) – tasted 25 unique

1. AleSmith Pale Ale .394 – 6%
2. Alpine Ale – 5.5%
3. Mike Hess Hartley – 6.3%
4. New Glarus Moon Man – 5%
5. Modern Times Oneida – 5.8%
6. Oskar Blues Dale’s Pale Ale – 6.5%
7. Brooklyn Scorcher #366 – 4.5%
8. 3 Floyds Man-O-Awe – 6%
9. 3 Floyds Zombie Dust – 6.4%

So, what do you think I should set as a goal for 2015? Is it cool to have a goal of tasting a butt-load of beers? Should I stick to hunting down everything on the Top 250 from Beer Advocate? Yes to all? OK. See what’s on deck in my beer cellar.