{"id":2959,"date":"2011-04-08T09:00:54","date_gmt":"2011-04-08T14:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.guysdrinkingbeer.com\/?p=2959"},"modified":"2018-02-06T14:25:26","modified_gmt":"2018-02-06T20:25:26","slug":"1-year-of-gdb-ryans-top-5-beers-thus-far","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.guysdrinkingbeer.com\/1-year-of-gdb-ryans-top-5-beers-thus-far\/","title":{"rendered":"1 Year of GDB: Ryan’s Top 5 Beers Thus Far"},"content":{"rendered":"
Lists!\u00a0 Everyone loves ’em.\u00a0 And as such, we figured that with one full year of Guys Drinking Beer reviews and coverage in the books, we’d go back and take a look at the 5 beers that are still yanking our heartstrings.\u00a0 Beers that we wish we were still drinking at this moment, and forever and ever, amen.\u00a0 Beers that were just so damn good they have a permanent place of honor in our addled little brains.<\/p>\n
We’ve drank damn near every type of beer in the past year, everything from macrobrew basics all the way to hyper-local brewery one-offs.\u00a0 Stouts, sours, pilsners, ales, lagers, and everything in between – if it was fermented with yeast, we got our hands on it.<\/p>\n
Here’s my top five beers of this year, with a little bit of perspective now that they’re sadly in our rear-view mirror.\u00a0 For now.<\/p>\n
5) <\/strong>Stoudts Fat Dog Imperial Oatmeal Stout 2009<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0 It’s quite a mouthful to say and quite a mouthful to drink.\u00a0 I was able to chronicle this beer’s cellaring journey from fresh, to six months and to 18 months.\u00a0 That last bottle I pulled out of the cellar was remarkable and it is one of the few beers I regret not having more stashed away.\u00a0 I have tried cellaring a handful of other imperial oatmeal stouts and the Fat Dog is not only the lone beer I’ve had hold up well but actually improve dramatically with age.\u00a0 As I wrote in my review, it went from a-typical oatmeal stout to a super-awesomely complex oatmeal stout.<\/p>\n “The chocolate and coffee notes have taken a backseat to an almond-like nuttiness, brown sugar, plums, dates and a milk chocolate finish.\u00a0 The dark fruits are rather alluring and the brown sugar adds a pleasant sweetness to this beer.”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Find it.\u00a0 Buy it.\u00a0 Cellar it.\u00a0 I can promise, you won’t be disappointed.<\/p>\n 4)\u00a0 Surly Darkness<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0 This yearly offering from Surly is still fairly new to me.\u00a0 I had it in 2009 and recall drinking a very hoppy imperial stout reminiscent of Victory’s Storm King and Bell’s Expedition stouts.\u00a0 The 2010 offering from Surly was far more complex.\u00a0 In fact, I noted it was one of the most complex beers I had ever drank.<\/p>\n “Aromas of rich, milk chocolate, brown sugar and a well-worn leather jacket and spearmint gum fill my nose.\u00a0 Take a sip and you\u2019ll find an incredibly complex beer.\u00a0 You\u2019re initially greeted with a wave of silky, creamy, smooth and rich milk chocolate.\u00a0 It quickly gives way to a mix of smoked meats and soy sauce and finishes with a kiss of citrus hops.\u00a0 The longer you let this beer warm, and you should because there is so much to appreciate here, the smoked qualities become more pronounced with a bit of tobacco emerging as well.”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n To this day I want to sit down with a bottle of this and a really, really big steak.<\/p>\n