2023 was a fun but a little slower beer year for me. No Belgium trips this year but beer travel was punctuated with getting a chance to do Fruhlingsfest in Munich at the site of the famed Oktoberfest. I was able to return to Copenhagen for my 4th Mikkeller Beer Celebration. Three Floyds put on their best Dark Lord Day in history, and I made my first excursion to Northeast Iowa to Toppling Goliath for the KBBS release.
My list of my 10 favorite beer pours of 2023 is below. This list is in no particular order. The beer does not have to have been bottled/canned in 2023. This is merely the beers I personally enjoyed most that I consumed this calendar year. I do skew towards adding selections I’ve never had before and newer beers.
Lua Brewing – All
One of my highlights of the Mikkeller Beer Celebration Copenhagen was All from Lua Brewing in Des Moines. Toasted coconut and hazelnut, cinnamon, and cocoa nibs. This was my only Untappd “5” I gave this year. A perfect pastry stout with barrel complexity and a depth of flavor from the adjuncts.
Tommie Sjef – Oude (2020)
Bit of a makeshift geuze here. Lots of great funk and very drinkable. Underrated, much like many of Tommie Sjef’s excellent work. I also found Saaz to be very enjoyable.
Whiskey Hill Brewing – Split
Banana is surprisingly more polarizing than I realized. This is the best banana beer I’ve had. Ice cream themed beer typically skews to neapolitan style. This beer has Thai banana, coconut and vanilla beans, and was aged in a 3rd use barrel that was previously Jack Daniels then Pips Banana Pancake. This beer is thoroughly sweet but the flavors pop memorably.
Mortalis Brewing Company – Niflheim (Blue Wax)
This collab was made with Weldwerks with almonds and coconut. It wasn’t terribly original but it was a significant beer that opened my eyes to what Mortalis is doing. Shout to Fred for routinely sharing fun new Mortalis ticks with me.
Phase Three Brewing – Eunoche
More coconut and almonds, involving Weldwerks. Phase Three teamed up with Weldwerks to summon the greatness of Starry Noche in the Eunoia package. The only downside here was that there was a tremendous amount of dissolved solids in this beer that coagulated together to make quite the coconut bottle slug. If you get a bottle, I’d highly recommend rolling the bottle and tipping it over several times to let the solids separate a little.
3 Fonteinen – Speling Van Het Lot XVI.v: Intense Schaarbeekse
Happy cherry pie beer from 3F. This was one of the Twisting the Fates beers that dropped in 2022. Lou Pepe Kriek adjacent. Scharbeekse cherries with the addition of fruit on the same level as 3F’s classic Intense Rood.
Boiler Brewing co – Jet Puffed Coconut Killa AF
The first impression I had of this beer was it felt like an imperial version of Marshmallow Handjee with a huge dose of coconut. People sleep on Boiler, but they continue to be pastry royalty.
Seedz brewery – Das Urtiel
I’m rarely wowed by lagers. Even the top tier of them don’t seem to be disproportionately better than the mean. Seedz has changed that for me and it started with Das Urtiel. It’s a 12 degrees plato czech lager. It’s flavorful, refreshing and has made me now go out of my way to ensure I get a chance to stop at their dog friendly Southwest Michigan brewery, anytime I go to Michigan.
Toppling Goliath Brewing Co – Kentucky Brunch Brand Stout (2023)
My first trip to Decorah afforded me the opportunity to try a vertical of KBBS which really enabled to grasp the qualities of this classic whale. I’m a bit of a slut for maple beers and this is as good as it comes. I had never had KBBS before 2023, but managed to enjoy a bottle with my good friend Ed, and then journey to Toppling Goliath myself. I was ready to be a hot take artist and call it underwhelming but it wasn’t. Just remember, fresh is best.
side Project Brewing – Pulling Nails (blend 14)
Pulling Nails has always been a blend of barrels ol Cory finds to work together. This series has lost maybe a little shine since the wax dipped bottles of their early years.
Side Project saisons have rebounded from some of the acidic lows of the last few years. This beer is obvious evidence. Oude du Ble with raspberries, Blueberry saison, chambourcin grape wild ale, and a SARA saison collab. The output of these became the first wild beer to win the Bottle Share Tournament, in 2023. A triumph years in the making, after the domination by stouts and barleywines.
Honorary Mentions
- Weldwerks Brewing – Peanut Butter Medianoche
- Bofkont – Summer ’22
- Monkish Brewing – Snow Giant
- Moksa Brewing – Bounteous
- Marlobobo – Gin BA Bumfuzzle (mead)
Koel Story Bro 