The Greatest Craft Beers Of 2010– The Staff Chooses Their TGBO2010: And The Winners Are...
Friday, January 14, 2011 at 5:43PM | by Jason 
Jason - It’s been a year since I launched this website and it has been quite an adventure. We’ve had 12,527 visits from 72 countries/territories in 2010 and it has been more than I could have ever expected. I started touching base with the staff here at TGBOAT to find out what was their "The Greatest Beer Of 2010." Myself, I have personally reviewed 184 different craft beers in 2010 and drank a bunch more that I never got around to reviewing. I started going back through my reviews to see which ones grabbed our highest rating of Buy A Keg and of my 184 reviews only 7 received the highest rating that I can give. Looking back I realized that I have had the opportunity to drink a lot of great beers this past year but only one can receive my TGBO2010. I have had a hard time trying to decide between two that I did review and one that I have yet to review. In the end, I had to go with the one that I would probably do just about anything to get my hands on. My personal "The Greatest Beer Of 2010" is Half Acre Brewing Company’s Double Daisy Cutter. This is a Double IPA that has no equal. It is a representation of perfection from the color, aroma and most of all flavor. Double Daisy Cutter is a beautifully balanced brew that has that hoppy bite, flavor as while being balanced with a malt sweetness that perfectly creates a one of a kind drinking experience. Not that most consider it important but I also have to say that I am in love with the label artwork and no bullshit; I will get this label tattooed on me at some point this year to show my undying love for Double Daisy Cutter. I have yet to review Double Daisy Cutter on the website yet but the couple of times I sat here with a bottle I was left speechless. My 2011 goal is to be able to convey the experience of Double Daisy Cutter and finally review it. This is a must try for any Craft Beer lover no matter what you have to do to get it.
Steve - I would have to say that Ska Euphoria is my favorite pick of the year. It's not all that often anymore where I drink a beer, pause for a minute and say to myself, "This beer is really, really good". Not too much grabs my attention in that way, but Euphoria did. I took my first sip and knew that I was tasting something special. It is in a class above any other pale ale that I have ever tasted and I've tasted a lot. My TGBO2010 is Ska Brewing Company’s Euphoria Pale Ale.
Rafi - There are few beers that I can remember exactly what I was doing, who I was with, and what I was thinking the very first time that a particular beer hit my lips. Squall IPA happens to be one of those beers. Early in 2010 I had split a couple bottles with my dear friends over at Finnegan’s in Plainfield. Outside of being simply one of the best tasting IPA’s I’ve ever had, that particular evening was responsible for a lot of the relationships I’ve acquired over the year. So, besides being one of the best IPA’s I’ve ever had the pleasure of putting into my mouth, it has a lot of sentimental value for me. Well balanced, hoppy, bottle conditioned… basically perfection in a bottle from Dogfish Head. Hard to find… but when you do, put this hoppy-heaven in your body as soon as humanly possible. My TGBO2010 is Dog Fish Head's Squall IPA.
Wes - Picking a The Greatest Beer of the Year is like picking a favorite child: unfair, heartbreaking and damn near impossible. It is like getting a free pass to punch any politician in the face but only being able to pick one. I actually dug through old reviews until I find my clear cut winner. I drank a ton of delicious beers this year, but most were just pleasant surprises. Only one had amazingly high expectations from me and still surpassed my wildest dreams. But first, a few notable contenders from last year, Half Acre’s Double Daisy Cutter, Bell’s The Oracle, Founders Centennial IPA, Mission Brewery’s Shipwrecked Double IPA, Short’s Brewery’s Anniversary Blood Orange Wheat Wine, New Holland’s Imperial Hatter IPA, and Two Brother’s Domaine DuPage French Country Ale. However the real winner this year is a beer that was so strong and so delicious that it took my breath away. I have to give my greatest beer of the year to Bell’s Brewery’s 25th Anniversary Ale. This American strong ale is so amazingly complex, strong and satisfying it still holds the spot in my heart reserved for “best tasting beer in the world.” This brew is a work of art and cannot be missed by any beer lover.
Chris - While I haven't been writing as much as I probably should, I have definitely doing my fair share of beer drinking. Now, that is not to say I can keep up with the other functional alchies that write for TGBOAT, but I had several beers that definitely gave me the deep satisfaction of drinking a great brew. When it comes down to it I am a big IPA fan and after reading the initial reviews of Jason and Wes I was turned on to Imperial Hatter Double IPA by New Holland Brewing, my TGBO2010. It has a great complexity of flavor and the right light malt notes to complement the fruity, hoppy melody. I truly enjoyed Imperial Hatter on the first go and I have certainly enjoyed it since. It was, in fact, partially rsponsible for the haze in which I rang in the new year. Cheers to 2011, Year of Beer!
I can say that I am not surprised that we ended up with 3 IPAs, 1 American Strong Ale and a Pale Ale as I know we are all huge Hop Heads. 2010 was a great year for us and I greatly look forward to this year and all of the Craft Beer experiences that lie ahead.
2010 Picks
Half Acre Brewing Company - Double Daisy Cutter
Ska Brewing Company's Euphoria Pale Ale
Bell's Brewery's 25th Anniversary Ale
New Holland Brewing's Imperial Hatter
Cheers,
Jason
