Favorite Beer

How many times has some well meaning person asked you what your favorite beer is? I’ve found it’s not usually one of my “beer geek” friends as they know just how difficult such a question is to answer. There are just too many out there to choose from, not to mention my evolving tastes, what time of year it is, what setting I drank a beer in or any number of other variables.

This past weekend was chock full of good beer, consumed in the presence of great friends, but there were some standouts worth mentioning, ones that if being tortured (like watching the last keg of Ommegang Rouge on earth being broken and spilling into the sand, not leaving behind even the smallest puddle for me to lap up) and forced to submit an answer to the favorite beers question, would rise to the surface.

So Ommegang Rouge aside, since I didn’t make it over to see Al, here is my top 3 for the weekend.
#1 – Friday night’s outing to The Muddy Pig’s Festival of Hops was a great way to start off the weekend. The flight option was great for this kind of event and gave me the chance to try some beers I would likely never order as a pint/goblet. One of those being New Holland’s Existential Hopwine. This is one boozy beer, but in the middle of winter when sippers are king, this one takes the crown.

#2 – Saturday night, Kat’s final birthday celebration for the year, offered a multitude of delicious treats. But the best, the most unexpected, was Surly’s 16 Grit. If you’re wondering how you missed the release of this in cans, don’t worry, it’s not out yet. This gem, lovingly preserved and shared by Jason, came in fact in growler form. And you know what? For a beer that hasn’t been available like that for over a year, drinking it, you would have guessed it was filled yesterday. Makes me all the more excited for those cans to roll off the line!

#3 – Like many a Minnesotan, Sunday night meant watching what ended up being a sad end to the Vikings season. All was not lost however; at least there was good beer to be had. The best of the bunch, and truly surprising to me, came from Sprecher. In general I’m not a fan of their products. They aren’t bad, just not usually to my liking. So when Mag popped the top off of their Bourbon Barrel Dopple Bock, I wasn’t expecting much. How wrong I was! This is another in the sipper beer category and you’ll have to enjoy some bourbon flavor in your beer to agree with me here, but I can tell you that on my next run across the border if I see any of it, it will be mine.

So as the new week begins, I hope you, too, have some fond memories of the weekend.