Tart Saison, Council Brewing

With more than 100 brewhouses in San Diego, hundreds of new beers are produced throughout the county each year. I have the good fortune of sampling a great many of them, and the following is a list, broken down by style, of the 50 local brews that really stuck with me in 2014. Some simply represent the best tasting beers I had all year, while others win points for innovation or tackling lesser celebrated styles, and doing it with style, precision, and a quality deliverable. No matter the beer, be assured that I proudly stand behind the selection of them all and highly recommend each one. Cheers to those who produced them. San Diego is a better place because they’re here.

India Pale Ales & Hoppy Beers

• 32 North Nautical Mile IPA
• Alpine Bine & Vine 3rd Anniversary IPA
• AleSmith Pale Ale 394
• Amplified Smokin’ Kiwi Smoked IPA
• Aztec Hop Serpent Double IPA
• Aztec Simrilla IPA
• Ballast Point Grunion Pale Ale
• Fall Spirit of 77 IPA
• Karl Strauss Mosaic Session Ale
• Mike Hess North Park IPA
• Nickel Hopster Douchebag Double IPA
• Pacific Octo Rye IPA
• Pizza Port Big Deal with Passion Fruit
• Pizza Port Citra-R-Ama
• Rip Current Hop Wine Quadruple IPA
• Societe The Bachelor: Sorachi Ace

Stouts & Brown Ales

• AleSmith Barrel-Aged Vietnamese Speedway Stout
• Bagby Upside Down Frown Brown
• Ballast Point Rye Barrel-Aged Victory At Sea Coffee & Vanilla Imperial Porter
• Belching Beaver Horchata Imperial Stout:
• Chris Banker/Stone/Insurgente Xocoveza Mocha Stout
• Coronado/Cigar City Jurata Baltic Porter
• Council Pirate’s Breakfast Imperial Oatmeal Stout
• Iron Fist Rum Barrel-Aged Dark Days Imperial Stout
• Mikhail’s Odd (2013 Stone ESPRESSO Imperial Russian Stout aged in Bourbon Barrels)
• Modern Times Monsters Park Imperial Stout
• O’Sullivan Bros. Catholic Guilt Smoked Porter
• Pizza Port 2014 Strong Ale Blend
• Pizza Port May The Port Be With You Imperial Porter
• Saint Archer Coffee Brown

Belgian-style Ales

• Benchmark Table Beer
• Council Tart Saison
• Culture Sour Grape
• The Lost Abbey Veritas 014 Ale
• Mother Earth Triple Swag
• Rip Current Double Point Break Dubbel
• Societe The Gleaner Saison
• Stone Bang Bang (Red Ale aged in Bourbon Barrels)
• Toolbox Tart X
• URBN St. Saison

Other Styles

• AleSmith Decadence 2014 Wheat Wine
• Bolt Pilsner
• Fallbrook Java Hill Coffee Cream Ale
• Green Flash Sour Blonde
• Green Flash Treasure Chest Barrel-Aged Saison with Plums
• Indian Joe Mango Sour
• Intergalactic 1st Anniversary Black Barley Wine
• Monkey Paw Javier! Javier! English Strong Ale
• Monkey Paw/Nickel Wrathchild Smoked Doppel Weizenbock
• New English Barleywine
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