A lot can change in a year, and a glimpse at St. Louis' beer landscape confirms that. Four new craft breweries opened in the city this year, and shelves and bar taps are filled with more beer styles and brands.
Tastes can change, too, as evidenced by my list of the 10 best beers of the year available in Missouri. Only two of my selections from 2010 carried over to this year's list. My 2011 picks are heavy with wood-aged beers and ones that have been spiked with Brettanomyces, an unpredictable yeast that promotes the development of tart aromas and gamy flavors.
Without further ado, here are my choices for the Best Beers of 2011. At the end of the column are bonus lists of the best beers I tried that are not available in Missouri, and the year's best St. Louis-made brews.
10. Nebraska Mélange à Trois: Notes of tart grapes and a dry, champagnelike finish make this beer that's aged in chardonnay barrels a good one to impress wine drinkers. 10 percent alcohol by volume; limited availability.
9. Bell's Two-Hearted Ale: A holdover from last year (No. 6), this American-style IPA is still an everyday favorite of mine because of its popping citrus-zest aromas and flavors. 7 percent ABV; available year-round.
8. Firestone Walker Abacus: Aging this barleywine in spent bourbon barrels harmonizes its myriad flavors of milk chocolate, vanilla, booze-soaked fruit and toffee. 13 percent ABV; limited availability. (Look for a new version, called §ucaba, coming in February.)
7. Founders Breakfast Stout: The other holdover from last year's list (No. 4), Breakfast Stout again impresses with its sublime combination of flaked oats, dark chocolate and roasted coffee. 8.3 percent ABV; available September-January.
6. Boulevard Collaboration No. 2 White IPA: An interesting experiment in collaborative brewing, Boulevard and Deschutes breweries used the same recipe to brew a witbier-IPA hybrid 1,600 miles apart. Boulevard's version was the better of the two, with grass, sage and citrus flavors mingling on the tongue. 7.4 percent ABV; limited availability.
5. 2nd Shift Art of Neurosis: In my opinion, this punchy hop bomb from New Haven has dethroned Schlafly AIPA as the best IPA brewed in the St. Louis area. The latest batch has more grapefruit, orange and tangerine aromas than a supermarket produce section. 7.7 percent ABV; limited availability.
4. Anchorage Whiteout Wit: Alaska's new Anchorage Brewing Co. knocked my socks off with its first offering, a Belgian-style witbier made with Brettanomyces, Sorachi Ace hops, lemon peel, black pepper and Indian coriander, then aged in French chardonnay barrels. Its creamy, spicy flavors are complex yet incredibly balanced. 6.5 percent ABV; limited availability.
3. Green Flash Rayon Vert: A last-minute addition to this list, Green Flash's brand-new Belgian-style pale ale is scheduled to arrive in St. Louis next week. I predict it will be a big hit. The brewery experimented for four years before perfecting the recipe for this hop-forward beer with lively carbonation and a healthy dose of Brettanomyces funk. 7 percent ABV; available year-round.
2. Odell Friek: Fresh off a gold-medal win in the sour-beer category of this year's Great American Beer Festival, bottles of Odell Friek popped up in small quantities last month. The framboise-kriek hybrid is brewed with Colorado-grown cherries and raspberries, then aged in oak barrels with wild-yeast strains, resulting in a mouth-puckering tartness that complements a tinge of fruit sweetness. 6.5 percent ABV; limited availability.
1. New Belgium Le Terroir: I used to think La Folie, a sour brown ale, was my favorite New Belgium beer. Then I tasted Le Terroir. This pale counterpart to La Folie counters its wickedly sour bite with mango and peach notes from being dry-hopped. Besides being the most impressive brew in New Belgium's current stable, Le Terroir is the finest beer I tasted all year. 7.5 percent ABV; limited availability.
Best Beers Not Available in Missouri: Sixpoint Sweet Action • Stone La Citrueille Celeste de Citracado • Victory Yakima Glory • New Glarus Cran-bic • Cigar City Cedar-Aged Jai Alai
Best 2011 Beers Brewed in STL: Schlafly Pumpkin Ale • Urban Chestnut Apotheosis • Perennial Hommel Bier • Six Row Bacon Porter • Civil Life American Brown
Evan S. Benn is the assistant editor of Go! magazine. He also writes about beer and food, and he is author of the 2011 Post-Dispatch book "Brew in the Lou: St. Louis' Beer Culture - Past, Present and Future," available here. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.
