We’ve asked the Pursuit of Hoppiness writers to come up with their top picks for the beers of the year. Between us the aim is to have exactly 100 beers.
Top Pick Canyon Brewing To Central With Love
I love this wild ride of a beer. Locally grown malt and hops, rested on pinot noir grape skins, turning the beer a vibrant red. Fermented on yeast from wild thyme flowers. Tastes like Ribena blended with pinot noir.
St Leonards Dunkelsbock
Of all the beers from all the brewers over all the years at Beervana I can’t remember going back for seconds … except for this beer, this year.
Hop Federation Binecraft
My favourite out of The Malthouse West Coast IPA Challenge. Aromatic bomb.
McLeod’s Harvest Moon
Next winter I will order a case of these. Longboarder for summer, Harvest Moon for the shorter days. Perfect Dark IPA.
Bach Bungy Smuggler
A perfect execution of the New Zealand style hazy IPA with hops pinging.
Mount Brewing Shades of the Pacific
A beer that delivers on all its parts — vanilla, coconut, chocolate, orange — and yet also transcends all those flavours.
Peckham’s 0% Apple
Unbelievable flavour and aroma for a zero. Stunning.
Duncan’s Fresh Hop Pilsner
The Eggers Special hop varietal, a variation of Riwaka, made this beer the ultimate autumn drinking experience.
Parrotdog Thunderbird Bright IPA
Bright is the beer idea of the year and this set the tone. Juicy, fruity but tightly-tuned.
Boneface Spinal Hop APA
Classic APA with superb integration of malt and hops and balanced on a pin.
Emerson’s 1812
A trip south, snug in Albar, I was reunited with the marmalade goodness of 1812.
Urbanaut Dankonia Terpene IPA
Olfactory outrageousness followed by palate-blasting flavours of grapefruit, leather, herbs, furniture polish and more.
Garage Project British Steel
The mid-year Mild revival was a blessing and this was the best of them.
Sunshine Rogue Wave IPA
An Aussie-hopped IPA that couldn’t be pigeon-holed into the usual templates of Kiwi and/or American hops. Enticingly different.