16 of Our Favorite Beers This Year
Beer fans face an abundance of options when it comes to year-round, seasonal, collaboration and limited-release brews. Two local beer experts shared their favorite beers released from October 2015 to October 2016: Justin Phelps, a Certified Cicerone® who writes the Saint Brewis beer blog, and Pete Dulin, a beer writer whose second book on craft brewing, Kansas City Brewing: A History of Brewing, will be released this month.
Provenance: St. Louis
Style: American Pale Ale (5.5% ABV)
Pairings: Toasted ravioli ○ Grilled hamburger with avocado and bacon on an onion bun
Caramel and bread-crust malt aromas leap from 4 Hands Brewing Co.’s City Wide, with an amazingly bright tropical fruit character from the hops right behind them. As you drink the medium-gold beer, its fluffy white head recedes, and flavors of citrus, slightly spicy hops and light caramel coat your tongue along with a bitterness that outweighs the sweetness without overpowering it. City Wide is available year-round in four-packs of 16-ounce cans.
314.436.1559, 4handsbrewery.com
Provenance: Kansas City
Style: Imperial India Pale Ale (8.5% ABV)
Pairings: Thai green curry ○ Rich grilled lamb ○ Funky blue cheese ○ Carrot cake ○ Cheesecake
Awash with tropical flavors and notes of pine, Boulevard Brewing Co.’s The Calling is far more complex than the average hoppy and bitter imperial IPA. The mango and pineapple aroma is created by a blend of eight hop varieties, primarily Mosaic, Equinox, Galaxy and Amarillo. This crisp and juicy IPA’s alcohol level is easily overlooked, but at 8.5 percent ABV, it packs a punch. The Calling IPA is one of Boulevard’s Smokestack Series beers available in four-pack bottles year-round.
816.474.7095, boulevard.com
Provenance: Raytown, Missouri
Style: Berliner Weiss (4.5% ABV)
Pairings: Chicken-salad sandwich with Granny Smith apples and aged ham on a pretzel bun ○ Salty french fries ○ Cheesecake with raspberries and toasted almonds
Crane Brewing’s Magenta beer made the brewery a favorite on the festival circuit in 2015 – including the Parkville Microbrew Fest and KC Nanobrew Festival – before its rebranding as Beet Weiss in 2016. In addition to its name, changes were made to the beer’s recipe before its official release last month. (The original recipe traces back to president and co-founder Michael Crane’s experimental homebrewing days in his basement brew lab.) Bright and effervescent with a berry aroma, the German-style Berliner Weiss has rich, earthy flavors counterbalanced by tartness. Beet Weiss is a fall seasonal release available in 750-millileter bottles.
816.743.4132, cranebrewing.com
Provenance: St. Louis
Style: Historical Beer (6.5% ABV)
Pairings: Coffee-rubbed New York strip steak ○ Zucchini, mushroom, onion and red pepper kabobs
A historic style that’s open to interpretation, Earthbound Beer’s Kentucky Common is made with a brewing technique known as “kettle souring” to produce a crisp, acidic ale. With aromas of toffee, chocolate and coffee and a slight tartness, the brew pours a deep brown color. It has strong chocolate and subtle rye notes with a mouth-puckering sourness. Kentucky Common is a limited release available sporadically on draft at the brewery.
314.769.9576, earthboundbeer.com
Provenance: Lawrence, Kansas
Style: Lager (4.8% ABV)
Pairings: Thai gai pad grapow ○ Caprese salad ○ BLT ○ Chicken wings ○ Pizza ○ Pesto pasta salad with chilled shrimp
Garden Party Lager was originally released as part of Free State Brewing Co.’s seasonal Front Porch Series in July 2015, but this year it graduated to its own standalone release. Garden Party is a refreshing beer brewed with cucumber sourced from Kansas farms, as well as basil and juniper berries, all of which were added during the conditioning process. The result is a highly aromatic, herbaceous beer with cucumber-juniper flavors evocative of gin. Garden Party is a summer seasonal release available in 12-ounce bottles.
785.843.4555, freestatebrewing.com
Provenance: Columbia, Missouri
Style: Belgian-Style Blonde Ale (6.5% ABV)
Pairings: Baked lemon-herb tilapia
The aromas found in Logboat Brewing Co.’s Bear Hair are mostly from the yeast, with a white pepper spiciness and lemon-citrus character blending nicely. When drinking this crystal-clear golden ale, you’ll get flavors that mimic the yeasty aroma, but a toasted character from the malts and floral flavors from the hops make sure the yeast doesn’t steal the show. The result is a refreshing beer with a dry finish. A spring-summer seasonal, Bear Hair is available in 22-ounce bottles.
573.397.6786, logboatbrewing.com
Provenance: Kansas City
Style: Belgian-Style Golden Ale (11% ABV)
Pairings: Sirloin steak and loaded baked potato ○ Roast beef sandwich with onion rings ○ Roast duck with cherry sauce
Aged in bourbon barrels, Martin City Brewing Co.’s Kentucky Friar golden ale reflects the depth of the increasingly sophisticated releases from head brewer Nick Vaughn. A hazy golden color, the Belgian-style ale’s aroma is a heady blend of caramel, sherry, vanilla, oak and bourbon; the initial bold and sweet cherry flavor gives way to a strong bourbon character. Kentucky Friar was available on tap in a limited release at the brewery's taproom in Kansas City this summer.
816.268.2222, martincitybrewingcompany.com
Provenance: Springfield, Missouri
Style: Witbier (5% ABV)
Pairings: Sautéed lemon-garlic shrimp with pasta and basil ○ Steamed mussels ○ Herbed cheese and crackers ○ Raspberry sorbet
Low in alcohol, Mother’s Brewing Co.’s Blush! pomegranate-hibiscus wit is a refreshing seasonal session beer to enjoy without getting woozy. Hibiscus gives the effervescent witbier its subtle rosy-peach hue and floral aroma. Raspberry and pomegranate flavors precede lemon, with a crisp, tart finish. The beer is a summer seasonal release available in 12-ounce bottles sold in a six-pack.
417.862.0423, mothersbrewing.com
Provenance: Alton, Illinois
Style: Witbier (4.6% ABV)
Pairings: Raspberry-goat cheese salad ○ Rhubarb pie
Old Bakery Beer Co.’s Hibiscus Tart pours a deep fuchsia color with a soft-pink head. A subtle lemon-citrus aroma comes floating out first, followed by a deep, floral, rose-petal character. As you sip it, the floral character imparted by the hibiscus becomes undeniable, and the same lemon-citrus notes come through, as well. Additional fruits show up in the flavor, but plums are the most present, while the tartness evokes raspberries. The malt flavor almost tastes like white bread, which allows the hibiscus to shine. Hibiscus Tart is a summer seasonal available on draft at the brewery.
618.463.1470, oldbakerybeer.com
Provenance: Bucyrus, Missouri
Style: Herbed/Spiced Ale (6% ABV)
Pairings: Cinnamon-roasted almonds ○ Maple-glazed roasted pork loin ○ Sweet potato pie
Pouring a hazy orange-gold, this spiced beer has a pleasant caramel and toasted wheat-bread aroma with hints of vanilla and big baking spices. The mildly earthy sweet potatoes, while subtle, are perceptible in the flavor and help to balance the sweet malts and spices. Its 6-percent ABV along with its full body will help keep you warm as you drink one (or two) this fall. Sweet Potato Ale is a fall seasonal release available in four-packs of 16-ounce cans.
417.967.4001, pineyriverbrewing.com
Provenance: Rolla and St. James, Missouri
Style: Fruit Beer (6.1% ABV)
Pairings: Brie ○ Cranberry-chicken salad on wheat bread
Last month, Public House Brewing Co. released Courtship Cranberry Ale, made in collaboration with St. James Winery that's nothing like a typical fall seasonal. The ale is made with 100-percent real cranberry juice, pours a clear gold, and releases aromas of cranberry and sweet black cherry from its sparkling white head. Cranberry is the predominant flavor, and while slightly tart and delicate, it’s perfectly in balance with the wheat-bread character from the malts for a refreshing and quaffable autumn specialty. Courtship Cranberry Ale is a seasonal release available in 12-ounce bottles.
573.261.3333, publichousebrewery.com
Provenance: St. Louis
Style: India Pale Ale (6.5% ABV)
Pairings: Spicy tuna roll ○ Cajun chicken ○ Fettuccine Alfredo
A St. Louis-only release, Schlafly Beer’s Expo IPA pours a hazy gold and has hop aromas of grapefruit, orange zest and resin accompany wheat-bread notes from the malts. With your first sip, those same juicy, resinous hops from the aroma hit your tongue while sweet bread-crust malts do their best to balance them out. Expo IPA is a limited-release beer available on draft and in 12-ounce bottles through the end of the year.
314.241.2337, schlafly.com
Provenance: Ava, Illinois
Style: French-style Farmhouse (6.3% ABV)
Pairings: Risotto crab cakes ○ Pumpkin pie with a graham-cracker crust
Scratch Brewing Co.’s Chanterelle Bière de Garde has aromas of slightly spicy, floral hops and ripe apricots. You also get notes of toasted pie crust, graham crackers and caramel malts that accompany a subdued earthiness brought on by the mushrooms. When you sip the beer, the caramel from the nose comes through strongly in its flavor, with the hops’ floral qualities taking control over the spiciness. The earthy flavor is a welcome addition that shows up big in the semidry finish. Chanterelle Bière de Garde was a limited release (brewed only once) and was available in 750-millileter bottles.
618.426.1415, scratchbeer.com
Provenance: Maryland Heights, Missouri
Style: Witbier (4.7% ABV)
Pairings: Angel food cake with an orange glaze ○ Bacon and Monterey Jack omelet
Floral and spicy coriander blended with semitart citrus waft off the orange-gold-colored Blood Orange Belgian Wit from Six Mile Bridge. The coriander is the beer’s most prominent flavor, balanced by the blood oranges. The beer, while sweet, finishes semidry and leaves you wanting more. Blood Orange Belgian Wit is a summer seasonal available on draft at select bars and restaurants around St. Louis, at the brewery’s taproom or in a growler to go.
314.942.2211, sixmilebridgebeer.com
Provenance: Springfield, Missouri
Style: India Pale Ale (6.5% ABV)
Pairings: Spicy pork tacos with cilantro and lime
○ Curry chicken with mango chutney
The aroma of Springfield Brewing Co.’s Greene Ghost is all hops, with tangerine and melon leading the way and notes of pine bringing up the rear. The beer’s bright white head holds these aromas as you take your first sip and get a new blast of hops on your palate. Those same tropical-fruit notes are accompanied by a bitterness that’s balanced nicely by the sweet wheat-bread and bread-crust malt flavors. Greene Ghost IPA is a summer seasonal release available in 12-ounce bottles.
417.832.8277, springfieldbrewingco.com
Provenance: Manhattan, Kansas
Style: Imperial IPA (9.5% ABV)
Pairings: Spicy charcuterie ○ Jambalaya ○ Fried chicken ○ Sharp Cheddar ○ Crème brûlée
The Grizz launched Tallgrass Brewing Co.’s 2016 Explorer Series, which is a diverse line of specialty beers. The IPA growls with bold citrus-hop flavor courtesy of the Cascade, Citra, El Dorado and Magnum hops used to brew it, followed by malty sweetness and a clean finish. The aroma hints at grapefruit, peach and orange with a trace of lemon and mango. The Grizz is a limited release available in 12-ounce cans, slated for a 2017 rerelease.
785.537.1131, tallgrassbeer.com
As featured on
Here, we share an overview of the innovation happening in the craft-beer scene.
