Zymurgy
magazine’s 12th annual poll is in and
Pliny the Elder does it again!
Hey Craft Beer Sippers!
I juuuuuust got this announcement hot off the press direct
from the AmericanHomebrewers Association (AHA) who announced that their members voted
for the Russian River Brewing Company’s
Pliny the Elder as the “Best Commercial Beer in America” for its now
incredible sixth year run! In its 12th annual poll run by AHA’s
journal— Zymurgy magazine—their crew are undoubtedly hop
heads with the first eight selections being renowned for their bitter, aromatic
character. “We are blown away that Pliny has won the award six years in a
row,” said Russian River’s Vinnie Cilurzo after hearing the news of victory.
“There are so many great beers out there. It is very humbling.”
The Founders
Breakfast Stout and Goose Island
Bourbon County Stout rounded out the Top Ten.
As many of us know, the Elder and Alchemist Heady Topper (#5) are ridiculously hard to get unless you
live next door to the brewery or you are at one of my bottle shares (Ha!), but
the rest of the Top 10 should be pretty accessible in your city. Anyway, there
was also votings for the Best Portfolio
of Beers—New Belgium Brewing Co.
scooped up the most nominations thanks to their portfolio of 60 awesome brews—and
Best Import justly going to Chambly, Quebec’s
Unibroue La Fin du Monde, one of my
faves! Also, AHA says…
More than 1,600 breweries
were represented in this year’s poll, and the Top-Ranked Brewery is Russian River Brewing Company (Santa Rosa,
Calif.), which had five beers in the top 50. Bell’s Brewery, Inc. (Kalamazoo, Mich.), took second, followed by Stone Brewing Co. (Escondido, Calif.)
in third.
“As brewers, AHA
members know when they experience excellence in a craft beer. It is a very high
honor for a brewery to be recognized by this group as having the best beer in
America,” said Gary Glass, director of the AHA. “The consistency in the poll
results indicates that the discerning palettes of these homebrewers recognize
quality and are not easily influenced by the latest fads.”
Here are the official listings of who can flex their beer
muscles for 2014.
Continue to support craft brew y’all!
The Top-Ranked Beers include:
1. Russian River Pliny the
Elder
2. Bell’s Two Hearted Ale
3. Ballast Point Sculpin IPA
4. Bell’s Hopslam
5. The Alchemist Heady
Topper
6. Lagunitas Sucks
7. Dogfish Head 90 Minute
IPA
8. Stone Enjoy By IPA
9. Founders Breakfast Stout
10. Goose Island Bourbon County Stout
The Top 5 Best Portfolio of Beers:
1. New Belgium Brewing Co.
2. Boston Beer Co. (Samuel
Adams)
3. Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
4. Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
5. Stone Brewing Co.
Visit the AHA website for
an exclusive interview with Russian River’s Vinnie Cilurzo in which he offers a
few tips for making great IPAs. Learn more about Zymurgy magazine.
Cheers!
Ale
