The Best of 2018 - Let's Go To The Hops!

"Moooooove over to the Milky Side," implored Darth
Lactose in this classic David Buist cartoon.  The fight
between #TeamLactose and #TeamNoLactose was a
funny highlight on Twitter over the past few months.
And Team Lactose gained a powerful ally in David...

Probably the funniest Twitter Battle of 2018 had to be over the use of lactose in milkshake beers, notably IPAs.

And by "battle," I mean good-spirited, we're-right-you're-wrong, my-Dad-can-beat-up-your-Dad fun. Battle-lines were drawn in the sand and before long, Team Lactose (@TeamLactose) was an actual Twitter entity, battling the forces of #TeamNoLactose.

I did what I usually do - sat on the sidelines with a bowl of dry-roasted peanuts, a tasty IPA and simply watched the fun. Lactose in beer is truly a case-by-case basis for me. At this point, I've had a few Milkshake IPAs that I've very much enjoyed and others that had me going "Dafuq is this shit???" 

I suspect Beer Bro Glenn, Drunk Polkaroo and Lady Polkaroo will remember my reaction after tasting my first Milkshake IPA at Hamilton's outstanding Merit Brewing back in the Summer of 2017. It was their Breakfast Fruit Loops Milkshake IPA. The look of my face probably said it all. I certainly was not an instant fan. The thickness of the mouth-feel threw me off.

If you follow me on Twitter, you know well my love for
shrimp burritos. In fact, I am very careful about which
beer I will pair with one. Burrito Boyz, my usual source
for this tasty Mexican treat, always applauds my pairing,
regardless of beer or style. "Great pairing!" Every time.
It's pretty funny. I get it. Their product is on Twitter so...

It tasted pretty good but I couldn't get past the weird density in the texture.

That said, I did what I always do when faced with a beer that is too sweet, too fruity or in this case, too thick and simply said, "This would work better in a stout, I think." And it did. I took home Merit's Neapolitan Milkshake Stout that same day and enjoyed it so much that it was my Best Milkshake Beer of 2017. So like I said, I take lactose on a beer-by-beer basis.

Okay, back to the Best of 2018 with probably my favourite part - the hop bombs. Y'all remember the rules from yesterday? No repeat winners from previous 2013-2017 lists, Ontario beers only, don't let the robots take over and Glenn's really old. Simple stuff. Let's begin, class.

Best Pale Ale: Okay, you are about to see the first reference to Nepean Beer Store Bro Ben. It won't be the last before this Best Of list is done.

After singing the praises of Market Brewing's Bear
Hug IPA on Twitter, my buddy Graeme, who has the
handle @needmycaffeine (I can relate), said "Give it
a Bear Hug!" Since I had David, I got him to take
this picture of me giving Bear Hug a big bear hug!

Like Beer Bro Glenn, a lot of his contributions to Donny's World of Beer landed in this list. Okay, I need to set the stage a little here. My last Beer Mail to Ben was such a disaster on the part of Canada Post and then UPS, that it is a blog unto itself - one that will be written as soon as my Best of 2018 is done. In retrospect, it's kinda funny. But at the time, both of us were full-on WTF is going on here?? It's mail?? Why is this so hard? Anyways, with that in mind, the last Beer Mail delivery from Ben came hand-delivered as he stopped at my Oakville pad on his way to Niagara Falls with his wife, daughter and father-in-law. Good thing, too. It was a huge box of beer that would have cost him a fortune. But nestled among the treats in this Box of Goodness was Dominion City Brewing's (Ottawa) Paper Salesman Pale Ale. Boy Howdy, this was a delicious pale ale! (You'll see soon with some upcoming beers that Dominion City does, indeed, do hops very well!) There was citrus, orange and mango all tucked into a glass of 5.6% tastiness. Just a dynamite beer in a category that's always been fiercely fought! Thank you, Ben! (Previous winners: Redline's Clutch, Spearhead's Hawaiian Style, Cameron's California Sunshine, Sawdust City's Golden Beach, Rainhard's Armed 'N' Citra)

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say this may
have been the most sought after beer that
Great Lakes released this year. It only lasted
a day and a half at the brewery. Gone fast!

Best British-Style IPA: Okay, when I talk about British-style IPAs on here, what I'm saying is that the beer has those west coast hops but also carries a humongous malt backbone for balance. Hence, British-style. Not just in-your-face hops (which, don't get me wrong, I very much enjoy.) This year, it was Market Brewing (Newmarket) that stepped up with their outstanding Beer Hug IPA. Their flagship beer, the first ever produced by them once the brewery was assembled, is a powerful punch of pineapple, orange and pine but backed with a thick bready malt back-end with swirls of caramel in the mix. At 7% and 55 IBUs, my Twitter posting of the beer's picture literally brought dozens out from the background, singing the praises of both the brewery and the beer. I believe the general consensus will be that I chose well with this one. (Previous winners: Walkerville's Geronimo, Longslice's Hopsta La Vista, Junction Craft's Engineer)

Best Great Lakes Brewing IPA: I created this separate category a couple years back when I realized Great Lakes was gonna just keep sweeping the Best IPA award year after year. I mean, yeah, brewmaster Mike Lackey is that good. Because they didn't have a full-time IPA at that point, they just keep releasing fantastic IPAs seasonally. Now that Octopus Wants To Fight is their year-round IPA (a move that made us all very happy), this could be the last year I single out the Etobicoke brewery from the pack.

"For he that sits on the great throne shall rule all the realms within the
kingdom!!" Well, here's a picture that would make any IPA lover weak
in the knees. No, not GLB owner Peter Bulut, although I have no doubt
he's a dashing fellow. No, it's that throne of Octopus Wants To Fight IPA!

This year's choice? The New England Style Octopus Wants To Fight IPA. The GLB brewers took the regular Octopus recipe and simply used Vermont yeast in this version. Why? Drunk Polkaroo said it best in his video review: "Because they can!" They released 100 cases of this on a Friday in November. I had my son on the Sunday and figured we'd head over then as my boy, David, loves going to breweries. But Steve from Southern Ontario Beer Boys urgently contacted me Friday night to say no way it makes it to Sunday. So Saturday, I was first in line to get my fair share. The dozen I bought were then divided and sent around to other friends around the province, not including the four I kept for myself, of course. Same formula as regular Octopus - 6.2% and 88 IBUs - but I found the Vermont yeast added a touch more front-end fruit and took out some, if not all, of the back-end pine.

This is flat-out a solid west coast style IPA. I quite like
their plain white wrapper approach with their beers,
all in these same white cans. Only the names change.

I know the flavour profile depends more on the hops than the yeast but hey, that was my take. Either way, many of us felt fortunate I was able to get some. (Previous Winners: Meanwhile Down In Moxie, Octopus Wants To Fight, Thrust! An IPA)

Best West-Coast IPA: I strongly believe that Anderson Craft Ales out of London is criminally under-rated by beer drinkers, simply because they make really fantastic beers but don't get nearly as much recognition as they should. So here's a little story about them. I was dropping David off in London to his Mom one Sunday and decided to pop over to Anderson before heading back home. Grabbed a sixer of their IPA and then created a mix-six from their other beers. On my way back down Highway 403, I popped into Bell City Brewing in Brantford because it's just off the highway. When I told the guy at the counter that I was coming from Anderson, his eyes lit up and pointing to another fellow behind the counter, he exclaimed: "We love their IPA!!" So I made my purchase, walked out to my car and went back in with two cans of the Anderson IPA. "Here you go, guys," I said, plunking them down on the counter. The gratitude on their end? You have no idea!

Muskoka's specialty Hazed & Confused Unfiltered IPA from
their Moonlight Kettle Series, didn't win my New England
Style IPA this year but it did win Best Comment Of The Year.
When I posted it on Twitter, rhapsodizing its glory, Muskoka
responded: "Why don't you marry it! Just kidding, we love
your love." Later, I met Sarah Girdwood, the rascally wit
behind their social media who is also definitely not Mad Tom!

So they are known and respected within the brewing community and I suspect that will continue to expand throughout the drinking community. That said, this IPA is straight up 6.5%, 60 IBU beauty with citrus, melon and floral notes on the nose and just the lightest malt on the back-end. When it showed up in the Oak Park LCBO in six-packs of 355-ml (12 ounce) cans, I suspect I may just have cleared out the stock on my own. You know the best thing about it? After you get home from work and crack one open, you still have five more!! At some point in the Fall, Drunk Polkaroo managed to get me their 2xIPA Imperial and you know what? As good as it was (and it was very good), I'll still take the regular IPA first. It's that strong. Also, note to Anderson - you know where I buy mine in Oakville. Please restock ASAP. Thank you. (Previous winners: Beau's Full Time, Nickel Brook's Headstock, Flying Monkeys' Smashbomb Atomic, Big Rig's Alpha Bomb Unfiltered)

Best New England Style IPA: Well, here we go right back to Nepean Beer Store Bro Ben and the good folks at Dominion City Brewing in Ottawa. In his last Beer Mail, there were several cans of one very specific east-coast IPA.

Sweet Aunt Petunia, this is some kind of fantastic! The
folks over at Dominion City Brewing in Ottawa sure
know their way around some tasty IPAs. This beer was
a frikkin' beast! One of the best I've ever enjoyed...

That would be their Sunsplit IPA, probably one of the best New England Style IPAs I've ever enjoyed. Right now, my brain is screaming at me, "Don't say juicy!" because it's become a very commonplace and cliched description of the style. Okay, then, juicy is off the table. Hmmm, well, this 6.5%, probably 40-45 IBU haze monster delivers a massive whack of tropical fruit, mango, pineapple and orange on you, courtesy of the megatons of Citra and Amarillo hops that they're using. Like Barrie Beer Bro Hago is fond of saying, "If it looks like orange juice, it's gonna be good." I would also suggest there's definitely a ton of oat malts in the mix because you can feel them on the tongue and this is exactly the kind of texture they add. Now that the Canada Post strike is over and Dominion City is one of Ontario's many breweries that lets you order their product on-line, landing it a week or so later at your front door step (or in my case, the Superbox around the corner), I expect the brewery to become very familiar with my name. Granted, around the brewery, I'll probably just be known as "That Weird Oakville Dude Who Just Orders 15 Sunsplit IPAs At A Time." I'm good with that. (Previous winners: Beyond The Pale's Aromatherapy NEIPA)

Left Field Brewing's Laser Show Vermont Style Imperial IPA has
left both myself and Steve from Southern Ontario Beer Boys
feeling weak in the knees. The Oak Park LCBO that carries it
here in Oakville is just up the street from me and is along Steve's
drive home. The pair of us simply cannot quit this beer. That's
probably due to the fact that neither of us to trying to but still...

Best Imperial IPA: Well, I don't know what to say? If you follow me on Twitter, you already know which beer this is gonna be. You see, Steve from Southern Ontario Beer Boys and myself share an addiction that is harder to break than heroin. (Having never used heroin, I don't know that for certain. I'll have to ask Keith Richards.) Oh sure, we like to tell ourselves we can stop at any time. But we don't. We haven't. We can't? And hey, at $8.95 for a 650-ml (22 ounce) bottle, it may be as expensive as a drug addiction. (Another question for Keith Richards. I should probably write this shit down.) We like to tell ourselves it's a special occasion treat but given the amount we buy, that's pretty much a lie unless Recycling Day and Tuesdays in general are now considered special occasions. The beer in question? That would be Left Field Brewing's (Toronto) Laser Show Vermont Style Imperial IPA. This beast is a Hop Bomb! The 8%, 80 IBU east-coaster is loaded with melon, orange and tropical fruit, something the brewery credits to the "fruity yeast strain from Vermont."

Dominion City Brewing's Needless Luxury Triple IPA laid
me out one sunny Spring afternoon. Well, it was truly a
combination of beers but this one landed a final blow. Let
me tell you this for free. It hurt so good. Holy Frijoles!!!

So there you have it. The yeast affects the flavour profile as much as the hops and malts. Along with Muskoka's Summerweiss Tropical Wheat, this was the second contender for Beer of the Year. Dammit, I cannot quit this beer. (Previous winners: Indie Ale House Cockpuncher, Nickel Brook Immodest, Innocente Two Night Stand)

Triple IPA: Well, there's no previous winners in this category because while I have enjoyed a few triple IPAs before, I've never had one from Ontario. Once again, Nepean Beer Store Bro Ben changed that when in his first Beer Mail to me, Dominion City's Needless Luxury Triple IPA was among them. Luxury? Absolutely! Needless? Well now, let's not get carried away here. I mean, what's your definition of needless? Mine might differ. Okay, quick story to go with this one. The Beer Mail lands in my lap on the same gorgeous Spring day I'm supposed to drive my brother, Gary, to Toronto's Pearson Airport so he can fly back to Spain, where he lives with his wife, Phe. (Hey Phe, love ya! Gary, you're... okay.) Along with this triple are single and double IPAs. So I told Ben, "I have to wait. I have to be able to drive today."

This is the first time one of my year-end Triple Plays - three beers of the
same style from the same brewery - has included a Triple IPA. While Left
Field Brewing may be better known for its use of baseball terminology,
this year it was Ottawa's Dominion City who hit that triple play for me.

And so, of course, the teasing and taunting began. "How can you resist?" "They're chilled and in your fridge calling your name!" Eventually, I cracked, drove to the bank and got Gary $50 to get back to the airport on his own. I literally could not wait any longer. I'm so very weak. Good Lord love a duck, this was unbelievable. Even decadent, if that word can be used to describe beer. Brewed in conjunction with Bar Lupulus, this 10%, 90+ IBU magic potion used Galaxy, Amarillo, Azacca and Citra hops while padding the other side with oat and wheat malts. This was simply a Freakshow of Fantastic! This Dominion City group of rowdies are blowing my doors off.

When I saw this picture of the little girl staring at the huge
pile of ice cream in front of her, I pretty much had to turn
it into a meme. Her and ice cream. Me and release of new
New England Style IPAs. I get the exact same look as her!

Best Triple-Play: This is the part where I find three similar styles of beer, all from the same brewery, and award this one. Usually, it's a Pale Ale, IPA and Imperial IPA. Well, okay then, Dominion City has yet again set the bar higher with their Sunsplit IPA, their Fidelis Double IPA and their Needless Luxury Triple IPA. In this category this year, no one else was remotely close. What a Troika Of Tasty! (Previous winners: Redline's Clutch, Air Ride and Double Clutch, Nickel Brook's Naughty Neighbour, Headstock and Immodest, Collective Arts' State of Mind, Rhyme & Reason and Ransack The Universe)

Okay, Scooby Doo Gang, that's a wrap on the hoppy bastards that turned my crank in 2018. But there's more to come as I'll be back tomorrow with the best of the swarthier beers in The Best of 2018 - Dark and Dirty. This was an insane year for beer. But for now, that's it, that's all and I am outta here! Until next time, I remain...