This is something a bit different. The people who come to BeerCrank.ca aren't necessarily the same people who came here three, four or even ten years ago. Habits are changing. So while I'm absolutely losing interest in writing about this, I had to take a look in what people are reading about now. I specifically looked at the top ten reviews or articles of 2024 that were written right in 2024. Some of the list surprised me, but at the same time - not. If there's something I should be writing about, of course let me know.. or don't as always like most people do, I don't really care.
Edit: I discovered one beer that was very high up on my list that I totally missed, so the top ten is now a top eleven list!
11. Skout Brewing Middle Coast Session IPA - Skout Brewing has been open in Moosomin, SK since only April but my review of their Middle Coast Session IPA makes it to #10, higher than almost any other beer review from MB/SK for this entire year. Skout's been doing a great job so I'm glad to see them on the list so soon!
10. Kilter Sky Rye IPA - I really, really liked this beer the second I tried it but I didn't have much to say about it, very straightforward.. it's a Rye IPA made right here in MB!
9. Kilter Vintage Czech Pale Lager - Another Kilter beer on the list! Unfortunately no more Manitoban beers going forward. For the long time readers, you'll remember my hatred of Pilsners/Pale Lagers for many years but I'm back to the beers I liked when I was 21 years old again.. so a crisp, easy to drink Czech Pale Lager is well liked on a hot summer day. Unfortunately it's either a one-off or only a seasonal beer.
8. Goose Island Bourbon County Stout 2022 - I picked this up at the always awesome Broadway Liquor Store in Minot, ND. I saw this beer the previous time I was there but thought "Meh, I don't need it", well.. it haunted me for months until I went back to buy it. Bourbon County Stout is one of the most prized Imperial Stouts in the US, even if its ownership is an entity I'd rather not give any of my money to.. but the Stout itself is pretty much Chicago gold... it's worth it.
7. Pabst Blue Ribbon 5.9 - In 2019 I was visiting Montreal for my annual bièrcation and I needed beer ASAP but it was getting close to the time when dépanneurs were about to close. I ran down to the local Couche-Tard and picked up a 6-pack of PBR 5.9, a beer brewed by Sleeman's facilities in Chambly (AKA Unibroue). It was an alright lager but at a price of $5.99 CAD before tax/deposit for a six-pack made it worth rushing down at the last minute to get it. At that point I think I was the first person to ever check in to this beer on Untappd. The beer became available more recently at beer vendors in Manitoba in tall cans (710mL) format, so worth the sampling without spending too much on entire case/package of said beer. In reality this is just a higher ABV version of a popular American college town/hipster beer. It's better than Labatt Blue but definitely nothing special.
6. Grolsch Canada vs Netherlands Brew - Here's yet another beer brand that has seen production being moved from its own country to Canada/US in recent years. I've had multiple people tell me that the beer just isn't the same. Since that comparison review was written, Dutch-based Grolsch started to become a bit easier to find again.. but the swing tops that home brewers loved are no longer a thing in Canada. RIP. Cans (aside from NA) are made in Canada.
5. Happy Dad Death Row Records Grape - The only Seltzer to make the list. A seltzer meant for your millennial and older father.. something different. In reality it was just another meh Seltzer with a very faint taste of grape to it. Hipstery branding but just didn't do it for me.. but lots were looking exactly for this to see if they'd like it or not.
4. Peroni Nastro Azzuro 0.0 NA - 7/10 of my most popular reviews at any given time are NA reviews but the only one to make this year's list for "new" reviews was Peroni's NA beer. I have to say - this was probably one of the best NA beers I ever had. It's almost exactly like its classic.. and I'm slowly sipping on a full ABV Peroni as I write this. Peron's NA beer was hard to find when I reviewed it but it's slowly made its ways to places like government Liquor stores, Walmarts, Safeways/Sobeys, etc.
3. Unibroue P'tite Maudite Single Brune - THIS beer was not originally on my top ten list, which is why it's now a top eleven list.. I missed it completely. Unibroue's got a special place in my heart.. the best beers I've ever had were by this great brewery out of Chambly, Quebec. They did a taster pack back in Spring 2024 (which is still around) with two new beers - Saison Libre, a light Saison, and P'tite Maudite, a Belgian Single Brune that's a lighter, more sessional sister of the ever popular Maudite Dubbel. In fact, as I'm writing this, I'm drinking this very beer. For only 4.0% ABV, it's a lighter version of the classic that still gives me memories of Vieux Québec, $4 drink nights at Brandon University's SUDS and many nights with sampling Belgian ales with movies. It has a nice rich darkness with raisins, faintly sweet and slight toasted malt at the end. This is the Unibroue beer for the guy who can no longer justify drinking 8% beers night after night anymore.
2. Pabst Blue Ribbon Groovy Lemon Iced Tea (2024 Vodka-based version) - One of my top reviews of 2023 was when Sleeman branched out the PBR line and came out with Pabst Blue Ribbon Groovy Lemon Hard Iced Tea, a malt-based iced tea that was full on to compete with the hard iced tea trend that Sam Adams' Twisted Tea made popular. Well, they revamped the recipe and changed it to a vodka-base instead of malt. It kind of makes sense as it appeals to a larger base than those who may be allergic to malt barley/etc but really.. the malt version was better but the vodka-based PBR Groovy Lemon Iced Tea is pretty darn good and I expect new variants coming out in time for Summer 2025.
1. Madri Excepcional Lager El Ama de Madrid - The most popular article of 2024 was my review of Molson's only newish beer in many years. I got some really rude emails (with using a fake email return address as they're too fragile to give their real email) calling me swear words from random people calling me snobbish, obnoxious and worse but I'm here to try stuff for those who are on the fence for these reviews. I expected this to be one of my most popular reviews and I'm glad I reviewed it but Molson could have done better.. it was okay but did it take any sales away Labatt's Stella Artois? Probably not at all.
What do I have in store for 2025? More focus on Non-Alcoholic beers - that's where a lot of the market has shifted and unfortunately the sales of regular craft beer and beer in general is only going down and I'm seeing some of my favourite breweries cutting back on releases or flat out closing. I don't make any money off writing this so I want to write about stuff people will actually read, to influence me to keep going instead of closing it down for good like many other beer writers in the past couple years. I'll be writing a lot about any interesting/unique beers I can get my hands on but they'll be predominantly Manitoban beers unless if I'm able to travel or procure them in one way or another.
No comments:
Post a Comment