Favorite beer of the year: Asgard IPA from in Seattle. I was visiting family and the beer became our go to during our stay. This wasn’t just a hoppy IPA, it also had a great malt presence as well. The fact the beer comes in cans meant it could accompany us on all of our family outings as well. Also, and perhaps contributing a little bit of bias, it doesn’t hurt my last name is Viking in origin.
Colorado brewery of the year: I’ve had the fortune of watching grow from a tiny operation to become a major player on the Front Range. I have purchased several of their mixed 12-packs over the year and enjoy their beers whenever I see them on draft. Not only is the beer great, but I’m always impressed by the humble nature of their staff.
New Colorado brewery of the year:in Longmont Period. Those boys are killing it…and who devotes a brand new brewery to lagers!?! This is the kind of insanity I can fully support and I cannot wait to do some collaboration beers with them. Everyone should swing by their place and check it out.
Colorado brewery to watch in 2016: I’m really looking forward to what does with the old location. I know the spot can crank out 50,000+ bbl/year and I wish them the best of luck getting my old stomping grounds up and running. Fate has a great line up and I am looking forward to seeing more of their beer when I’m out and about.
Most notable craft beer news or trend of 2015: Buy! Buy! Buy! All culminating with the purchase of “Billion ” for a ridiculous amount of money. I’ve personally witnessed my local liquor stores carrying fewer overall breweries and filling their shelf space with more and more big brewery owned craft brewers. It’s rather sickening to watch coolers go from plenty to peruse to more of the same. The same can be said about tap handles around town and while some might see new beers appearing from out of state as a sign of progress, I do not.
Craft beer trend to watch for in 2016: Unfortunately I was a little too correct in my projections back in 2014 regarding the purchasing of craft brewers by big brewers. As much as I don’t want to see the same trend continue into 2016, I don’t think we’ve seen the end of it yet. While I’m definitely watching some of my favorite breweries go this route (and subsequently swearing off their beer forever), I am enjoying the growth of the tap room model brewery. Who doesn’t want a small brewery on every corner?
