lesser-known beer co

My Top Beers of 2025

In 2025 I tried 1,255 beers. The breweries I had the most beers from were Burial (92), Freak Folk (43) and Hill Farmstead (41). I visited 122 new breweries, bringing my total breweries visited up to 1,505. In no particular order, here were the best beers I had over the past year:

  • Pliny the Younger 2025 Triple IPA from Russian River Brewing Company in Santa Rosa, CA

  • Samuel Batch 1, 2, and 3 Saison + Poetica 3 Czech Pilsner + Works of Love: Anchorage Brewing 2016 Saison + Art Batch 6 Saison from Hill Farmstead Brewery in Greensboro Bend, VT

  • Framboos 2014 Lambic + 3 Fonteinen x Hill Farmstead Resonance Blend 1 Lambic from Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen in Belgium

  • Dat Phuc Imperial Stout + Don’t Be A Khack Imperial IPA from CLAG Brewing Company in Sandusky, OH

  • Eunoia Batch 18: Coconut Imperial Stout + Pixel Point Hazy IPA from Phase Three Brewing Company in Lake Zurich, IL

  • Triple Jasper Triple IPA + Triple Farmer Triple IPA from Fidens Brewing Company in Albany, NY

  • Lunar Handshake Czech Dark Lager from Lesser-Known Beer Co in Winston-Salem, NC

  • Abiding Cycles Saison + Eye of the Needle Saison from Sante Adairius Rustic Ales in Captiola, CA

  • Yodel: Riwaka Imperial IPA + Signet: Gin Saison + Pronghorn Helles Lager + Cult of Billy: The Resurrection Imperial IPA + Torso Imperial IPA + Staglore Wild Ale from Freak Folk Bier in Waterbury, VT

  • Bitty Zwickelbier from Burial Beer in Asheville, NC in collaboration with Lesser-Known Beer Co

  • A Deal With The Devil Triple Oaked Batch 15 Barleywine + Some Kind Of Something Imperial Stout from Anchorage Brewing in Anchorage, AK

  • TEN Imperial Stout from Pulpit Rock Brewing Company in Decorah, IA

  • Saint Lamvinus 2010 from Brasserie Cantillon in Belgium

  • Hand of Glory 2018 Barleywine from Holy Mountain Brewing in Seattle, WA

  • The Blend Imperial Stout from Side Project Brewing in Saint Louis, MO in collaboration with Toppling Goliath Brewing

What were your top beers of the year? Let me know in the comments!

August and September 2025

August and September were two months packed with travel and delicious beers for me. Prior to a big road trip I shared beers with friends 3 times and visited Boone and Winston-Salem. Then Mosaic and I headed out to: Nashville, St. Louis, Kansas City, Colorado Springs, Denver, Rocky Mountain National Park, Fort Collins, Greeley, Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Big Sky, Bozeman, Helena, Missoula, Glacier National Park, Teddy Roosevelt National Park, Rapid City, Black Hills, Badlands National Park, Sioux Falls, Lincoln, Omaha, Des Moines, Cincinnati, and Knoxville!

Throughout these journeys and shares I tried 313 beers over the past two months, and these were the best of the best. Normally I would spend time describing each beer, but frankly I am tired and there were too many good beers over the last 2 months, so this edition has a few less details but a lot more beers for you to seek out:

Samuel Batch 1, 2, and 3 + 15th Anniversary: Festbier from Hill Farmstead Brewery in Greensboro Bend, VT

Metaform (Strawberry) from HOMES Brewery in Ann Arbor, MI

Amidst A Metaphorical Psychobabble from Burial Beer in Asheville, NC

Buckley Select #8 from Transient Artisan Ales in Bridgman, MI

A Voice To Say from Sante Adairius Rustic Ales in Capitola, CA

Yodel: NZ Cascade + Yodel: Peacharine + Signet: 2024 + Zygote + Everything Is A Lie + History of Dogs: For Gus + Dethroner from Freak Folk Bier in Waterbury, VT

VSOJ 2024 + Lumberstruck 2025 from Revolution Brewing in Chicago, IL

names.mean.nothing.b2 + the world we’re in is broken from nebuleus in Portland, OR

Extra Cowboy Grass from Lesser-Known Beer Co in Winston-Salem, NC

Ong Ba Bi from CLAG Brewing Company in Sandusky, OH

Orca (Anniversary III) from Root + Branch Brewing in Copiague, NY

Quad Orchid from Fidens Brewing in Albany, NY

Cassis Du Fermier (Batch 4) + Sound Cycle Vol. 2 + Abricot Du Fermier (Blend 7) + Barrel Aged Coffee Shop Vibes (2020) from Side Project Brewing in Saint Louis, MO

Premiant from Alma Mader Brewing in Kansas City, MO

Coconut and Coffee Barrel Aged Cuvee from Fremont Brewing in Seattle, WA

Nelson Nelson Nelson + Partially Barrel-Aged Coconut Killa from Boiler Brewing Co. in Lincoln, NE

Unshaven collaboration from Bearded Brewer Artisan Ales in Omaha, NE and RaR Brewing in Cambridge, MD

Zen Scientist + Full Time Travis + Condor from Lua Brewing in Des Moines, IA

All Pixel Everything collaboration from Phase Three Brewing Company in Lake Zurich, IL and Other Half Brewing in New York, NY

Les Fleurs Du Mal from Xul Beer Company in Knoxville, TN

Triple Citra Daydream from Other Half Brewing in New York, NY

Check back next month for my top beers of October! Cheers —Alexis