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!

October and November 2025

October and November brought me to the middle of nowhere Illinois for work, across the state of Vermont for fun, and to Kenya and Tanzania for a safari! I also attended a small beer fest and had 3 bottle shares with friends. All in all I tried 191 different beers over the past two months, and here are the best of the best:

Poetica 3 + Works of Love: Anchorage Brewing (2016) + Art (Batch 6) + Vera Mae 2022 & 2023 + Anna Pear + Samuel (Batch 6) + Civil Disobedience #27 from Hill Farmstead Brewery in Greensboro Bend, VT

Yes, that is a wholeeee lot of Hill Farmstead beers, I know! I went to the brewery in Vermont where I had some incredible pours and I also shared some insane bottles with friends. Their Farmhouse Ales are very tough to beat.

Framboos (2014) from Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen in Belgium

This is a Lambic with Pajottenland raspberries from one of the top Lambic breweries in the world! At 11 years old it still slapped.

Cult of Billy: The Resurrection + Pronghorn + Torso + Little Death (Batch 2) + Staglore + Yodel: Manilita + Possessor + From Beyond + Primitive Rhythm + Thud + Mood Swinger + Sky Burial from Freak Folk Bier in Waterbury, VT

Essentially the entire Freak Folk menu, I know haha. They are just truly crushing it and so impressive—easily my favorite brewery of 2025. I enjoyed many cans and a couple of bottles from them but also got to spend a couple evenings at their taproom in Waterbury where I basically sampled through the menu. They truly can’t go wrong, no matter the style.

TEN from Pulpit Rock Brewing in Decorah, IA

Pulpit Rock continues to really impress me. This is their 10th anniversary Stout blend of 33 and 27 month barrel-aged Imperial Stout rested on Tanzanian vanilla, two types of toasted coconut, almonds, and hazelnuts. 10/10!

Saint Lamvinus (2010) from Brasserie Cantillion in Belgium

I always love Saint Lam, but especially a 15 year old bottle! This Lambic is made with merlot and cabernet-franc grapes and barrel aged to perfection.

Kellerbier from Brauerei Eichorn Dorfleins in Germany

I had this stellar pour at Howl Bier in Winooski, Vermont. They brought in some special kegs to celebrate their 1 year anniversary and this was a true banger. HIGHLY recommend this spot outside of Burlington for great beers, killer vibes, and tasty eats.

Hand of Glory (2018) from Holy Mountain Brewing in Seattle, WA

Hand of Glory is an English style Barleywine aged in Kentucky bourbon barrels for 8 months, then transferred into former Kentucky bourbon barrels that had recently held American Apple Brandy, where it continued to age for an additional 8 months. This was an insane Barleywine with so much flavor (even 7 years in!).

Skipped Stitches + Eye of the Needle from Sante Adairius Rustic Ales in Capitola, CA

SARA always knows how to put out a delicious Saison! Skipped Stitches Saison is aged in Venus gin barrels with black currant, and Eye of the Needle is also aged in Venus Spirits Gin barrels but with Passionfruit, Mango, and Guava. I wasn’t sure what to expect from those fruits in a Saison but I never should’ve doubted Sante Adairius.

Nowhere Left to Go + The Distorted Reflections Laced Inside Our Earthly Undoings + Portal Into Infinite Nonexistence from Burial Beer in Asheville, NC

Although October and November were somehow the least amount of Burial beers I have had in quite some time, there were still some gems. Nowhere Left To Go is a Quadruple IPA collaboration with Monkish Brewing. The Distorted Reflections Laced Inside Our Earthly Undoings is a Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout with vanilla beans in collaboration with Cellarmaker Brewing. Portal Into Infinite Nonexistence is an Imperial Stout with Tahitian and Madagascar Vanilla and Double Dipped in Cocoa Nibs.

Noine Noine + Characters (Collaboration with Troon) + Scorched from Fidens Brewing in Albany, NY

3 great Hazys from Fidens! These guys can’t go wrong when it comes to any type of IPA, but it’s always a good idea to keep trying more to test that theory (wink wink)

Team Scream from Resident Culture Brewing in Charlotte, NC

Team Scream was brewed for Resident Culture’s anniversary and is a Hazy Double IPA hopped with Nectaron, Peacharine, Citra, and Strata. The best IPA RC has produced in a while!

Seven Seas from BlackStack Brewing in St. Paul, MN

This Triple IPA was brewed for BlackStack’s anniversary with hand-selected Westwood Farms Citra & Crosby Estate Comet from Oregon, Hop Head Farms Chinook from Michigan, NZ Cascade, Cashmere, Centennial & Columbus Cryo hops. It’s been a while since I got my hands on anything from this gem in Minnesota and I am glad to see they’re still crushing it.

Can We Please Just Get This Over With from Nebuleus Beer in Portland, OR

Nebuleus with another banger! This is a blend of wine and gin barrel aged Saisons conditioned on Sitka spruce tips. This might sound a little crazy to some, but it was amazing!

Janacek from Black Flannel Brewing in Essex Junction, VT

This Czech Dark Lager was perfect on a chilly, rainy evening in Vermont. It was roasty, smooth, and perfectly poured—everything I am looking for in this style! I really enjoyed my visit to Black Flannel and would highly recommend adding it to your next VT trip!

Check back next month for my top beers of the full 2025 year!—Cheers, Alexis

The Best Breweries in the Midwest

The Midwest is full of great breweries—let’s be real there’s not much to do from November-March when you are snowed in other than brew and drink great beer. As a result there are some stellar spots spanning across these states!

The best breweries in the Midwest, in no particular order:

Phase Three Brewing Company: Lake Zurich, IL

Speciation Artisan Ales: Grand Rapids, MI

Pulpit Rock Brewing Company: Decorah, IA

Lua Brewing: Des Moines, IA

Forager Brewery: Rochester, MN

Side Project Brewing: Maplewood, MO

Jackie O’s Brewery: Athens, OH

New Glarus Brewing Company: New Glarus, WI

BlackStack Brewing: St. Paul, MN

Transient Artisan Ales: Bridgman, MI

Revolution Brewing: Chicago, IL

Drekker Brewing Company: Fargo, ND

Which of these have you been to? What are your favorites? Let me know in the comments! Cheers—Alexis