{"id":27901,"date":"2025-01-15T05:37:13","date_gmt":"2025-01-15T05:37:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/alcohol\/our-best-beer-experiences-of-2024\/"},"modified":"2025-01-15T05:37:13","modified_gmt":"2025-01-15T05:37:13","slug":"our-best-beer-experiences-of-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=27901","title":{"rendered":"Our Best Beer Experiences of 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Coastal bevs, Porkies beers, an Ambassadorship and too many last calls<\/h3>\n

While I (Karl) am your primary narrator throughout the year, the GuysDrinkingBeer site is, and always has been, a group effort. Last year, I challenged the roster of GDB writers \u2013 myself, Ryan, Steve and Eric \u2013 to name the best beer, and best beer experience, they had all year. This year, we\u2019re doing it again.<\/p>\n

It might not seem like it at first glance, but the year\u2019s best beer is rarely connected to a great beer experience. An average beer overlooking a lake with friends, wandering a beautiful beer garden or just surrounded by friends isn\u2019t the same thing as drinking a delicious barrel-aged stout on the couch by yourself. Both excellent in their own way, but not nearly the same.<\/p>\n

On Friday, we\u2019ll share with you the best beers we had all year long, but today, we look back over the past 12 months and reveal our very best beer-drinking experiences of 2024.<\/p>\n

Karl\u2019s Best Beer Experience: Drinking on the Ragged Edge of the Western World<\/h2>\n

For me, 2024 year felt like a real return to the kind of more widespread drinking that I love:\u00a0An in-depth tour<\/a>\u00a0through\u00a0Bell\u2019s Brewery<\/strong>\u00a0and a trip to\u00a0Wax Wings<\/strong>\u00a0in March. A final visit to the\u00a0Rev<\/strong>\u00a0Brewpub in April (not that I knew it at the time) and my long-belated first visit to\u00a0Hopewell<\/strong>. Drinking a beer on the beach in Florida while watching a nighttime SpaceX rocket launch over the Atlantic. Cracking open what could have potentially been the world\u2019s last\u00a0Metropolitan<\/strong>\u00a0Afterburner buried at the back of my fridge. Discovering\u00a0the hidden gem<\/a>\u00a0that is Grand Rapids\u2019\u00a0Brass Ring Brewing<\/strong>. Many, many\u00a0beach beers<\/a>. A FoBAB trip to Chicago that also led to great times at\u00a0is\/was, Monochrome<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Electric Funeral<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

It was a good year, but the one that stands out the most happened back in late April, when I sat down to lunch at\u00a0Alvarado Street Brewing<\/strong>\u00a0in Monterey, California.<\/p>\n

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Big Sur is bonkers-level gorgeous. I have a zillion other photos of the race that are equally beautiful minus my awkward exhausted selfies.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Monterey is a small town. When we got off the shuttle from SFO, I realized we were being dropped off steps from their beer garden. Coincidence? Not in this universe. My first exposure to Alvarado Street was at\u00a0Half Acre\u2019s<\/strong>\u00a0Far & Away festival in 2018, where their beers stood out amongst an array of other incredible beverages. I was hoping to have the chance to enjoy Alvarado beers\u00a0in situ<\/em>\u00a0during my trip, and my expectations were high. They were met.<\/p>\n

We were in central CA for the Big Sur Marathon (my brother ran the whole thing, I ran an 11-miler) and on the following day\u2019s recovery itinerary, before heading out on\u00a0the famed 17-Mile Drive<\/a>, my family kindly indulged me in a trip to Alvarado Street. Not only did I love it, but they loved it too. That\u2019s exceptionally rare.<\/p>\n

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What made it stand out? Well, in a word \u2026 everything. The staff was great: Welcoming and accommodating, even though we were just hunkered around a picnic table in the back garden. The garden itself: An immersive plant-framed escape removed from the Pacific-urban setting right outside. The beer was great: Everyone found something for their taste, from the tropical Mai Tai PA and Howzit Punch sour to the straightforward Pils and Monterey Beer. And the food? Oh man \u2013 the food.<\/p>\n

An exciting, adventurous, well-executed but crowd-pleasing menu is a real tightrope to walk. My Gangnam Style pizza with lap xuong sausage, clams, ginger and jalapenos was delicious, as was the KFC sandwich (katsu fried chicken cutlet on milk bread) alongside more approachable fare like a Caesar salad and fish and chips.<\/p>\n

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Everyone loved it, and kept talking about how good it was. And getting to showcase an experience like that for my folks, my brother and my incredibly tough-to-impress-with-beer wife was so much fun. A rare treat during a once-in-a-lifetime trip. Highly recommend.<\/p>\n

Eric\u2019s Best Beer Experience: Phase Three\u2019s Ambassador Program<\/h2>\n

I remember driving somewhere in a car on a Saturday afternoon back in late 2019 and checking Facebook upon my arrival to see that\u00a0Phase Three Brewing<\/strong>\u00a0was starting a membership. I missed the opening by 45 minutes or so, and ended up on a waiting list.<\/p>\n

And waited. And waited, driving an hour to Lake Zurich so I could try the latest Eunoia BA stouts.<\/p>\n

Over the years, I remained entertained by screen shots of the Ambassador Facebook group, which featured some of the more entitled brattiness you\u2019ll encounter. The vibe seemed, to paraphrase Riot Fest\u2019s social media person, \u201cShaun Berns, why didn\u2019t you make the beer I wanted, when I wanted, and drop it off at my house, for free?\u201d<\/p>\n

As craft beer contracted, Phase Three opted to shrink its bottles to open up more membership spots. Between that move and some Ambassadors opting not to renew, my number was called a year ago. Membership, as they say, has its privileges. I got two bottles of each Eunoia release in 2024, and first dibs on all but one bottle (the 5th anniversary beer was a drawing). I don\u2019t have to scramble to trade for bottles or hope someone shows up with one at a share.<\/p>\n

Phase Three is the top maker in the Chicago area of many people\u2019s favorite beer style, the BA stout, and I\u2019m glad to have access at last.<\/p>\n

Ryan\u2019s Best Beer Experience: Early Autumn in the Porkies<\/h2>\n

With kids getting older and weekends eaten up by sports tournaments my opportunities for \u201cbeer experiences\u201d are few and far between. I think I can count on one hand how many breweries I visited in the past year and haven\u2019t been to a festival for several years. But I did haul beer around for two-and-a-half days and more than 40 miles through Michigan\u2019s vast Porcupine Mountain Wilderness State Park back in October, which tops my beer experience for 2024.<\/p>\n

I first\u00a0wrote<\/a>\u00a0about what has become an annual trip earlier in the year. This year, me and two other dads nearly doubled our total mileage from 2022, which included a 22-mile day covering roughly one-third of the park.<\/p>\n

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We started that day when the sun was just coming up and ended when it was on the way down. Throughout the journey, my feet throbbed, my legs shook and there were a few times I was pretty sure I was going to vomit. The only thing keeping my sanity in check with singing this\u00a0song<\/a>\u00a0in my head throughout the day.<\/p>\n

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At the end of the day, we were treated to a fantastic sunset over Mirror Lake and a\u00a0Keweenaw Brewing Company<\/strong>\u00a0Early Autumn Ale. Through trial and error, I have found beers that strike an even balance between hops and malts do best in the unrefrigerated outdoors where temperatures can fluctuate. For instance, we woke up to temps in the upper 30\u2019s but the daytime high was in the mid 60\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Keweenaw Brewing Company\u2019s Early Autumn Ale has a touch of piney and earthy hops balanced out by a mildly sweet and malty undercurrent and paired surprisingly well with my dehydrated mushroom risotto. Sometimes the environment makes the beer better and sometimes the beer makes the environment you\u2019re in better. This time I think it was a little of both.<\/p>\n

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Steve\u2019s\u00a0Best (But Also Worst) Beer Experience(s): Last Call<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Ironic to be sure, but my best beer experiences of 2024 were also my worst.<\/p>\n

They came during my final visits to taprooms set to close.<\/p>\n

Whether it was\u00a0Goose Clybourn, One Trick Pony, Temperance, Windmill, Revolution<\/strong>\u00a0or too many others, a lot of us got to know that feeling of stepping into a favorite space for a final time. The initial deep sigh offset by a warm greeting from the familiar face behind the bar. That sound of a horribly uncomfortable metal stool screeching against the concrete floor as you pull up next to a friend \u2013 often a friend made right there. Joking, reminiscing a bit, maybe even reversing roles and being an ear for the bartender who needs to vent for a minute, all while remembering why you first stopped in and why you kept coming back.<\/p>\n

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There were far too many \u201clast visits\u201d for far too many of us in 2024. But the experience helped me remember how special that space and those people became, for so many years. And on that last night, joining the other regulars in staying put even after the \u201copen\u201d light had been turned off for the last time, grumbling about the way unfamiliar faces packed the place in its final days (why didn\u2019t you come more often?!), tipping that bartender very well one final time, the hugs, the laughs \u2013 all serving as a reminder of the way beer brings us together.<\/p>\n

That was further proven for me, months after a closure, when the text chain of bartenders and regulars coordinated meet-ups for beers, just to experience a little of that once again.<\/p>\n

So, yeah, my best beer experience of 2024 was also my most depressing. But I\u2019m grateful for it.<\/p>\n

More From Guys Drinking Beer<\/h3>\n
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Our Best Beers of 2024<\/h3>\n

December 31, 2024<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n

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Our Best Beer Experiences of 2024<\/h3>\n

December 30, 2024<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n

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FoBAB 2024 Reflections<\/h3>\n

November 30, 2024<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n

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Our 2024 Bourbon County Stout Reviews & Rankings<\/h3>\n

November 16, 2024<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n

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Wolfden Brewing Company: America\u2019s Most Haunted Brewery?<\/h3>\n

October 31, 2024<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n

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The GABF 2024 Roundup of Great Lakes Medal Winners<\/h3>\n

October 14, 2024<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n

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About the Author<\/h6>\n
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Karl<\/h4>\n

Twitter<\/a><\/p>\n

Karl has written about food, travel and beer for Chicago Magazine, Thrillist, Time Out Chicago, AskMen and more. His book, Beer Lovers Chicago<\/a>, is now available via Amazon and other booksellers.
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\nIf you’re buying, he’s likely having a porter or a pale ale.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n