Kyle Harrop’s (Horus) Top 10 Beers of 2024
From Danny Fullpint, Editor-in-chief: This is a longstanding year-end tradition here at The Full Pint. While the beer industry and beer enthusiasm has changed, one thing stayed the same. Kyle Harrop, of Horus Aged Ales continues to travel the world collaborating on beers and remains a tastemaker, uncovering new and obscure small beer makers in ever corner he travels. You may be reading this list and thinking to yourself “I’ve never heard of this brewery.” Well, you have now.
2024…my son played his first season of tee ball and my daughter started Irish Dance. A terrible putt of mine went viral during a professional disc golf tournament on the Tour Down Under in New Zealand. I cashed at the major tournament in Iceland and won a sanctioned league weekend in Calgary. I got to brew a collaboration with my beer heroes Firestone Walker. I saw an absurd amount of King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard shows. The Dodgers won the World Series in Ohtani’s first season in blue and with an almost entirely injured pitching staff. Bronny made his NBA debut with his dad sharing the court and the Lakers start a new adventure with a first time coach. I released my first quintuple barrel aged beer and my hair got even grayer. Now, onto my favorite ten beers of the year in alphabetical order…
-Brasserie Cantillon “Scarabee-Timorasso”
On a 100 degree day in Rome this summer, I had just finished touring Vatican City and lambic was calling my name. I ventured to what I now consider one of the best beer bars I have ever visited, Ma Che Siete Venuti A Fa. There were eight different Cantillons on the menu I had never even heard of, so I ordered this masterpiece and one other. There was a soccer match blaring at an obnoxious decibel on the TVs, no air conditioning, and zero deodorant, but that did not stop me from thoroughly enjoying this beer. I do not know if I ever experienced a grape marriage in a beer so beautiful. The balance between the fruit and grain was so delicate, minimal acidity, but big on funk. As it warmed, the vinous notes really popped and the finish became drier. Oak, oak, and more oak came to the surface as time went on. It was as refreshing as it gets on a sweltering hot day in Italy.
–Garage Project “Los Gatos”
I took the bumpiest flight of my life in a small plane from Nelson to Wellington this February. After a short taxi from the airport, I arrived in Aro Valley, and it had an awesome 1990s Los Feliz vibe. I dropped off my luggage at the Airbnb and walked a few blocks down the hill to Garage Project’s bar, which happens to be next to the coolest video store I have ever seen. I posted up in the back corner and ordered their California IPA. The irony of drinking something brewed to resemble beers where I am from as the first beer in this beautiful country coupled with being in the land of my favorite hops was obvious, but the beer blew me away. It was bursting with Mosaic and could have passed for day old Mayberry in my hometown. The aroma was berry forward with citrus cutting through and it had just the right amount of bitterness. This beer was hands down my favorite of a trip that was filled with incredible kiwi beers.
–Holy Mountain “Hand of Midnight”
After seeing one of the best shows of my life at The Gorge, I ventured to Seattle along with hundreds of other out of state brewers passing through town during Yakima’s hop selection. After brewing a couple collabs the first few days, I had a chance to visit a few new beer spots. I got to Holy Mountain’s newish Phinney Ridge location less than an hour before it closed and had time for just one beer with an old high school friend who now lives in the area. When I was closing my tab, I saw this bottle and did not recognize it, but bought it based on its name, hoping it was exactly what it ended up being, a blend of Hand of Glory and Midnight Still. I really enjoy both of those beers on their own, but think this tasted completely different. It had heavily casked Black Barleywine vibes with an insane amount of chocolate on the mid palate. Toffee, raisins, vanilla, and caramel came out more and more as it warmed. I can honestly say that this is my favorite beer Holy Mountain has ever put out and I have enjoyed several great ones over the years.
–Messorem “Gorilla’s Dream”
I had to cancel my initial trip in April 2020 to Montreal because of the pandemic, but I finally made it up there for the first time in October this year. I had the pleasure of brewing a couple of beers with these incredible people while in Quebec and sampled almost everything they had on tap those few days. However, this Barrel Aged Imperial stout with bananas and coconut was not only the standout in their taproom, it was the best barrel aged stout I had all year. Baker’s chocolate mixed with whiskey leading into a tropical daiquiri finish is quite the accomplishment. Nothing is overpowering, the banana is there but does not take over as it easily can. The coconut lingers with sweetness and umami balancing everything out. Once it fully warmed up, there were more notes of dark chocolate and some fragrant coffee too. For a brewery that is probably best known for their fruity and hoppy stuff, this Stout knocked my socks off. It might be the best beer I have ever tried from the country of Canada.
–Middle Brow “You”
Before heading across the street to hang out with the Solemn Oath folks in Chicago this summer, I happened to be in town on the one day Middle Brow offers their infamous tavern pizza. While the pizza was as incredible as advertised, I had never tasted a beer from this brewery. I ordered this draft only offering of what was described as a double barrel aged Saison. The glass looked beautiful when it was dropped on the table with a vibrant red body and prickly carbonation. After taking a whiff, I quickly realized this was fruited. I found out a few minutes later it was conditioned on Michigan grown raspberries. I got big wine notes and the balance is what really stood out, along with impressive effervescence. This was light and fruity, exactly what a muggy August Illinois day was calling for. I could have drank several glasses of this. That is quite the feat these days for somebody that does not usually want to drink much sour beer. This was a great introduction for a new to me Midwest brewery.
–Riip Beer Company “Long Term Memory Loss”
Riip has become one of my favorite breweries on the planet the last few years. They absolutely nail my favorite style of West Coast IPA every single time. This rendition brewed for their tenth anniversary is my favorite yet from them. I cannot recall such a wonderful mélange of citrus and pine. This is a new school West Coast with a lighter body and all the fun new Cryo products, but it also nostalgic in a way. Although this is more a modern take, there is enough resin to remind you of what a West Coast traditionally tasted like when they opened their doors a decade ago. This might be the best beer I have ever had with Riwaka in it. The aroma took me back to walking the hop fields with Dave at Freestyle at the beginning of this year. I was quite sad once this can was gone and wish I had a case to enjoy, but I am stoked I got to try this masterwork fresh.
–RVK Brewing “Jolabrugg”
After going to Iceland and spending time at this brewery in June, this can magically showed up at one of my bottle pickups a few months later from a club member that just got back from their own trip to the magical country. He said it was an Icelandic Christmas beer, but did not really know what that entailed when I inquired and could not find much about it online. Naturally my intrigue increased and I opened it as soon as I got home to have with dinner that night. I was in shock as soon I poured it because I expected the color to be much darker, but it was a bright amber. Spices immediately hit all the senses. Every sip was different. More than anything, this was a beer that made me scratch my head because I have truly never had anything like it. It is most reminiscent of the dark breads you taste in Iceland. There was so much flavor packed into a 5.2% ABV beer that I was left perplexed from beginning to end.
-Strahov Monastery “Poutni Gratzer”
Those who knew me know that I am not a fan of smoked beers in the slightest, so when I actually enjoy one, it is truly a milestone. On a blistering hot day in Prague, after playing a lot of disc golf, I walked to this monastery. To take a quick break from all the Czech Pils I had drank while in the country, I opted for this Grodziskie. Immediately after my first sip, I knew this was not traditional of this style in a country where beers are made almost always traditionally. I found a brewer to chat with about it and they said there was Nelson hops in it, along with a bit of saffron. While that is a crazy combination on paper, it really worked. To be transparent, I probably enjoyed this so much because the smoke level was so low. There was a bit of oak and otherwise just a very crisp lager with insanely high carbonation. It was not the beer I expected to have a lasting impact on me during my first trip to Czechia, but sometimes surprises are better than best laid plans.
–Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. “The Maltose Falcons 50th Anniversary Festbier”
In a year where I tried more Festbiers than any other year, this one reigned supreme. It navigated the line of being malt forward but still quite crisp. It had such an enormous biscuit aroma and flavor. The hops were spicy and cut through the palate. It drank very easily for nearly six percent. It is a near impossible task to make a beer with such pronounced sweetness but keep it tasting super clean. I did not try this beer until getting back from Europe where I tasted dozens of other Festbiers and this had a balance that none of those did. Bitter and floral might not be characteristic of the beer style, but it definitely worked with this one. I am not typically a big fan of Festbiers, but I found myself going back to this over and over again. My only regret was not being able to track it down on tap anywhere, but out of the can even, it beat out all of the ones I had last month overseas coming out of side pulls and that is really saying something.
–Troon Brewing “Into The Waste Land”
Adjuncts in Barleywines are really not my thing, and Troon has now made me rethink this ideology two different times. Also, in my experience Apple Brandy barrel aged life can be polarizing at times too. With those two things said, this was a grand slam. Coconut cream pie soaked in Brandy is what comes to mind. The warmth of the booze keeps the sweetness in check and the cask lingers in the finish. When this one really opened up about an hour after popping the bottle, I got cake frosting and caramel apples. It smelled like walking by a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory at the mall. Troon excels at their hoppy ales, but I have never had a barrel aged beer from Troon I did not love. While this one was the most thought provoking on paper, it is ultimately a dessert beer at the end of the day, and it might be the best thing they have ever done.
