Kyle Harrop’s (Horus) Top 10 Beers of 2023
2023…the Dodgers had yet another embarrassing showing in the playoffs, although Lebron became the all-time points leader in the NBA, I played in my first professional disc golf tournament in Alaska of all places, hosted my first tournament myself here in California, and aced twelve different times throughout the year. This is my seventh year in a row doing this list and without fail, it was even harder to decide than the year before. I think the hardest part for me this time around was distinguishing between overall experiences rather than the beers themselves. It is also worth noting that my favorite collaboration experience of the year, if not ever, was brewing with Henok and the rest of the Omnipollo crew, at their church in Stockholm. Drinking lager in the fjords of northern Norway, Cantillon on a ferry from Finland to Estonia, visiting all of the amazing Omnipollo locations in Sweden, having a pint of Stout in a four hundred old pub in Ireland, or drinking cask ale in Scotland until the wee hours of the morning will all be very memorable experiences, but the truth of the matter is most of the beers on this list were enjoyed after the kids went to bed in the comforts of my home. Here are my ten favorite beers of 2023 in no particular order:
Anchorage Brewing Company “A Deal With The Devil” Quadruple Oaked Barleywine Batch Three (Silver Wax)
My favorite style of beer aged in four different barrels, not a blend of four different barrels, but going from barrel to barrel to barrel to barrel. On paper, this was going to be a slam dunk from the start. However, the funniest part of this beer landing on this list is that when I first tried it the night after my birthday with friends, along with the other six ADWTD variations that came out in October, it was my second least favorite of the bunch. I originally enjoyed all four of the new Triple Oaked variants much more than this, particularly Batch Eleven. Then, I revisited all seven of the recent ADWTD individually a week later, letting each one of them open up over the course of a few hours, and this was the best without a doubt in my opinion. Going from Heaven Hill Bourbon to Willett Bourbon to Willett Rye to Cognac resulted in a Barleywine over 20% ABV, unlike anything else I have ever tasted. Cherries, figs, fudge, oak, raisins, tobacco, and toffee dominate the palate. The spirit character is out of this world and its heft is felt on the tongue a bit, but it is crazy drinkable for its strength. Gabe continues to take this style to different levels and create new benchmarks for all of us to strive for.
El Segundo Brewing Company “Inspiration 2023” Hop Harvest IPA
Being that my parents still live in my hometown and frequent the brewery, I probably consume more ounces of ESBC beer annually than any other producer out there. My dad spoils me with cans every time I see him, as he knows I still cherish West Coast IPA after all of these years. This particular beer was first opened alongside my favorite sandwich of all time, the Iron Man from Rinaldi’s. While I thought it was incredible paired with the food, I had to taste it again later that day on its own with a fresh palate to confirm what I originally thought, which was being my favorite beer of all time from El Segundo. The hops from Loza Farms were truly incredible and this was all the citrus and pine you could ask for in perfect harmony. I ended up emptying my dad’s stash of cans that visit and went home with another four pack, which did not last long either. This could be my everyday beer if it was made regularly.
everywhere Beer Company “Double Dry Hopped New Leaves” West Coast IPA
It had me at Nectaron Cyro. Add more Nectaron, along with HBC 586 and HBC 586 Cryo, and this was this was not even fair. The first beer I tried during the day I collaborated with them on a Barleywine in Orange was a beer that I remembered all year long. It paired wonderfully with the incredible Filet Mignon tacos that they fed me for lunch. This Westie is definitely on the more modern end of the style spectrum with its stonefruit notes and soft grain bill but it has just the right amount of bitterness to balance everything out. The aroma on this beer was dank and potent with citrus dominating the flavor. The odd thing is that I did not really care for the first non-double dry hopped version of this beer. The extra hop additions really amplified it to the next level. This is one of those beers that could turn the West Coast IPA haters into fans because of how tropical and inviting it is. It is not overly dry or bitter and is packed with fruit. I wish this was an everyday offering from Everywhere.
Fidens Brewing Company “Fresh Hop Strata” Hazy IPA
This last time I collaborated with Fidens, Allen picked me up and took me to their new taproom in Albany on a day it was closed. He gave me free reign with their taps, which I tried to go through quickly sampling to see what I was in the mood for, and this beer stopped me in my tracks. I was pleasantly overwhelmed with fresh mango and passionfruit. It was much different their usual juicy offerings and it had a cool fresh herb character to it too. They had said the hops did not look so great visually when they arrived after being picked fresh the day before. They were already browning and the guys were not sure they would even be able to make a beer with them, but they smelled great and luckily went for it. I am sure glad they did because this was my favorite beer they have ever done and I would not have gotten the chance to try it if I did not happen to be in New York with access to it on draft because they never canned it as far as I know. This was another grand slam for Steve and company.
Freak Folk Bier “Prong Horn” Helles Lager
I flew to Vermont in August to caddy for my buddy Albert Tamm at the PDGA World Championships. My only window to check out Freak Folk was within the first hour of my trip. My plane landed forty-five minutes before they closed and I rushed over to Waterbury just in time. I ordered this incredible lager poured from a Lukr and it was the best beer I had all summer. I could have sat there and drank it all night but instead they had to close up and I went to have dinner down the street at Hen of the Wood. I ran into a half dozen brewers on the same trip later on, who all had gone to try the same beer and had equally high praise for it as well. I was caught off guard by this beer because I only had known this brewery for their mixed fermentation offerings prior to my visit. It was probably the best Helles I have had in my entire life and I have been to Germany multiple times. When people talk about a beer being clean, this is a prime example. It was creamy, crisp, had a perfect amount of hops, and was as refreshing as it gets. I cannot emphasize enough how great the drinkability on this beer was. Before playing Brewster Ridge or Fox Run Meadows on my next trip to the Green Mountain State, Freak Folk will be my first stop once again.
Lesser-Known Beer Company “Loops” Dunkel
After playing disc golf in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains at North Cove with Ryan of Casita Brewing Company, he recommended that I take a slight detour the following day and check out this new brewery in Winstom-Salem. Upon arrival, I immediately noticed somebody through a little hole in the wall pouring beer directly from a tank. I had not seen this offered to customers outside of Europe before, so I ordered one without even asking what style of beer it was. I am admittedly not a big Dunkel fan but wow was this good. This is the only beer on this list that was tried prior to the Spring season. I vividly remember it ten months later. The malt character was reminiscent of Biscoff cookies with a hint of roast. I chatted with the brewer a bit and he said it was brewed in the Franconian style. His intense attention to detail did not go unnoticed. The caramelization was pronounced but it tasted super clean at the same time. It was an outstanding mug of Dunkel Lager.
Newbarns Brewery “12 Plato Pils” Bohemian Pilsner
After venturing outside of Edinburgh to play a round at Bluebell Woods, I rushed back to the city to visit Newbarns before they closed. It was the one brewery I really wanted to visit while I was in Scotland and it did not disappoint. I had a pint of a Helles Lager and took some cans of this Pilsner back to my room. After just one sip, I knew it was the best Pilsner I had tried all year and I had sampled a whole lot of them. This had such a cool bread character, was super crispy, and had some nice elevated bitterness in the finish. The Saaz shined throughout and made me feel like I was in the Cezch Republic instead of the United Kingdom. This beer is a style where there is nothing to hide behind and this was executed masterfully.
Schouskjelleren Mikrobryggeri “Nybrua” Amber Lager
I was wandering through Oslo with no obligations for the day after my flight up north was rescheduled for the next evening. I came across this awesome building in Grunerloka and poked my head in. I saw Cantillon bottles in the fridge and sat down immediately, but soon realized they made their own beer in house. I ordered the only Lager on the menu, as it was an unusually hot Scandinavian summer day. I ended up having two more after that. It had such a cool caramel character to it, with being very light and easy to drink at the same time. It had more hop character than I would have expected that helped balance out the sweetness. Mix that with an unbelievable atmosphere in such a cool old European building and this one of my favorite beer drinking experiences and beers of the year.
Toppling Goliath Brewing Company “52 Hertz” Barrel Aged Imperial Stout
My palate was completely shot the first time I tried this beer after trying numerous high octane beers before it. Being a non-adjunct Stout, I was not sure if I would be able to decipher much, but it still really impressed me. Then, I had it again a week later and was blown away. Assassin is one of my favorite beers from them and the majority of this blend is made up of triple barrel aged versions of it, so it is no surprise that it was my favorite Stout of 2023. Think fudge steeped in Bourbon with a long lasting sweet finish and a mild burn. Some baking spices and rye come out as it warms. This takes me back to the first time I had SR-71 and might be even better than that. I have always thought TG gets the most flavor out of their non-adjuncted beers and this further confirms that belief. This beer will probably continue to get even better the next few years. This is an absolute masterpiece from Iowa.
Wondrous Brewing Company “Hope and Despair” Barrel Aged Barleywine
Once I first heard about Wondrous, it quickly became the brewery I wanted to visit most and luckily it did not take me long to get up north. I fully intended on solely drinking their IPAs and Lagers, but saw this Barleywine on the draft board and ordered a small pour. The first thing I noticed was this incredible butterscotch aroma. The flavor had a bit of cola mixed with marshmallow. Toffee came out later and the barrel shined more and more as it warmed up. I did not pick up much fruit or leather, instead it was deep brown sugar and vanilla. By the end, after sitting for about a half hour, it was a caramel bomb in a great way. This was reminiscent of a Werther’s Original in liquid form and the two years in spent in barrels, did it wonders.
