Alpine Beer Company - Toronado 25th Anniversary Ale

I'll be completely honest- this post was not supposed to be about Alpine and New Belgium's new collaboration: Super IPA. But sometimes, things come along that are just too important to wait. In this case, it's the arrival of what very well may be the best IPA I've ever had.

Alpine Beer Company is far from being new to brewing good IPAs. With beers like Nelson, Bad Boy and Pure Hoppiness, Alpine's resume is as good (if not better) as anyone in the industry. Never afraid to expand their IPA resume, Alpine brewed yet another IPA to celebrate Toronados' (the one in San Francisco) 25th anniversary. They brewed this beer as a double version of one of their most popular IPAs- Nelson. Double Nelson??? Yes, please! Luckily for me, the San Diego Toronados was able to get a keg of it and I tried it yesterday.

Toronado 25th Anniversary Ale pours a glowing apricot color with a thin tan head. The smell was absolutely incredible. A huge, fragrant mix of mango, grapefruit, marijuana, mint and hop resin practically billowed from the glass. I don't know if I've ever come across a beer that smelled this fantastic.

I didn't think it could be done, but somehow Alpine got this beer to taste as good as it smells. It's an absolute atomic bomb of citrus hops that somehow retains enough of a malt backbone to keep it in check. Hints of tropical fruit, rye and resin pop out all over the place in this one, giving it incredible depth. For a long time, I didn't think anything out there could unseat the Plinys atop the IPA throne, but this absolutely blows them out of the water. It's not even close. This beer likely won't be around for long, so do not pass it up if you're lucky enough to find it. It easily may be the best beer you've ever had. Bravo, Alpine!

Final Grade: A+

Top 100 Beers Tasted: 39

Green Flash Brewing Company - Silva Stout

About a year ago, I walked into Beverages 4 Less for the first time. I talked to the store manager for a while about his selection and he ended up going into the back room and pulling out a bottle for me to try. I had never heard of the beer before, but it was from a local brewery, Green Flash, and it was called Silva Stout. I ended up taking it home, but kept putting off a tasting for one reason or another. Eventually, I lost interest in the bottle and ended up trading it to a guy in Cincinnati. After I traded it, I realized that the beer had made it into the Top 100. Oops. Still, I figured that since the beer was from San Diego, it wouldn't be hard to come across again. Months later, I still hadn't found it and began to hate my decision to trade it away. This past Saturday, my luck finally changed. I happened to be at Toronados and saw Silva Stout on their bottle list. This time, it was not escaping me.

Silva Stout pours a thick-looking black color with a one finger milk chocolate-colored head. After a few minutes, the head thinned to a light cap over the beer. Silva Stout is aged for a year in bourbon barrels and the bourbon is immediately present in the aroma. Unlike some bourbon barrel aged beers, Silva Stout has much more going on in the smell than just the bourbon. I picked up a lot of dark chocolate, raisin and coffee with some hints of leather coming out as the beer warmed.

The taste has some nice bourbon elements as well, but the bourbon is pleasantly restrained. Rich flavors of chocolate, raisin, caramel, wood and bourbon jump out right away and a pleasant warming sensation creeps in on the finish. As the beer warms, the sweeter elements really come out. This is a fantastic beer and I'm so glad that the hunt for this one is finally over.

Final Grade: A

Top 100 Beers Tasted: 21