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The Top 14 Beers We Drank in April
☔ Showers of beer!
Photography courtesy of Hudson Valley Brewery (on the left) and Rob Hughes | Notch Brewing (on the right)
April's Hottest Articles:
Beer rained down on us this month! Well, who are we kidding? We could say that about any time of the year, but the clouds indeed burst copious amounts of beer upon us this month. In full transparency, we took an incredible two-week trip to the U.K. and Czech Republic, and while we want to share all of our adventures with you right now, we just got back, and it will take us some time to put together all that content. Look out for our U.K. highlights coming at you in May, followed by tales from our Czech Republic trip in June.
In the meantime, we’ll keep it domestic for one more month, showing you the best of the beers we drank and wrote about for the last thirty days.
Some highlights include:
Sitting down with Dogfish Head Co-Founder Sam Calagione to learn the history of the iconic 90 Minute IPA.
Regaling you with Northeast cult classic Genesee Cream Ale.
Catching up with an award-winner at the World Beer Cup.
Learning all about Altbier, a classic German style that’s sort of on the spectrum between ale and lager, and we’ll admit, a little confusing to understand!
And profiling a mighty brewery at the bottom of the world.
Here are all of our drinking adventures in April!
Top 10 Beers We Drank in April 2024
The Broken & The Dead – Marlowe Artisanal Ales
Mamaroneck, NY
Photography courtesy of Marlowe Artisanal Ales
American Brown Ale – Untappd’s 28th highest-rated brewery in New York, Marlowe Artisanal Ales, focuses on pub beers, highly drinkable ales, and lagers. It’s a brewery that has been on our radar for a long time, so we were stoked when Half Time Beverage COO Jason Daniels told us Marlowe Brewer and Owner Zac Ross is “making some of the best beer I have had in a while, if not ever.
One of our favorites, The Broken & The Dead, is an incredibly highly rated 4.16???? American brown ale brewed with Cascade, Centennial, and touch of Columbus hops.
We love it when overshadowed styles, such as brown ale, wow us. Curious about what we mean? You can find Marlowe’s The Broken & The Dead right now in the Untappd Shop as a part of Untappd’s newest Top-Rated Box. Just hit the link below to get yours shipped right to you!
90 Minute IPA – Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
Milton, DE
Photography courtesy of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
DIPA – One of the most iconic American craft beers, 90 Minute IPA has a pretty surprising history. We won’t spoil it for you since we wrote all about it here, but let’s just say it involves a cooking show, a dusty shelf at the Salvation Army, and some real ingenuity.
About a quarter of a century later, this potent DIPA continues to make us go ????, especially since Dogfish now puts 90 MInute IPA in a 19.2oz can (seriously, they sent one to us, which is a beast!).
You can’t drink this beer without being punched in the face by Pacific Northwest hops in all their glory. And that’s what we love about this beer. Not only ourselves but also a great majority of craft beer drinkers and brewers worldwide.
Drink this beer—all 19.2 oz of it if you must—and show mad respect to an icon.
Altbier – Notch Brewing
Salem, MA
Photography courtesy of Rob Hughes | Notch Brewing
Altbier – Notch’s copper-colored Altbier balances notes of sweet vanilla, earthy bitterness, and that nice crusty bread. Notch Brewing Founder Chris Lohring single decocts to enhance that malt complexity before following an open fermentation (they tried a closed fermentation, too, and the former just seemed to work better), long cold lagering, and natural carbonation.
Lohring calls Notch’s version “Düsseldorf-style,” explaining it has a bit more bitterness and less sweetness than you might find in other Alts.
Altbiers can be a little hard to define. But we sure did try. We asked Lohring and a few more experts to help us answer the question: What is an Altbier?
Notch’s version is perhaps one of the tastiest interpretations we’ve tried. Although full disclaimer: We haven’t been to Düsseldorf…yet.
“We haven’t changed the recipe from the first time,” says Lohring. “We’re all about iteration and making things better, but with that one, we just got lucky, if I’m being honest!”
Amendment Lager – 21st Amendment Brewery
San Leandro, CA
The 21st Amendment Brewery team celebrates a gold medal for its new core beer, Amendment Lager | Photography courtesy of the Brewers Association
Cream Ale – Just announced as a new core beer in 21st Amendment’s lineup, Amendment Lager has already impressed enough to earn a gold medal in the “American-Style Cream Ale” category at the World Beer Cup! The brewery’s first light beer in twenty-four years, Amendment Lager follows the mantra, “Beer We Want, Beer We Get!”
“We love our IPAs, but many of us desire a beer with a high level of drinkability,” said 21st Amendment Brewery Co-Founder and Brewmaster Shaun O’Sullivan in a press release. “At 4.4% ABV, Amendment Lager is that beer that you enjoy when you want more than a few (responsibly). With its crushable lighter body, it satisfies that urge we all have when you want to bring over a 12-pack and hang-out with friends, and not have it put a dent in your pocket book. Plus it fits perfectly in your fridge.”
Congrats to 21st Amendment for hitting the ground running with Amendment Lager. Hit the button below to see who else won big at WBC.
Demiurge – Hudson Valley Brewery
Beacon, NY
Photography courtesy of Hudson Valley Brewery
Sour IPA – We’ll admit, it has been a minute since we’ve revisited Hudson Valley Brewery, our best brewery of 2017. Probably has something to do with the fact that we’ve all moved away from New York in the last few years. So we were stoked when our friends at Untappd let us indulge in a 9-pack of Hudson Valley beers from their Shop, where you can now buy 250+ beers from the best breweries across the country.
Despite our momentary lapse, we’re happy to report that the sorcerers of sour IPAs have continued to do their thing in the Hudson Valley region of Upstate New York. Seven years, 479,427 ratings, and 361 beers later, Hudson Valley still maintains a 4.21 rating on Untappd. Pretty freakin’ incredible, especially to see the brewery continue to innovate.
For example, with Demiurge, a 4.34???? Sour DIPA with wheat and oats, milk sugar, pineapple, blackstrap molasses, lime, and almond that’s hopped with Citra and Nelson.
Hudson Valley shared with us that, to them, this one tastes like Rainbow cookies, a Frozen Painkiller cocktail, and Almond biscotti.
Want to try this beer and eight other stellar ones from Hudson Valley? Grab the 9-pack in the Untappd Shop while you can. Just hit the link below.
Pernicious Weed – Garage Project
Wellington City, Wellington, New Zealand
Photography courtesy of Garage Project
DIPA – We named Garage Project one of our “13 Best Breweries to Watch in 2024,” so in lieu of actually flying thirteen hours to New Zealand (which we hope to do sometime in the future), we sat down with the Wellington-based brewery co-founders Jos Ruffell and Pete Gillespie to chat about cleaning up rat sh*t, brewing the best f**king beer, and thirteen years brewing at the bottom of the world.
And while we’d love to one day try some of the experimental, batsh*t-crazy beers that have made Garage Project pioneers…
Like Chance, Luck, & Magic, a gose-style blend of three (sometimes four-year-old) spontaneous beers named after a psych evaluation result Gillespie received while working at a major mega-brewery in Australia.
Or Single Barrel Series No 157 brewed with hop bines in wort that the team almost threw away because it smelled like minestrone. “We can’t throw it out; it’s really interesting,” Gillespie told his squad, compromising by saving just one barrel. “No shit, it was the most f**king amazing beer we had produced at that point!”
…for now, we’ll satisfy ourselves with a Garage Project classic—Pernicious Weed. The mainstay double IPA is Ruffell’s homage to Pliny the Elder, the first craft beer he ever tried and one that changed his life.
Instead of Pacific Northwest Hops, Pernicious Weed includes New Zealand ones—Nelson Sauvin and Rakau.
“Nelson Sauvin has green grape, winey [notes], and when you mesh it with Rakau, I love it because it took it to a very bright citrus, grapefruit spot with a little weedy undernote,” says Gillespie.
Ruffell calls Pernicious Weed “a cult-favorite to this day,” and it’s easy to see why.
Surf House – Allagash Brewing Company
Portland, ME
Photography courtesy of Allagash Brewing
American Lager – Earlier this year, Allagash released a new seasonal beer called Surf House. And since April feels like that thirty-day transition between spring and summer, we tried the crisp lager and Good Food Awards finalist.
Allagash describes the 5.5% ABV beer as “like a little home by the water, this lager is built for easygoing relaxation.”
We found a super pleasant, malty sweetness right from the nose, like walking into a brewery on brew day. That sort of bubblegumesque or honied biscuit sweetness carries through on the sip, finishing with a reasonably substantial hop bite, which surprised us in a good way.
“Surf House epitomizes summer relaxation, and it’s a great way to kick off our seasonal House series,” Allagash Brewmaster Jason Perkins said in a press release. “It’s a super accessible beer that we’re proud to share with our customers to incorporate into their summer plans, from beach days to barbecues to camping and more.”
Crisp and crushable, we imagine Surf House would be the perfect complement to housing a hot dog doused with mustard (never ketchup) and pickle relish while lounging around on the beach. Surf’s up!
Parallel Projection – Bingo Beer
Richmond, VA
Image courtesy of Bingo Beer Co.
Brett Saison – Last year, Bingo Beer sent us an incredible package of clean, crushable lagers. We enjoyed them so much that we ended up naming the Virginia-based brewery one of our “13 Best Breweries to Watch in 2024.”
But we didn’t mention a wine-barrel-fermented, aged Brett saison they also sent us, letting it hang out for a bit in the cellar. However, with Saison Day upon us, we felt it would be the perfect time to crack open that bottle.
And we’re sure glad we did.
A Brett saison fermented and aged in King Family Vineyards wine barrels and rested for twelve months on Riesling pomace, Parallel Projection pours a cloud gold, immediately giving your nose all the horse hay and barnyard blanket you want from the style.
We also picked up a bit of parmesan or Romano cheese rind.
On the tongue, the beer expressed a pleasant slickness with a burst of sweetness like biting into an incredibly plump gold raisin you dug to the bottom of the box to find. On the finish, you’ll find a little bit of dry acidity.
But it is all about the lovely ombré shades of funk here, fading from musty hay to mildly pungent cheese rind and back again.
Take us away to Funkytown!
Peanut Butter Lovers – New Glory Craft Brewery
Sacramento, CA
Photography courtesy of New Glory Craft Brewery
Imperial Porter – Yes, we’re self-proclaimed chocolate and peanut butter (beer) lovers, but it can sometimes be challenging to get the balance right in beer.
New Glory nails it with their porter Peanut Butter Lovers. As soon as you crack the can, it’s pretty much like you just untwisted the lid off a jar of SKIPPY® Creamy Peanut Butter (sorry, we weren’t a Jif household growing up). Aromas of roasted peanuts and baked waffle cones hit your nostrils and carry through onto your tongue.
A lingering note of rich, dark chocolate, like the moist interior of a Devil’s Food cake, coats our mouths. While a hint of slightly bitter black coffee reminds us that this is indeed a porter, we’re drinking.
Peanut Butter Lovers lives up to its name, brewed with actual peanut butter and conditioned on vanilla and locally roasted cacao nibs from Cru Chocolate. “Decadence in a can,” according to New Glory. And we couldn’t agree more.
It’s probably just our imaginations, but it felt like this beer stuck to the roof of our mouths and left our fingers deliciously sticky.
Pilsner – Prost Brewing Co & Biergarten
Denver, CO
Photography courtesy of Prost Brewing Co.
German-Style Pilsner – When Prost Brewing, an award-winning German-style brewery and biergarten in Colorado, hit us up about sending us a few beers, we absolutely couldn’t say no!
Out of everything they sent us, we loved their Northern German-style Pilsner the most.
The pils poured a clear gold with immediate atoms of sweet, perfumy hay and lemon verbena. The beer blooms with notes of wildflower honey and lemon zest, followed by an exhale of baked biscuits or perhaps a little buttery Club® Cracker or Madeleine cookie.
“Our northern German-style Pils quenches your thirst with a luxuriously subdued malt body and peppery, clean hop finish,” writes Prost in the beer’s Untappd description. “Light in color, but full in flavor, this bier is our true pride. Prost!”
This is a bier we’d certainly be proud of, too.
Renew Brewing – Town Brewing Company x Charlotte Brew Collective x Charlotte Water
Charlotte, NC
Photography courtesy of Derek Fritts (@derekfrittsphoto)
Pale Ale – As the saying goes, “April showers bring May flowers.” But in a world increasingly affected by climate change, water is becoming a precious commodity. Beer, in particular, requires quite a significant amount of water to brew. So, for Earth Day 2024, the Charlotte Beer Collective teamed up with Town Brewing and Charlotte Water to make Renew Brew, a pale ale brewed exclusively with recycled water.
“As resources become more scarce, we wanted to set out to brew something incredibly eco-friendly,” Charlotte Beer Collective Co-Founder Jeremy Selan wrote in an email.
A charitable organization that uses its platform to provide additional exposure for local non-profits and breweries, the Charlotte Beer Collective worked with Charlotte Water and Town Brewing to develop Renew Brew.
A classic Pale Ale, Renew Brew uses a recycled and treated water product called QC Water that’s filtered through Xylem Water Filtration systems. According to Selan, this beer won Best of Show in the Queen City Brewers Festival in a blind tasting of over fifty beers judged by the Carolina Brewmasters.
Selan kindly sent us a couple of cans to try, and we loved it.
Pouring an amber-gold, Renew Brew certainly looked, felt, and smelled like a classic American pale ale. Its crispness made us feel like we were drinking the coldest, cleanest tap water. And a satisfying jam-and-biscuit maltiness complemented a lovely minerality.
We can see why this beer picked up a Best in Show. And we applaud Renew Brew for its mission, too. If you can make beer taste this good with recycled water, imagine the possibilities for helping create a cleaner, healthier planet.
Cream Ale – Genesee Brewing Company
Rochester, NY
Photography courtesy of @geneseebrewery
Cream Ale – Look, we don’t really need to say too much here, do we? Genesee Cream Ale has a cult following for a reason. Some go ham for Hamm’s. Others go gung-ho for a ‘Gansett. Rainier, Schlitz, Old Style, PBR, Shiner, Miller High Life, all these American light lagers have a place.
But what sets Genesee apart is that it is a cream ale. (And in case you’re wondering: What is a cream ale?) So, it is a little different than all the rest of these American classics.
Introduced in 1960 with unwavering fandom, Genesee Cream Ale is perhaps the most famous version of the style.
Drinking this beer comes with a side of nostalgia and usually a story or two.
Seriously, if you want to understand what a cream ale is all about, you can’t go wrong with this historic version.
