Dec. 31--I'm going to level with you.
I've been featuring a different beer every month in the pages of the Chicago Tribune for nearly five years, and at least once a year, I wind up resorting to a backup plan: Some beer that's perfectly good but wasn't the intended beer of the month for whatever reason. (Usually that reason pertains to availability; the last thing I want to do is recommend a beer that readers won't be able to find.)
But looking over my list of 2015 beers of the month, there isn't a backup plan in the bunch -- I proudly place my byline alongside all 12. These beers were picked based on the season (usually a touch heavier during the colder months), industry developments (March, April, May and October were all newly released) and sometimes just because (June was a classic deserving some praise).
So here's the rundown of 2015 beers of the month, with links.
Happy drinking in 2016!
January Flanders Red (Destihl Brewing)
February Chocolate Milk Stout (4 Hands Brewing)
March Hop Hunter (Sierra Nevada Brewing)
April Grapefruit Sculpin (Ballast Point Brewing)
May Fist City (Revolution Brewing)
June Domaine DuPage (Two Brothers Brewing)
July Bam Biere (Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales)
August Gamma-Ray Ginger Wheat (Empirical Brewery)
September Oktoberfest (Great Lakes Brewing Co.)
October APA (Brickstone Brewery)
November Caramelized Chocolate Churro Baltic Porter (Moody Tongue Brewing)
December Shake Chocolate Porter (Boulder Beer Co.)
Click for roundups from 2014, 2013 and 2012.
jbnoel@tribpub.com
Twitter @joshbnoel
