Stan Hieronymus is a nationally recognized journalist and author with a lot of street cred in the craft beer world. He’s authored some impressive, important books and he’s worked as a journalist and editor for some impressive, important publications. He is a bona fide hop expert, and among the many things he does, Stan publishes a website and a monthly email newsletter that are invaluable to anyone deeply into craft beer: Hop Queries. (Image above, from Craft Beer and Brewing.)
It’s easy for me to blather on and on like a teenage fan-boy when talking about Stan Hieronymus, so I’ll just get to the point. This esteemed and well-traveled beer expert just published his Best of 2024 list on the Craft Beer and Brewing website. One Washington-brewed beer made his list of the top 10 beers he drank this year. Also, his top “most memorable beer experience” happened in Seattle.
Beer
I drank a lot of locally brewed festbier this year. I was impressed by many, and disappointed by a few. I often suffer from imposter syndrome, so it eases my mind a bit to know that Stan was also so notably impressed with this beer.
Otherlands Songs of Courtship (Bellingham, Washington)
Stan said, “The only thing that might have made this fourth-anniversary festbier better would have been seeing the ceremonial burning of Zozobra that was part of the celebration. Were this combination of lightly toasted bread and floral hops to exist as a wood-carved version of Zozobra, it would be one crafted from a single piece of wood.”
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Experience
It was a sad day for Seattle beer lovers when Brouwer’s Cafe shut down permanently at the end of June 2024. Stan just happened to be in town for the closing. That event was his first choice for the Most Memorable Beer Experience.
Most Memorable Beer Experiences of the Past Year
Stan said, “By chance, we were in Seattle in June, hours before Brouwer’s Café—one of the premier beer-focused bars in the country—closed for good. As outsiders, from the balcony above, we watched bartenders open large bottle after bottle, fill a dozen small glasses at once, and hand them out to longtime regulars. Friends posed for group photos. The beer menu that day was even more special than usual, but that’s not why drinkers were there.”
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Brouwer’s Cafe earned a reputation as one of the best beer bars in the U.S. for a reason. The dedication to beer was second to none. It is fitting and poignant that the closing made Stan’s list. Check out the complete list here.
