Paste's 10 Favorite Beers: March 2016

When it comes to beer, there are a ton of choices out there, with more being added everyday. This year we’re rounding up some of our fave new finds each month. Some of the brews we did full reviews on, while others are just special gems we found on tap while we were out and about that we think you should know about.

Check out our favorite beers from February here.

By no means a comprehensive list of everything new that came out in January (we can only drink so much!), here are some of our favorites that we’d recommend you grabbing a pint of while you’re out with friends, or picking up a few bottles of at your local bottle shop.

Discover something new this month that you absolutely love? Be sure to tell us about it in the comments!

Fullsteam Coffee is for Closers
Style: Coffee Porter
ABV: 6.0%

Fullsteam’s Coffee is for Closers Iced Coffee Porter is a winter/early spring seasonal to showcase beans from Morrisville’s Muddy Dog Roasting Company. The beer balances the iced coffee and porter characteristics nicely, making a highly enjoyable beer packed full of flavor. This is also a great beverage at any time of day, too. It goes well with that weekend (or weekday, we don’t judge) brunch and is definitely a solid after dinner or dessert option.

Cambridge Brewing You Enjoy My Stout
Style: Imperial Stout aged in Bourbon Barrels
ABV: 10.5%

Last year, Cambridge sent some of its Imperial Stout down to Buffalo Trace so it could vacation in oak bourbon barrels for 10 months. Upon return in the fall, this varietal of You Enjoy My Stout (YEMS) became one of the latest releases in the brewery’s Bottling Project. YEMS is an excellent barrel-aged stout you wouldn’t mind drinking even as the country defrosts. For as much power as this beer packs at 10.5% ABV, the overwhelming takeaway is its richness.

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Summit Brewing Saga IPA
Style: American IPA
ABV: 6.2%

Sága IPA debuted just a few short years ago but has become a top seller for Summit, celebrating 30 years in 2016. The beer itself is floral and aromatic with elements of a bold West Coast IPA but tempered via a Midwest malt foundation. It’s best poured into a glass, where the bouquet shines atop a fluffy white head while tasting a little bit tropical, a little citrus, and with a Centennial hop punch at the end. We gave it a try this month as a side-by-side with the brewery’s Unchained Us & Them 1st and 2nd thread.

Threes Brewing Superf*ckingyawn
Style: Imperial Pale Ale
ABV: 9.5%

The name Superf*ckingyawn is actually intended to poke a fun at the current fixation the craft beer community has about Northeast hoppy beers. The aroma is extremely floral, with hints of mangos, citrus and other tropical fruits. While 9.5% ABV is big, this beer is anything but boozy; it’s almost dangerous how little booze you actually taste.

Haw River Beneath the Feet of Orion
Style: Saison/Farmhouse Ale
ABV: 8.2%

Beneath the Feet of Orion is an imperial rye saison brewed with organic red core carrots that were grown right in Saxapahaw. In addition to the root veggies, there’s local fresh ginger root and toasted cumin seeds as well. With an 8.2% ABV, this saison packs more of a punch than the usual takes on the farmhouse style, too. Fans of saisons and farmhouse ales will want to give this and a number of other Haw River offerings a look.

Anderson Valley Briney Melon Gose
Style: Gose
ABV: 4.2%

Anderson Valley’s Briney Melon Gose is the brewery’s third Gose. The brew’s subtle watermelon flavor balances nicely with bit of tartness and a light addition of sea salt. It’s a refreshing low-ABV beer perfect for sipping on the patio as the temperatures start to rise.

Burial Bolo Coconut Brown Ale
Style: Brown Ale
ABV: 5.6%

If you seek out Bolo Coconut Brown looking for a liquid candy bar, you’ll be disappointed. There’s plenty of fresh coconut flavor here, but Burial has balanced the ingredient nicely with the base brown ale. The amount of sweetness seems appropriate, making Bolo a solid brown for drinking more often than just for dessert.

Blackberry Farm Spring Saison
Style: Saison/Farmhouse Ale
ABV: 6.3%

If a wheat beer or hefeweizen is your go-to, Blackberry Farm’s Spring Saison is worth a look, especially if you want to try a new style. This makes for a great introduction to farmhouse ales because it’s brewed with those ingredients typically used in wit beers. With Blackberry Farm’s Spring installment of its seasonal series, you get both a saison and a wit in the same bottle, so you won’t have to make the tough decision between the two styles when you’re heading outside to enjoy a beer before the summer heat arrives.

Guinness Dublin Porter
Style: Porter
ABV: 3.8%

Guinness started distributing its Dublin Porter in the US this month. The brew is part of Guinness’ Brewer’s project, an initiative the brings back some of the brewery’s original recipes. Dublin Porter was originally brewed in 1796. The sessionable brew is packed with flavor, but coming in at just 3.8%, its one you can have one (or 5) of.

Angry Orchard The Old Fashioned
Style: Cider
ABV: 6.5%

Angry Orchard’s ‘The Old Fashioned’ won our blind taste testing of 82 hard ciders this month.The Old Fashioned is fascinating in both conception and execution, it’s a cider made from a blend of American apples that is then aged on oak with tart cherries, orange peel and bourbon barrel staves. The result is a very complex, subtle and wonderfully executed cider that drinkers might not initially understand, because they’re expecting it to be so much more brash. It’s a beautifully complex cider that forces you to look at the label and then imagine its construction from the brewer’s point of view. It’s a surprising treat.

Paste’s 10 Favorite Beers: March 2016