The Best Beers of 1999

By Marc Dornan

The Tastings.com Find a Beer is a buying guide of more than 1,700 beer reviews tasted over the last three years. Now that the end of the year has passed, we look back with pleasure on the best of 1999. There were many other beers that were just on the margins of being selected. In matters of taste there cannot be perfect precision of measurement. We encourage you to browse our reviews of your favorite beer styles at Brewbase and see the breadth of quality and differing character of many beers of the sixty styles into which we categorize beer. Click each name for tasting notes and more useful info.

US

Many of the US beers on the list are not widely distributed, but the beers from Anchor Brewing and Sierra Nevada Brewing, both of California, are nationally distributed and you should be able to find both at a good shop. Only one of the Top 10 was a limited specialty item: North Coast Brewing of Fort Bragg in Mendocino, CA produced something remarkable for their tenth anniversary — Anniversary X Ale. This strong beer was aged in used Bourbon barrels and packaged like a Belgian ale in a 750 ml bottle. Unfortunately, only one batch was produced and unless any retailer still has some — i t should keep for years — you will not be able to buy it. Bar Harbor Brewing deserves a special mention. It supplied two of the Top 10 domestic beers, Cadillac Mountain Stout and Harbor Lighthouse Ale. This small brewery’s wonderful brews are only available in New England, so do not miss them if you visit.