Chicago's Goose Island Beer Co. will roll out several new permutations of its famous whiskey-kicked Bourbon County Stout, including coffee, orange, vanilla, blueberry, rye barrel-aged, dry-hopped, and more, the brewery announced. This follows the trend of breweries — especially those from the Midwest and Colorado — brewing endless spinoffs of their flagship imperial stouts.

Founders Canadian Breakfast Stout, a whiskey-aged version of their popular Breakfast Stout, was Churchkey's second-fastest-selling beer, after Bell's Hopslam. And Denver's Great Divide has been futzing with their big-boy beer for five years, putting their Yeti Imperial Stout through oak barrels and infusing it with vanilla, chocolate, and espresso.

This rush of new flavors is exciting, but you'd best prepare yourself and gather some dark-beer-loving friends — Yeti and Bourbon County Stout hover between 9 and 13 percent abv, so you're going to want folks to split those bottles with.

Yesterday the Lagerheads brought you what we consider five of the most influential local beer happenings of 2009. Today we offer Chapter Two: five more events and trends that show DC's growth as a beer city.

1. Flying Dog, Our (Close to) Local Production Brewery, Makes Us Proud – Shall we call it the Year of the Dog? The determined folks at Flying Dog Ales have been like a pack of wild (but benign) beasts in bringing their quality products to DC and supporting them with fun, educational events. We have had no choice but to adopt the closest-to-local production brewery (only 40 minutes away in Frederick) as our own. It's not a bad deal considering that Flying Dog won Brewery of the Year at this year's Great American Beer Festival, which is no small feat. Let's hope, however, that sometime this decade DC gets its very own production brewery, since that's one of the biggest things preventing us from becoming a real beer city.
2. More Great Beers Arrive: Founders, The Bruery & Others – It's about the beer, people, and DC has seen a steady stream of great brews become available, both American and imports, over the past several years. Last year really took the cake, as our very own Beerspotter pointed out last week. You know how we feel about Duck Rabbit, and we are very grateful to finally find Founders beer in DC, as well as discover beers from the up-and-coming artisan brewers at The Bruery. Good year!
3. Tuppers' Hop Pocket Returns (Almost) – A beloved local beer icon made a comeback this year, even if it was only with a few kegs at the Northern Virginia Summer Brewfest in Leesburg. Plenty of folks were excited to taste how Hampton, Virginia's St. George Brewing was doing at filling Old Dominion's shoes as the contract brewer of Tuppers' Beers. According to the Tuppers themselves, it was primarily a labeling snafu that kept Hop Pocket from actual release in 2009. Because of distribution, the beer will be only available in Virginia at first, but who knows what could happen by the end of 2010. Regardless, having Tuppers back is a win for the DC beer community for sure.
4. Beer Events, Beer Events, Beer Events – It's no secret that the Lagerheads are all about organized beer hangs. We see them as not only a good time out, but a chance to learn more about fermented treats and meet other people who are enthusiastic about the world's greatest beverage. DC is no stranger to beer events; Pizzeria Paradiso, Brasserie Beck, and CulinAerie have long been holding beer dinners, and the Brickskeller boasts itself as the birthplace of the educational beer tasting. However, what really stands out about 2009 is the number, quality, and variety of beer events that that started springing up. Pizzeria Paradiso hit its stride last year and now holds a unique beer dinner every single month. Cafe Belga and Granville Moore's began holding regular food and beer pairings, and a handful of other places did some decent dabbling in all kinds of beer-themed events. These include The Reef (which now has a firkin of fresh beer every Thursday), Black Squirrel, Cafe Saint-Ex, and The Red and the Black, and we are sure that our very own Beer Spotter's event at Red Derby is a sign of things to come over there. The Brickskeller also announced the launch of a Beer School run by bar manager Rachel Murray. So keep it up, DC. Bring the demand for opportunities to develop your knowledge and love of beer and more will come.
5. Announcements for 2010 Beer Spot Openings: Biergarten Haus, Mussel Bar & Pizzeria Paradiso #3 – Our fellow Young and Hungry blogger Tim Carman released his list of restaurants set to open this year in DC, with a focus on dining, of course. Last month Mike Dolan at dcbeer.com did an excellent job rounding up beer spots opening in 2010. More beer-focused bars equals more beer and an even better beer city (as well as shorter waits at all beer spots if the froth-loving masses have more great places to choose from). We likey. Just a few additions to Mike's:

• Dr. Dremo's – The re-opening of this Clarendon beer institution, that is
• Mussel Bar – Brasserie Beck's newest project in Bethesda (in addition to the Atlantic City restaurant we also found out about this year)
• Pizzeria Paradiso #3 – We can't tell you where but we can say a third pizza/beer mecca will be opening its doors in the DC area sometime this year. Be thankful.

So that's it for the local stuff. What did we miss? Likewise, if you see any items on our lists that weren't all that influential, in your humble opinion, let us know. We want to hear your year-in-beer reflections.

2009 was an exciting beer for year in D.C., and not just because of the opening of Churchkey/Birch & Barley and the mega-improvement of Pizzeria Paradiso Dupont Circle — you already know all about that. No, what marked 2009 was the enormous influx of breweries expanding their distribution to D.C. If the lack of local breweries is our city's worst beer weakness, the variety on our shelves is its greatest strength. Here's a look at the world-class breweries that came to D.C. this year, helping us continue to be one of America's best beer towns.

• Founders – Founders are masters of dark beer, rivaled perhaps only by fellow Michiganders Bell's. They swept through D.C. this year, nabbing tap handles all over town with their Porter, Dirty Bastard Scotch Ale, and Breakfast Stout — the latter of which is made with coffee, chocolate, and oats, and is pretty much perfect.
• Goose Island – Yet another benefit of electing our new president was the arrival of this Chicago brewery. Technically they got here in 2008, but 2009 brought a slew of nuanced, Belgian-style beers like Matilda, Pere Jacques, and the wine barrel-aged Sofie.

• 21st Amendment – The words "watermelon wheat" had me skeptical about this hyped California brewery, but a sip — nay, a whiff — of their Brew Free or Die IPA turned me around. With the Belgian quad Monk's Blood newly released and their hop-chocolate Back in Black IPA on tap seasonally, we'll keep seeing good things from them in 2010.

• Duck Rabbit – From Farmville, N.C., this brewery makes an outstanding autumn seasonal schwarzbier — it's a chocolaty black lager that tastes like it's been charred with a blowtorch. Year-round, we're treated to their milk stout, which is brewed with lactose (aka milk sugar) for a creamy mouthfeel.
• Terrapin – Technically, this one's NoVa only, but their Rye Pale Ale is one of my all-time favorite beers — and all of a sudden Virginia doesn't seem so far anymore.
• Bruery – Bruery was one of the year's most buzzed-about breweries, and rightfully so; the two young brothers have kept their homebrewers' mentality, using playful ingredients such as yams, basil, and chamomile. Their new dark rye beer, Rugbrød, is in stores now (as well as in my fridge), and 2010 should be good to them as well.
• Honorable mentions – Also new to the area were Boulder Brewing, Cisco, Coronado, Climax, and Butternuts — for an unofficial total of, like, 10ish.

So what were your favorites, Twitter co-beerspotters? Did I miss any? Let me know quick; my Beers of the Year list for 2009 will be up soon!

Paste Magazine's most recent "List of the Day" surveys the 25 best American breweries of the decade. Just hours after it was posted, a friend asked us what we thought. Overall, we think it's pretty solid. We've had beer from all of the breweries, some more than others, especially Paste's picks for the two top spots, Dogfish Head and Allagash. Still, we have a few beefs...

We wouldn't have placed Victory or Founder's in the top five. Those spots should have been reserved for cutting-edge breweries like Lost Abbey and Russian River. Similarly, we love Weyerbacher but probably would have placed Bell's in its top 10 spot. And Jolly Pumpkin way down at 19? We don't think so.

Perhaps going beyond the bounds of Paste's rating method, we would have  listed Brooklyn, Stone, and Samuel Adams much higher for their widespread efforts to inform American drinkers that there's more to beer than Bud, Coors, and Michelob, as well as raise the status of beer in general. We also would have tried to squeeze Flying Dog, Left Hand, Troegs, and Duck Rabbit somewhere into the top 25.

Beyond that, if we could have done a Top 40, we would have tried to get O'Dell's, The Bruery, Boulevard, Full Sail, Captain Lawrence, 21st Amendment, Sly Fox, Anderson Valley, New Holland, Clipper City, Bear Republic, and Elysian on the list, but it would have been very difficult to decide who goes where. Since many of the aforementioned breweries are up and coming, we have a good feeling several of them will be on next decade's list.

For those of you who don't have the patience to click, below is Paste's list. We won't take the time here to argue the reasons for our gripes, but let us know what you think in the comments and we'll continue the conversation there.

1. Dogfish Head (Milton, DE)
2. Allagash (Portland, ME)
3. Avery (Boulder, CO)
4. Victory (Downington, PA)
5. Founder's (Grand Rapids, MI)
6. AleSmith (San Diego, CA)
7. Russian River (Santa Rosa, CA)
8. Three Floyds (Hammond, IN)
9. Weyerbacher (Easton, PA)
10. Lost Abbey (San Marcos, CA)
11. Bell's (Kalamazoo, MI)
12. Lagunitas (Petulama, CA)
13. Deschutes (Bend, OR)
14. Rogue (Ashland, OR)
15. Samuel Adams (Boston, MA)
16. Oskar Blues (Lyons, CO)
17. New Glarus (New Glarus, WI)
18. New Belgium (Ft. Collins, CO)
19. Jolly Pumpkin (Dexter, MI)
20. Stone (Escondido, CA)
21. North Coast (Fort Bragg, CA)
22. Ommegang (Cooperstown, NY)
23. Brooklyn (Brooklyn, NY)
24. Sierra Nevada (Chico, CA)
25. Great Divide (Denver, CO)

When I was little I once saw a Family Circus cartoon in which the father, on Independence Day, thanked China for their fireworks, Germany for their picnic of sausages and coleslaw, and so on. It was about as funny as, well, Family Circus — but the message stuck with me.

So on that note, I remind those of you stuck in the imports section of your beer store that America is home to the world's most diverse beer selection, including many of the finest and certainly the freshest. This Independence Day weekend (I'm starting mine today), buy American beer. If you have a friend who thinks Stella Artois is the gods' gift to Belgium, send 'em this way for a list of proper American substitutes.

• Heineken (or Stella Artois) — Of the imports on this list, Heiney's the one I'm least offended to get for free at a party. But it's still just the Budweiser of Europe. If crisp, clean lagers are your thing (and in July, they're certainly mine), try Stoudt's Gold Lager or Sierra Nevada Summerfest.

• Guinness — Stout in the summertime is a bold move anyway, so go whole hog with Stone Imperial Russian Stout, a black hole of a beast. For something on the sweet side, Founders Porter is possibly the best American porter I've ever tasted, with huge chocolatey flavors and a hint of roastiness to balance.
• Corona — Sigh. White wine, I guess. I hear they sell that stuff in juice boxes now.
• Newcastle or Amstel Light — Brown ales, like the sweet Ellie's Brown Ale from Avery, are perfect for introducing newcomers to good craft beer. For something a bit hoppier, I turn to Troegs Hopback Amber Ale again and again.
• Chimay (and Belgians in general) — Of course, there are imports out there that don't come from giant conglomerates and even taste like beer. And guess what? America's got that style down. Jolly Pumpkin excels in many Belgian styles, with beers like their Bam Biere saison. (Check De Vinos in Adams Morgan.) For some that are more widely available, Brooklyn Local 1 and Allagash Confluence are two complex Belgian-style ales made just up the East Coast.

That's just a quick list. What are y'all drinking this coming weekend? Any other imports you'd like a recommendation on? Fill up that there comments section, and I'll get right back at you.

Photo by cristinabe via Flick, Creative Commons Attribution License