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!

In the September/October issue of Imbibe, the editors selected their 99 favorite beers in different categories, such as seasonals or beers to drink with a burger. In "Imbibe Vs. Beerspotter," Y&H's Beerspotter takes each list to task.

"Hop monsters": the phrase is enough to put a grin on your face and a pucker on your tongue. If America can be said to have a brewing style, this is it. Imbibe presents a grab bag of IPAs and the like, from straightforward brawlers like Green Flash Imperial IPA to left-field entrants like He'brew Bittersweet Lenny's RIPA, brewed with wheat and spicy rye malt and seven kinds of hops. The highlight of the list is Avery Maharaja, a 10.5% abv giant with more spices than a piping curry. In addition to apricot and bitter orange tang, there's some serious garlic and onion flavors. And it comes out delicious to boot. To quote Shaft, it's a bad mother-(shut yo' mouth).

But I have to question a list of "hop monsters" that omits a beer called Terrapin Big Hoppy Monster. This 8% abv imperial red ale is a chewy, oak-colored beer, more bready and bitter than floral West Coast IPAs. And if you can still find it, try Lagunitas' spring seasonal IPA, A Little Sumpin' Sumpin' Ale. It tastes like a cross between the malty Bells Two-Hearted Ale and the grassy Stone IPA. I've personally informed Lagunitas that it could be my go-to IPA if they make it year-round; I'll let you know when they get back to me.

Spot some hop monsters on the shelves? Tweet @Beerspotter!

Imbibe picks:

• De Ranke XX Bitter

• Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA
• Green Flash Imperial IPA
• He'brew Bittersweet Lenny's RIPA
• Houblon Chouffe Dobbelen IPA Tripel
• Lagunitas Hop Stoopid
• Avery Maharaja
• Russian River Blind Pig IPA
• Stone Ruination IPA
• Urthel Hop-It

More Imbibe Vs. Beerspotter:
Beers to Drink With a Burger
Seasonal Beers

This week marked the arrival of Athens, Ga. brewery Terrapin to the D.C. area, with launch nights at Galaxy Hut on Tuesday and Rustico on Wednesday. I missed out on Galaxy Hut, but at a packed Rustico I sipped guzzled flagship and rare brews alike, all in free swag glassware.

Terrapin is only coming as far north as NoVa, and while I lament not being able to walk around the corner for a six-pack, it also raises the exciting possibility of making a car trip to the Arlington for a case of rye beer and a drive-worthy bowl of pho. In any case, here's last night's drool list:

• Maggie's Farmhouse Ale – This saison is part of the brewery's side project series, which has yielded tasty experiments like their smoked rye lager. This one fell flat, however, with artificial lemon and spice that tasted like a boozier Blue Moon. No matter; chugged it and on to the next one.
• Rye Pale Ale – This beer is much hoppier out of a fresh keg, with quenching floral hops starting each sip before fading to the rye's dryness. Cases of drinking have conditioned me to the uber-arid bottle version, which is delicious even at room temperature, but it's always nice to find a beer with two personalities, as it were.
• India Style Brown Ale – My favorite find of the night, a surprisingly hoppy 6% beer with deep dark malts and a roasted coffee flavor. As with the Rye Pale Ale, the dry finish keeps you coming to the well. Brown ales are usually outside my strike zone, but this hoppy take could convince drinkers with less of a sweet tooth.
• 2008 Big Hoppy Monster – This is a wonderful beer fresh, an "imperial red ale" in true American style, balanced but big on hops, malt, and abv. The year-old vintage turned a 180 and became a malty monster, with a spectrum of caramel and raisin, scotch and butterscotch.
• Golden Ale and SunRay Wheat were also being poured, but by then my beleaguered palette had to break from tasting new beers. My party and I also enjoyed Stoudt's Pils, Stone Cali-Belgique IPA, Duck Rabbit Schwarzbier, Avery IPA, Bells Two-Hearted Ale, Victory Donnybrook Stout, Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse, Gouden Carolus Classic, and Ondineke Oilsjtersen Tripel. Um, there were a lot of us.

Photo by cristinabe via Flickr, Creative Commons Attribution License

A sixer of Dale's to go — on your desert island

I've had, and still do have, a proclivity toward lists and the ranking of favorites. High Fidelity inspires desert island-record discussions. Fantasy football drafts are a drug. And as tykes, my brother and I would sit cross-legged in the living room, surrounded by sorted mounds of Halloween candy or Pogs (depending on the season) and conduct elaborate trades and negotiations based on our arbitrarily prized possessions. (Should I be confessing this in print? If I ever run for public office, let's pretend this didn't happen.)

The point being: I'm no different today. So when I see the Alström brothers of Beer Advocate fame enumerating their top five desert island beers alongside a profile in The Boston Globe, I start getting ideas. Building a desert island list is a delicate task. With records, you need to take into account all the different styles, eras, and at least one sentimental favorite. You probably want some reggae in there, being on an island. So while ranking Pogs may be less nuanced, picking just five beers to drink for all of sand-locked eternity seems unfair, if not impossible. Or in other words, fun.

Like records, my favorite beers change frequently — probably every time I walk into a beer store. But here's my outline, the prototypical desert island beer list. And despite the urge to apply a beach theme, I have one rule: nothing with a lime in it. Ever.

1. The go-to quaff. You need one lighter beer, a refreshing lager you can drink by the case while watching the game (better believe my desert island gets NFL Sunday Ticket). This beer is also necessary for pairing with the fresh seafood your monkey butlers bring in off the trawler every morning. My go-to here is Victory Prima Pils, or in fantasy land, I'd take Pilsner Urquell, unfiltered and fresh from Plzeň. But no, if I really have to pick just one, it's Terrapin Rye Pale Ale from Athens, Ga. It's as light as Tahitian sand and bristling with dry rye flavor. Terrapin doesn't ship to D.C. yet, but I'm on their case about it.
2. IPA, at least one. What's a man without hops? Sad and alone on a desert island, that's what. But if there's a Bells Two-Hearted Ale or a Dale's Pale Ale in my coconut shell, I'm doing all right.
3. Sentimental favorite #1: big and hoppy. As with Jason Alström, I have to have some Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye. It's a dark, spicy beast with enough hops to put your average IPA to shame.
4. Something for the palate.You're going to want to invite guests over to the desert island, and you'll need something classy to pair with a fine cheese plate. Something in the Belgian style seems in order; I'd go with a trappist like Rochefort 8, St. Bernardus Abt 12, or a saison like Dupont.
5. Sentimental favorite #2: mellow and complex.I'm still lacking in slow-sipping beers, so I'm leaning toward a double IPA or barleywine. My choice here at the moment is Head Knocker from the Vintage 50 restaurant and brewpub in Leesburg. It's a lighter, golden take on an English barleywine, with a honey aroma and a sweetly smooth finish. The beer is now retired, but brewer Bill Madden will open brewpub Mad Fox in the fall. On my fantasy island, it's delivered in fresh casks via helicopter.
6. The cheating sixth beer. Come on, you knew it was coming. Who can pick just five beers? My cheating sixth: Fullers London Pride, the ultimate English bitter, in all its quaffable, buttery glory.

So fellow Beerspotters, let's hear it. What are your top five (okay six) desert island beers?