I missed this when it first came out: The year in beer from the Oregonian. It’s very Oregon-centric, of course. Events highlighted include the death of Robert MacTarnahan, Governator Ale, and the beer-swilling bear.

Best Beer Books: "Travels With Barley, A Journey Through Beer Culture in America," by Ken Wells, and "Radical Brewing," by Randy Mosher.

Best Beer Name: Muscat Love, Widmer’s special beer that used muscatel grapes and lemon grass.

Best Trend: Fresh hops. We live in God’s country when it comes to great hops, and more brewers than ever whomped up beers full of fresh-from-the-field hops, including Hop Harvest Ale from BridgePort, Full Sail’s Brewers Gold, Rogue’s Hop Heaven Ale and Fresh Hop 500 from Laurelwood.

Strange Brews: But good, no doubt — the folks at Portland Brewing added oyster nectar to Black Watch Porter to make Oyster Porter for Dan & Louis Oyster Bar, and Alan Sprints revamped Hair of the Dog’s Rose to include sliced beets, pink peppercorns and hibiscus blossoms.