Was Mr. Goodbar’s December Beer Club with Thin Man Brewery the beer event of the year? Well, in a year as bizarre and restrictive as this one, it’s certainly one of them. A virtual beer tasting is not without its limitations, but being able to spend a Wednesday night with friends like Bobby Rabb from Goodbar and Phil Spagna from Thin Man, was memorable to say the very least.

Beer Club is held every second Wednesday of the month at Goodbar. It’s held virtually now, for obvious reasons. This month, Goodbar teamed with Elmwood compatriots Thin Man on a special mixed 6-pack, including Now That’s Special Raspberry Marshmallow Sour, Zero Trade Value Export Lager, We Decided My Best Interest? IPA, The Hypnotized Never Lie Double IPA, Demons of Light Imperial Blonde Stout, and Bones in Traction Barleywine. These beers, all of those words, made this a must see, and must drink, event.

I didn’t want to miss anything, so I watched the Instagram live feed on my laptop and the Facebook feed no my phone to cover all my bases. Seeing so many friends online in the chat, and being able to interact with them was fun as hell, more so especially now, since we cannot see everyone as regularly. As for the show itself, in typical fashion, Bobby did a ton of shots of the Soup of the Day, Phil shotgunned a beer to kick things off, we drank way too much on a Wednesday night, and I woke up Thursday morning needing a strong coffee and a new bottle of Chymes. Oh well, all in the name of fun and I can sleep when I’m dead, right?

Now onto the beer:

Now That’s Special Raspberry Marshmallow Sour – This fruited sour, brewed in collaboration with the Coalition for Rapid Consumption, featured huge candied aromas with pillowy notes of creamy raspberry and marshmallow sauce.

Zero Trade Value Export Lager – A crisp European-style lager a bit on the dryer side, with notes of bready malts and a clean and ultra-smooth finish.

We Decided My Best Interest? IPA – Vibrant, soft notes of pineapple, white peach, apricot and nectarine. This IPA was a treat, and ranks up there as one of the best Thin Man has produced this year. Nectaron is a brand new experimental hop variety from New Zealand in case you were wondering, because I was.

The Hypnotized Never Lie DIPA – A properly hazy Double IPA that definitely doesn’t drink up to its 8% ABV. To put it bluntly, this beer was all hopped up dank tropical fruit.

Demons of Light Imperial Blonde Stout – Opens with a rich chocolate nose. Heavy on the coffee and cream and cocoa in the body. Another beer in this pack that drinks lighter than it’s ABV (9.7%).

Bones in Traction Barleywine – Notes of subtle booze and caramel, that doesn’t drink like a typical barleywine. Bonus points for the Pantera reference in the name.

If you missed the live stream, you can relive tonight on Goodbar’s social media. And so, in parting, I’ll see you all in January, online at Beer Club. And I’ll see you all live and in person hopefully sooner rather than later.

Brian Campbell is co-founder and Brand Manager of the Buffalo Beer League, and writes the weekly Buffalo Beer Buzz column. If you have beer news that should be included in the Beer Buzz, Brian can be reached at brian@buffalobeerleague.com, on Twitter (@buffbeerleague), Instagram (@buffalobeerleague), and Facebook (@thebuffalobeerleague).