Another year, another Asbury Park Beerfest in the books.

The annual celebration of suds returned to the landmark Convention Hall and Grand Arcade on the Asbury Park Boardwalk Saturday, Jan. 26, and Sunday, Jan. 27.

Approximately 1,800 revelers attended each of the three sessions spread across two days, sampling brews from more than 50 breweries.

That robust roster included 11 New Jersey-based operations serving a spectacular array of creations.

Here are five of the best local beers we tried at the festival this weekend:

1. We Want the Idaho Gold, Icarus Brewing (Lakewood)

Icarus Brewing out of Lakewood is one of the most acclaimed operations in New Jersey today, and with very good reason. The booming company consistently serves inventive creations boasting rich, robust flavors.

(For more on Icarus Brewing, watch the video at the top of this story.)

Asbury Park Beerfest attendees named Icarus the Best New Jersey Beer of 2019, and it's easy to see why. The thick and juicy New England India Pale Ale style is all of the rage these days, and it's hard to find anyone better in that department than Icarus.

The company brought two of its NEIIPAs to Beerfest, and either one of them could have easily topped this list. Spelt Check, at 8.5 percent ABV, has a strong spelt backbone and plenty of citrus notes, but at the end of the day We Want the Idaho Gold — a double-dry-hopped variant on Icarus' We Want the Gold with 8.1 percent ABV — was robust, complex and delicious.

2. Fake Radio War, Forgotten Boardwalk Brewing (Cherry Hill)

For longtime beer connoisseurs, this was a delightful throwback. Cherry Hill's Forgotten Boardwalk Brewing specializes in drinkable nostalgia, and Fake Radio War calls back to craft brewing's recent past.

A West Coast-style India Pale Ale with 7.4 percent ABV, this beer packs on of the classic piney, resiny notes that one came to expect out of a classic California IPA, making it a perfect summer sipper.

The flavor is rounded out by a boozy warmth that also made it an incredibly enjoyable winter surprise.

3. Defroster Winter Warmer, Last Wave Brewing Co. (Point Pleasant Beach)

With a polar vortex about to potentially hit the Jersey Shore, this toasty, malty brew with a hearty 9 percent ABV seems just about perfect.

One of the stand-out offerings from Point Pleasant Beach operation Last Wave Brewing, Defroster is brewed with maple syrup and pecans.

It's pleasantly sweet without ever becoming overbearing.

4. Snag and Drop Triple IPA, Cape May Brewing Co.

With around 100 beers freely flowing for four hours per session, it can be hard to make a first impression. Cape May Brewing Co. had no problem doing just that with Snag and Drop.

Clocking in at a mighty 10 percent ABV, this is a monstrous Triple IPA that packs quite a wallop, but still rounds out that impact with graceful notes of citrus and pine.

5. Double Dragon, Asbury Park Brewery

There's nothing like a surprise sequel. At the 2018 Asbury Park Beerfest, Asbury Park Brewery unveiled its unfiltered IPA Sea Dragon, one of our favorite offerings from that year's event.

While all the pre-festival hype in 2019 was focused on its commemorative Stone Pony Forty-Five Lager, the Asbury Park Brewery also used this weekend to showcase Double Dragon.

Tasting like a spiritual successor to Sea Dragon, Double Dragon is an imperial IPA with 8.5 percent ABV, making it one of the most complex and distinct brews to come out of the comapny's Sewall Avenue facility.

For more on New Jersey's booming craft beer scene, watch the first season of our "Jersey Brewed" video series: