5 Favorite Beers from Your State

This is a toughy. I am including specialty beers in the mix too to give my honest assessment of what I've really enjoyed from Maine.

Oxbow - Farmhouse Ale (Best saison in America, hands down)

Allagash - James Bean (takes the Curieux to a whole new level)

Peak Organic - Pale Ale (it might be just me, but the freshness of the ingredients of this beer is quite something, from the water to the malts, everything about this brew is...dare I say, purifying)

Allagash White (Sometimes I feel like we give more credence to the illustrious rarities for bragging rights, but I can't not add White, despite how prevalent it is. This is the craft beer that really put Maine on the map as a powerhouse of the craft brew scene, and personally speaking I think it puts most other American belgians to shame.)

Geary's HSA *casked preferred* (Hampshire Special Ale, Maine's best kept treasure. Geary's doesn't have many stand outs, as they definitely try and compete with Shipyard for shelf space, but HSA, despite how common is, is truly one of the best beers I've ever had. It's an old school English Strong with a helluva lot of malt, but it's drinkability is second to none. I never hear this one being discussed...at all, despite it being one of the older beers Maine produces.)

 

Singlecut White Largrrr
Southern Tier Pumpking
Gun Hill Extra Strong Ale
Keegan Mothers Milk Stout
Sixpoint Resin

 

No particular order:

Fat Head's Hop JuJu
Jackie O's Dynamo Hum
Columbus Brewing Company Creeper
Thirsty Dog Wulver
Hoppin Frog BA BORIS

Honorable Mention: White Rajah, Head Hunter, Maumee Bay Total Eclipse Breakfast Stout, Bodhi, and Rivertown Ojos Negros

 

Bells Kalamazoo Stout
Founders Backwoods Bastard
Founders Harvest Ale
Dark Horse Plead the fifth imperial stout
Shorts Publican Porter

tough leaving off Brewery Vivant big red coq and Bells Special Double Cream stout

 

NODA Hop Drop n Roll
Foothills Jade
Wicked Weed Grand Cru
Wicked Weed Saison III

I can't think of a fifth that equals my top four.

 

In Montana:
Bayern Dopplebock
Beaver Creek Brewing IPA
Angry Hanks Head Trama IPA
Montana Brewing Company Whitetail Wheat
Carters Derailed IPA

 

I'm counting North Jersey/South NYS/NYC as my general area (all breweries are within an hour from my house, with the exception of Sixpoint which I have to take the train for)

1. Cricket Hill Small Batch Smoked Rye (NJ)
2. Carton Regular Coffee (NJ)
3. Sixpoint Hi-Res (Brooklyn, NY)
4. Captain Lawrence Seeking Alpha (Elmsford, NY - Approx. 40 min drive)
5. Newburgh Brewing's The Newburgh Conspiracy (Newburgh, NY - Approx 40 min drive)

NJ doesn't really give me too many incredible options, but we're getting there (hopefully)...

 

No order:
Alewerks cafe royale
Hardywood GBS
Hardywood Raspberry stout
Alewerks bitter valentine
smartmouth notch 9

Many honorable mentions in the B- overall category:O Connors el guapo, BMBH choc/coffee dark hollow, licking hole creek saison, Beach Jolly Pumpkin

 

Sorry, but I have to disagree on the Raspberry Stout. Love Hardywood, but that was not appealing to me in the least

 

No order
Victory hop ranch
Victory dirt wolf
Troegs perpetual IPA
Troegs nugget nectar
Sly fox pike land pils

 

It's interesting to think of how my favorites are ranked over the years. New beers, mood, change in tastes, OCD.....as of this minute my five favorites from oregon:

Boneyard Hop Venom IIPA
Crux Half Hitch IIPA
Deschutes Abyss
Logsdon Seizoen Bretta
Cascade Vlad

If I chose only bottled beers, remove boneyard and add cascade bourbonic plague and/or logsdon peche n brett

If I chose only year round bottled:

Crux Half Hitch IIPA
Logsdon Seizoen Bretta
Crux Outcast IIPA
Laurelwood Workhorse IPA
Cascade Vine or Kreik

 

Fat Heads...Head Hunter
Fat Heads...IBUsive
Columbus IPA
The Brew Kettle....White Rajah
Great Lakes...Lake Erie Monster

Very honorable mention to...
Fat Heads...Sunshine Daydream
Fat Heads...Gudenhoppy
Great Lakes...Chillwave
Great Lakes...Edmund Fitzgerald

I could actually go on...

 

New York (...and beers I can easily get and go back to often)

Ommegang - 3 Philosophers
Ommegang - Hennepin (I love their core lineup)
Ithaca - Flower Power
Southern Tier - Pumking
Southern Tier - Choklat

Honorable Mention (to a local guy)

Water Street Brewery - Hefeweizen

 

Jester King El Cedro
Jester King Funk Metal
Live Oak Hefe
Jester King Ambree
Jester King Boxers Revenge

 

Jack's Abby - Bourbon Barrel Aged Framinghammer
Sam Adams - Old Fezewig
Sam Adams - Thirteenth Hour
Clown Shoes - Bombay Berserker
Jack's Abby - Saxonator

 

Brew Kettle White Rajah
Fat Head's Hop Juju
Great Lakes Oktoberfest
Columbus Bodhi
Rhinegeist Truth

 

Ok, good talk. Cheers

 

Prairie Bomb!
Roughtail IPA
Marshall Red Revival
Roughtail 1st Anniversary Ale
Marshall Black Dolphin

 

If we're counting Evil Twin that changes everything lol.

 

PA

Victory Dirtwolf
Troeg's Nugget Nectar
Stoudst's Golden Lager
Victory Lager
Shawnee Biere Blanche