What are your top 5 beer styles?

Cream ale
Kolsch
Rauchbier
Schwarzbier
American Lager

 

Maibock
West Coast IPA
Bock/Dopplebock
Quadruple
Helles

 

Let me set my timer to see how long until somebody posts:

Juicy/Hazy Pale Ale

Juicy/Hazy Strong Pale Ale

Juicy/Hazy India Pale Ale

Juicy/Hazy Imperial India Pale Ale

Pastry Stout

Cheers!

 

Top 5 styles is rough. How can anyone choose?!

Lately I've been really stoked about Helles or any less hoppy pale lager, and also intentionally heavily hopped pale lagers. Basically I've accepted that many pilsners just land in a midway point on the hoppy spectrum for me that I don't really love.

Always into a no frills porter or stout. And their counterpart dark lagers.

And I guess my true favorite style (at least if I assume that my drinking choices reflect my preferences) is a nice clean wc ipa

 

Happoshu
Roggenbier
Sahti
Grisette
Kentucky Common

I'm seriously not trying to be a wise-ass here. When I was on my "style quest" a few years ago, the first three of these were styles I thought I'd never find. It took a lot of time, a lot of money, and a bit of luck before I was finally able to tick them. To this day I have seen but one Happoshu on the bottle shop shelf, and I've never seen a Roggenbier. (I had to order that one, and the shipping was three times the cost of the beer. Yes, I'm insane.) The other two aren't listed here as separate styles, but they are rare enough that I'm always happy to find them.

 

Beers I go out of my way for?
Maibock. They are few and far between and that's a shame.

West Coast IPA. Kern River Citra is hitting on all cylinders for me right now.

Baltic Porter. Less roasty than an imperial stout. I love the clean fermentation with lager yeasts.

Coffee Stouts both imperial and not. I love coffee, what else can I say?

Smoked beers. Lagers, ales, light, dark. It doesn't matter. Meaty, bacon, smoked deliciousness.

 

Lager times five.

 

don’t know if anyone would actually admit it on this forum though.

 

As far as what I'm excited to see in stores or taprooms I'd have to say
NEIPA
Czech Dark Lager
Wild Ale (including Americanized Lambic and the like)
Rauchbier
Barleywine (English, if I must choose, but I love American as well)

 

Pretty much anything Belgian, especially Triple and Strong Ale, Flanders Red.
Pretty much anything German Especially Bocks of the various styles.
Cream Ale
Scotch/Scottish Ale
E.S.B
English style Barleywine
A good American Lager
Wheat Wine
Saison/Farmhouse ales
Oops, I've gone too far. Too many great brews to narrow it down to 5.

 

Hefeweizen
Tripel
Pilsner
West Coast IPA
Belgian Strong Pale Ale

 

Anything not "Hazy", "New England", "Murky", or "Turbid".

 

Ah then you've got try our American style maibock! It's juicy and cloudy with a delightful tropical note from the modern northwest hops...and the mango puree!

 

As it happens, I just spent the last couple days a bit south of me. We were at Holy Mountain, and they had a really nice Sticke Alt on that I was very impressed with.

 

Beer Advocate Styles (Sub-style(s))

1. India Pale Ales (West Coast IPA)
2. Stouts (Barrel Aged - No adjuncts)
3. Pale Ales (Kolsch & American)
   
4. Wild/Sour Beers (Gueuze / Flanders)
5. Strong Ales (Quads & Belgians)

Bracket Buster: Rye Beers (Rye + Roggenbier)

@dcotom - Spiteful Brewing regularly releases a Roggenbier which I really like (Norm is a Son of a Bitch). Also love the Rye beers by Revolution (Ryeway to Heaven and Repo Man). All three are typically available in the late Fall and are easily available (for a Chicago trip or a beer trade). That’s what I buy each year, hoping to run into others down the line.

 

NA versions of:
Pilsner and other lager
Stout/Porter
Pale Ale
West Coast IPA
Tripel