One of my favorite musicians of all time (LTJ Bukem) came all the way from the UK to my city to do a live set at a local venue, and I had went there on a date with a woman I was seeing at the time. The bar was mostly macro stuff, and I can't even recall the specific beer I had. But sipping on that brew while listening to a drum and bass legend play the songs that inspired me to get into music production, and dancing with a loved one...a beautiful moment. My second favorite. In the end our romance didn't work out and we ended things after 5 months or so, but we're still good friends. My all-time favorite was a very similar scenario - sipping some macro beer at a music venue (this time it was a jazz fusion band) with a loved one. The difference is that the man I was dating then is still my long-term partner to this day: this past December marked 2 years together. For a "best beer" moment where I remember the specific beer? Might be this past New Year's with my family. I ended up getting myself a Weihenstephaner hefe. Incredible beer, made all the better by toasting a great year with my parents and sister. 2024 was a contender for "best year of my life" for many reasons.
Well there have been many. Examples such as Ayinger Celebrator dopplebock. Ballast Point Victory at sea. Six Point the Crisp. But if I had to choose it would be Mastodon. What a masterpiece.
I just admitted in another thread that BCBS (not any of the variants because I've only had one) is probably the most favorite of my favorites.
I have what I call my Tier 1 beers which are all my perfect 5 scores. It’s interesting how probably 75% or more of these beers aren’t as good the second time I have them. A few still hold same rating but most will drop out of the Tier 1 perfect beers. I guess it’s like traveling to the same vacation destination multiple times. The first time is most always the best and most memorable.
That’s a real challenging question, I don’t have just one favorite, but if I had to only to choose from…..HEADY TOPPER!
In January 2011, I was on a Caribbean cruise and it was the height of my hoppy beer journey into craft beer. IPAs, imperial stouts and american barleywines. The cruise ship only offered AALs which was scratching my beer itch at all. On the 6th day, we stopped at San Juan and I was really jonesing for some hops. We explored the town, drank some rum drinks as not much craft beer offered on the islands. As fortune would have it, I stopped at a bodega on the pier near the ship and in a glass door coca cola mini fridge was one bottle of Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale. Best Celebration Ale I've ever had and one of the most memorable beers in my many years of beer drinking.
Ok. Stay with me. My wife had heart attack Aug 2022. I was up for 40 hours between the hospital ,and all, taking care of her. When I got home I didn’t know if I could sleep. I drank a Heavy Seas “The Greater Pumpkin” and drifted off. I will never not love that beer.
It was in 2013 - which was kind of a golden era for Raul. I liked craft beer before this period. But this is when I really started digging deep and exploring my own distro even more, and also the US as a whole (though trading). If you didn’t know, Alpine Beer Company was a very small, family operated brewery way out in Eastern San Diego County. I truly believe that they made the best IPA’s in America. Although with that was the fact that they were very scarce because they were a small operation and could only produce so much. For the most part, outside of a few drops here and there, you had to make the drive out to their spot to purchase and/or drink their beer at the pub. They had a core group of beers - mainly speaking of the “big “3” IPA’s that they generally had available - Nelson, Duet, and Pure Hoppiness. That said, at random times throughout the year, they would ask release - not so seasonal - but just special releases of certain beers from time to time. And one of those releases - in which I drove two hours south to go to - was for Exponential Hoppiness. And it was perfection. The beer is great, but with it was just rbis special moment in a cool and unique place. And I totally relished it. Although Alpine basically is no more, even with that unfortunate reality, I still think I’d pick the first time that I had the beer as the beer I’ve ever had. I gave it a 5. And since then, I think I’ve only given out one more 5. Cheers.
For me it's this beer Whitewall Brewing. 8th Anniversary Outlaw. I have a palette like a billy goat so I really cannot discribe it. But i clearly remember how much this beer impressed me and have been chasing that ever sense
