A list I'd like to see

The following extensive list is the list of beers from the Top 250 that I've seen at liquor stores or on beer menus in New Jersey/ Philadelphia stores and bars, such that I feel like they are probably pretty easy to attain. I am not accounting for price, only availability, and, obviously, some of these are seasonal releases.

3 Pliny The Elder (frequently on tap in Philadelphia, sometimes for a week at a time at a given bar)
12 Bourbon County Brand Stout (this one is on the border of being a camp-out/ truck-chaser beer, but I've seen it on tap enough to feel like I could get it if I wanted it)
14 Supplication (they always have this on their bottle list at Alla Spina in Philly, although it's not cheap)
18 Founders Breakfast Stout
20 Trappistes Rochefort 10
26 Bourbon County Brand Barleywine Ale (this one is on the border of being a camp-out/ truck-chaser beer, but I've seen it on tap enough to feel like I could get it if I wanted it)
36 St. Bernardus Abt 12
51 Enjoy By IPA (hard to get, but not THAT hard)
58 Sculpin IPA
59 Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier
78 Lagunitas Sucks Brown Shugga Substitute Ale
83 Ten FIDY
84 Tröegs Nugget Nectar
85 Founders Imperial Stout
89 Stone Imperial Russian Stout
97 Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock
98 Double Jack
99 Blind Pig IPA (this is on tap ALL THE TIME in Philly)
112 Pannepot
117 Founders Backwoods Bastard
118 Schneider Weisse Tap 6 Unser Aventinus
119 Stone Espresso Imperial Russian Stout
126 La Fin Du Monde
127 Trappistes Rochefort 8
134 Firestone 17 - Anniversary Ale (it wasn't flying off the shelves at any liquor store by me)
137 Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout
138 Stone Ruination IPA
147 Chimay Grande Réserve (Blue)
149 Cuvée Des Jacobins Rouge
155 Wulver
160 Westmalle Trappist Tripel
170 Rodenbach Caractère Rouge
172 90 Minute IPA
173 Stone Double Bastard Ale
176 Cuvée Van De Keizer Blauw (Blue) (with two years of age on it, this is my favorite beer)
192 Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter
193 Rodenbach Grand Cru
194 Allagash Curieux (Bourbon Barrel-Aged Tripel)
209 Duvel
210 Founders Porter
211 Union Jack India Pale Ale
212 Choklat
214 Founders Harvest Ale
216 DirtWolf
224 Flower Power India Pale Ale
225 Tripel Karmeliet
228 Weihenstephaner Vitus
229 Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier Dunkel
231 Oude Tart
237 Czar Jack Imperial Stout
243 Stone IPA (India Pale Ale)
245 Wookey Jack
249 Sour In The Rye (i recall seeing this on several occasions, but I can't guarantee it)

 

I did this a while back on my old computer -- called it "The Top 250 - Easy," suggesting that the document contained a list of the top 250 that were relatively easy to acquire. I think it had close to 100 beers.

 

Perhaps the easiest to acquire from the Top 250:

Trappistes Rochefort 10
St. Bernardus Abt 12
Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier
Trappistes Rochefort 8
Chimay Grande Réserve (Blue)

 

Then you get into year-rounds that are heavily, though not ubiquitously, distributed, like Two Hearted.

 

Isn't what you're describing essentially the Beers of Fame? It's great beers that have consistently been rated high by a large number of people. This implies that they aren't that hard to get. In fact, I set out to drink the Beers of Fame, and will have it accomplished this weekend. Took less than a year.

 

I would if I still had it, but unfortunately that computer is toast.

 

I'm making a new one right now. I still have the hard drive, but I have yet to import the data onto my external.

 

IMO, these are by far the easiest of the top 250 to acquire. Some aren't distributed throughout the United States, but they're in surfeit where they are distributed.

Trappistes Rochefort 10
St. Bernardus Abt 12
Sculpin IPA
Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier
AleSmith Speedway Stout
Victory At Sea Coffee Vanilla Imperial Porter
Lagunitas Sucks Brown Shugga Substitute Ale
Ten FIDY
Imperial Russian Stout (Stone)
Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock
Double Jack
Schneider Weisse Tap 6 Unser Aventinus
Espresso Imperial Russian Stout (Stone)
La Fin Du Monde
Trappistes Rochefort 8
Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout
Stone Ruination IPA
Chimay Grande Réserve (Blue)
Westmalle Trappist Tripel
90 Minute IPA
Double Bastard Ale
Two Hearted Ale
Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter
Rodenbach Grand Cru
Duvel
Founders Porter
Union Jack India Pale Ale
Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout
AleSmith IPA
Weihenstephaner Vitus
Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier Dunkel
IPA (India Pale Ale) (Stone)

 

To each his own, but I think you're missing out if you're limiting yourself to the non-european beers. The ones I listed are all easily obtainable at my wegman's liquors.

That being said, I noticed that you didn't bold a number of the easily obtainable stouts, including Choklat, which is brewed by Southern Tier

 

Also just noticed that you didn't include Stone Espresso - I picked up like 8 bottles of this at once, at a liquor store that had no less than 70 bottles of it.

 

I hear ya.

With that being said (that you're a "confirmed hop-head") I think that it's a great time to be one. There are MANY great IPAs available, from small brewers and widely distributed brewers alike. I don't know anything about brewing, but I think some of the imitators are getting pretty close to the beers they are imitating, without being nearly as expensive or hard to get.

I love Bell's Two Hearted, for instance, which isn't available in Jersey, but isn't hard to get.
I also tried Wolaver's IPA out of vermont last night, and I was pleasantly surprised for a beer I got at a supermarket.

SN's seasonal offerings are pretty great, especially Northern Hemisphere
and I love Founder's Red Rye Pa, for a different spin on a nice hoppy beer.

Also - what's the process for getting "confirmed" anyway?

 

Just saw some oak aged yeti at a liquor store by me, lots of bottles available, and not a liquor store known for getting lots of whales, so it must be pretty easy to get