Here's a list/article of brewer's choices compiled by Ben Keene ( @Keene ) of Beer Advocate: https://gearpatrol.com/2019/11/19/most-underrated-beer-brewers-pick/
Bodhizafa I think is a pretty damn good beer, beertunes sent me one in the last LIF for guessing a World Series score. No hesitation at all buying this beer, but I can see it being underrated with so much competition in that area. Fullers Bitter is a classic, I’m guessing it’s a slow mover everywhere, but it’s certainly because the beer isn’t good. It’s just not a sexy style or buy. Fortunately there’s a place in Greensboro that usually has multiple Fullers on tap most of the time. I’m not so sure PU is as much underrated as guys are sick of trying to figure out how old it is. The older it gets it’s just off, hell I don’t even buy it anymore, but if it’s fresh it’s a great beer. But I’d rather have fresh Pivo personally.
The 15 Most Underrated Beers in the World... ... The Alchemist Heady Topper — Augie Carton, Carton Brewing Company I think someone doesn't understand the definition of "underrated", let alone "most underrated in the world." Overall, though, a pretty good list, with the caveat that I haven't tried quite a few of them (or even never heard of some of them...)
Don’t get me wrong - Heady wouldn’t be on my “15 most underrated beers” list. Not close. But I do get the argument. 6-7 years ago people were all about Heady. Now I feel like some people talk about it even with some disdain. You read so many posts about how “my local NEIPA is way better than Heady. What a letdown”. With Treehouse et al, I feel like Heady is (totally unfairly) seen by many as b list.
either way you go most of these are highly rated on this site in not only a score but also in the shear amount of reviews/scores tallied. then again most of these articles are for the casual beer drinker, not the typical BA user.
Well, I wouldn't put Heady Topper as under the radar. But the rest of these are typically beers that are not hard to find if they are available in your area, aren't trendy styles of beer, and have been produced for many years. Someone should save this list for the "what beers should I recommend for someone interested in learning about beer styles"
It is, great food too, their cabbage rolls are as good as my wife makes. My wife makes a better Sheppard’s Pie, but theirs is good. Like their beers too, nice to see a place that has lighter offerings available.
In the South Atlantic forum, somebody asked if there were any beers like Heady Topper in Virginia/NoVA. I thought about it, and there really isn't any brewery making IPAs like Heady. Let me go a step further and say that there aren't any breweries trying to make beers like Heady. Most are trying to make the juicy IPAs featuring a hop or two. There aren't really any breweries trying to construct a beer with layers of things going on. To me, Heady remains a distinct experience in comparison to the monotony of IPAs on the market today. I don't know if enough people recognize that and that would be my case for Heady being underrated. I don't know if it'd be my Top 15 of underrated beers, but I definitely think it's taken for granted.
I looked like a Bugs Bunny cartoon as I was scrolling down the article and came to Heady - literally screeched to a halt with a "Boing!" Heady? Underrated? Does not compute. I also thought, "I gotta try those porters." That style in particular, along with pilsner, has always stood out to me as underrated in general - or overlooked. Glad to see a couple of beers in both styles mentioned in that article.
Heady is a victim of the "that is SOOOOO 2014" thinking, IMHO. I had some back in the summer, still love that beer - perfectly executed, again IMHO.
I can vouch for the North Coast Berlinner Weise. I haven't had the tart cherry as mentioned in the article but I tried a Passionfruit Peach version off the singles rack from a local store just because it was marked at $0.99 (and it was pretty old dated as well). I was shocked at how tasty and well made that beer was for the style. Completely caught me off guard. I think the article nailed that hidden gem. Recommend anyone that likes light ABV tart beers, to give that one a try. I'm sure there are plenty of ones people can mention but one I could recommend that I had several times in the past (repeated yesterday for Thanksgiving) was Lindemann's Oude Gueze Cuvee Rene (or the Oude Kriek...I have them both rated about the same). So underestimated in the world of wild sours. Really well crafted, relatively cheap and easy to find. Very underrated.
I've never had it, but how could Heady Topper be underrated if it's rated #5 on BA at 4.76? Where is it rated low?
Headys a great beer, but underrated is a real stretch by any means. It still 5 on the list, so I’d say it’s rated properly, it would still be my highest rated IPA along with Abrasive, well the from 5-6 years ago at least. It has a small footprint, so it’s certainly not readily available outside the far northeast.
Another article where the editor chose clickbait over accuracy with the headline. I get that “15 Brewers Tell Us Their Opinion of an Underrated Beer” isn’t as sexy, but it’s cheap to call these the “most” underrated. Though, any article asking Ben Edmunds’s opinion is doing something right. He’s one of the smartest Brewers in the industry. I wager if he was at a brewery in the Great Lakes or NE regions, he’d get the Shaun Hill treatment on this website.
I’m guessing Pliny is in that same boat as well, how can a beer that old and so not edgy be all that appreciated? It is still appreciated and has been since it was introduced, 19 years I’d guess. That’s the test of time, still #7 at 4.75.
As others have mentioned given this list the term of "underappreciated" would have been more appropriate. But maybe "underappreciated" won't generate the same number of clicks? Cheers!
While I agree that Breakside brews some really good beers, are you really complaining about lack of recognition because a brewer is located in Portland?
Not complaining, but I know NW breweries/brewers are under-represented on this site for a variety of reasons. I don't know Hill Farmstead or Shaun Hill well enough to say whether the "best in the world" claims are exaggerated or not, but it's certainly not a controversial opinion on BA. Ben's on that level (my opinion, obviously) but is not recognized nearly as much here.
Oregon beers don't get much hype nationally in 2019 because: Most of them don't get much distribution outside of the Pacific Northwest, which isn't a major population center, media center, or tourist destination. There are so many great beers from so many small breweries in Oregon that it's hard to pick a particular beer or brewery around which to rally. Oregon has a mature and sophisticated enough craft beer market and craft beer clientele that they're hard to blow away and not very excitable. In other words, Oregon beers don't get much hype for all the best reasons. Lack of hype for great beer, frustrating as it may be, is a mark of sophistication.
No argument from me. I see no reason to convince others to compete for my favorite beers. In an article about underrated beers, I saw that an underrated (on here) NW Brewer I admire contributed to this piece, and wanted to give him props.
Saison Dupont? Really? My distributor can't seem to keep Veltins Pils in stock because that stuff FLIES off of shelves around here.
That's what I was thinking, how in the entire f*#$ is Heady Topper underrated??? Pretty weird place we've arrived in beer if that one flies under the radar
Not exaggerated at all. I don't know if I would say every beer is mind blowing. I think there are some that get a Hill bump. I do think that overall, it is definitely the best brewery that I have come across. I would love to come across more that I regard in the same light as Hill. I really would. Now we're talking.
Where? I'm guessing it is someplace that I have not been in quite a while but I probably need to swing by again soon.
Probably been close to 7 years since I've been there... need to add it to the list of places I need to try when I go out and grab a bite to eat.
The majority of the German brewed beers at my local beer retailers are old (> 6 months old). Hopefully your local beer retailers have fresher product. Cheers!
Yeah, U.C. - both the Pilsener and the Cream Ale ("retired" in the 80s?) - used to be distributed in NJ back in the 1960-1980s but I take it they've shrunk the beer's distro. region over the years (think it's mostly just NYS nowadays?*), after first Matt's Premium and then the Saranac line became the brewery's flagship brand. I don't think we get their new-ish Haus Lager, either. * Used to be commonly found in PA, too, in the state's once-favored package, the case of 16 oz. returnable/refillable bottles. Not a lot of choice if someone wants a non-macro/traditional AAL in NJ these days - Genesee Beer, Yuengling Premium, Lionshead, Narragansett - probably a few others I'm forgetting since I don't frequent those aisles often...
