The Most Well 'Crafted' Beer

I recognize this thread is intended to solicit a mention of a particular beer brand(s) but the best response I can provide is: Hill Farmstead beers. I have had over a dozen different brands from Hill Farmstead and every one of those beers was excellent/outstanding!

I will provide an Honorable Mention to the Trappist Breweries of Europe (I have not had any Spenser beer yet).

Cheers!

 

The most recent beer I had in which the high quality of ingredients and craftsmanship seemed to take center stage was Mean Old Tom by Maine Beer Co.

Mouth-feel, taste, and aroma are all spot on, and you just know as you sip it that your dealing with a quality product that was produced by some people that are truly passionate about beer. That one really impressed me.

It's not necessarily a chart topper in any category, but it's what came to mind from my recent experience.

 

for me, Short's The Magician. Just seems like someone put a whole lotta love into that brew

 

Heineken. As a retired Air Force veteran crew chief of F-15's and C130's, I've been around a big chunk of this mixed up crazy world and could always get a heineken.

 

I understand the rationale against anything barrel aged, but I'm going to throw out Allagash Curieux anyway. I'm so impressed that they can take a relatively delicate style, barrel age it, and not lose the original flavors. I just think that they deserve some credit for how nuanced the resulting flavors are.

 

Trappist goodness aside.

I was extremely impressed by the homebrew winner in Stone's homebrew contest Xocoveza. The dude who cooked up this recipe hit that mexican-hot-chocolate flavor on the nose. It was a decent ABV yet it wasnt boozy tasting IMO. I was so impressed that I picked up bottles and shared them with everyone I knew who will touch a craft beer.

 

Wormtown's Be Hoppy

 

Pick any New Glarus beer. Dan has had a few misses, but it is rare, and he sure knows his way around a huge number of styles. He truly is a brew MASTER.

 

I'd say pretty much anything Tree House brews from their flavorful IPAs, to their coffee stouts (double shot and especially Good Morning), to their pale ales. Everything they've done to date has been awesome and I'm looking forward to what they come up with in the future when their new brewery is done.

 

Hill Farmstead and Tree House hoppy offerings, BCBS

 

Being from Michigan i am very spoiled with great beer. But i would have to choose a beer that i haven't even had....yet (which sounds stupid) but Founders Canadian Breakfast Stout Imperial Stout. This is, in my opinion the definition of a "Craft" Beer. The stout is brewed with a blend of coffees and imported chocolates, then aged in spent bourbon barrels that were subsequently used to age maple syrup.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1199/47658/

 

I have drunk enough desperately bad dark beers to know that they can also only hide flaws to a very limited degree.

 

Very true! They might not show up in the first sip, but I have found that virtually any flaw in virtually any style will begin to show itself after around 6-8 oz., even if it's a minor one.

 

Duvel. Never had a bad'un.

 

Heady Topper. It is great fresh, it's great at a month, it's great at two months, just an amazing concoction that can pass the test of time. Most ipas can't.

Bcbs - perfection, no way to make this one better.

 

I'll agree with Orval.

The ones that come to my mind are Bell's Smitten, Conniston Bluebird, Krombacher Pils, and Two Women Lager.

 

Eddy fitz porter

 

Anchor Steam.

 

Complexity - tons, but Duvel would be on that list.
Consistency - macro lagers.
Taste - I couldn't round it down to a hundred, let alone one.

 

Le Big Sound Bourbon barrel-aged