Top 5 Beers +One

This is tough. But off the top of my head:

1. Driftwood Fat Tug IPA
2. Sierra Nevada Hop Hunter IPA
3. Orval
4. Anchor Steam
5. Tofino Brewing Kelp Porter (it's awesome - I imagine it's 75% psychological - but I love the vibe of the beer).

The one that got me into craft is also one of my top 5 - Anchor Steam. Made me realize that there was a lot more to beer than I had thought - the depth and variety of tastes was amazing after having spent most of the previous time drinking much less interesting beers.

 

1. Thomas Hardy's
2. Utopia's
3. A Night to End All Dawns - Coffee
4. Black Tuesday
5. Pannepot

Too many other greats - Belgians, imperial stouts, and DIPA's...almost need to do a list of Top 5 by each category...

The gateway was Dock Street Amber in late 80's. No turning back after that...Sam Adams, Pete's Wicked, then the Belgians, Triple Bock and off to the races...

 

Rochefort 10
SueMo (Mosaic Dry Hopped PseudoSue)
King Sue
Maudite
Birthday Bomb!

I can't pinpoint a single beer that got me interested in craft beer. I never cared much for macro AAL's (and realized early on that there much better alcohol delivery systems if your objective was to get drunk). I always liked something different. Back in the day, I preferred Stroh's and Schoenling Little Kings over Pissweiser and Lite. Then back in 2000 or so, someone gifted me three bottles of Alaskan Smoked Porter. That one was an eye-opener. So were Deschutes Fresh Squeezed and Black Butte, which I sampled at a holiday tasting a few years ago. But I think maybe the coup de grace was sharing an Even More Jesus with some friends over dinner. That's when I really began to appreciate the brewer's craft.

Now as for the glassware obsession, my therapist and I are still working on that.

 

I'll do this two ways.

By my ratings on BA:
1. Dinner
2. Ann
3. Green
4. All Green Everything
5. Sip of Sunshine
and sixth is Double Sunshine

Off the top of my had, like the order I would want to grab out of my theoretical beer fridge right now:

1. DDH Congress St.
2. Second Fiddle
3. Focal Banger
4. HF Double Galaxy
5. Sip of Sunshine on tap
and sixth I'll try to switch style up and say Everett

 

1. New Glarus Raspberry Tart
2. Jester King Atrial Rubicite
3. B-52 Why So Cereal
4. Pinthouse Pizza Electric Jellyfish
5. Westbrook 5th Anniversary
6. Great Divide Espresso Oak Aged Yeti

 

1. Wiseacre Astronaut Status
2. Ommegang Three Philosophers
3. Oskar Blues Ten Fidy
4. Blackberry Farms Classic Saison
5. Founders Imperial Stout

Beer that got me into craft was Sam Adams Brown

 

Beers I can get several of throughout the year or good quantity and don't have to trade for:

Stone Enjoy By
Founders Breakfast Stout
Community Mosaic
Bourbon County
Yellow Rose

The game changing beer for me was Prairie Bomb. I was living in OKC in 2013 and had a love for DIPA's, and talking to the bartender at the local watering hole, they told me I needed to try a beer called Bomb. That week, I went to the liquor and asked for the Bomb, and the guy at the store took me to the back where they had the big pallet on the ground and handed me one. I saw the price tag at $5.49 and was blown away by the price for 1 beer.

Needless to say, I clearly remember drinking that first Bomb and being mesmerised. Truly a game changer for me. Now I pay $15 beer for the better Prairie offerings and feel good about my purchase, no questions asked.

Cheers!

 

Best beers I've ever had.... hmmm this is ugly
1)Tree House Very Green
2) Cigar City Double Barrel Hunahpu
3) Bottle Logic Fundamental Observation
4) Tree House 4th Anniversary Double Shot
5) Toppling Goliath Morning Delight
HM) Tree house Green and Odd Side Rye Hipster

What got me all started in this addiction/hobby
New Holland Dragon Milk

 

Ten Fidy
Pliny the Elder
Odell IPA
Rochefort 10
SN Celebration

And the beer that got me hooked: Redhook ESB

 

Ya know I can add a plus 2 - HF Ephraim, this is really a spectacular beer.

 

Bell's - Kalamazoo Stout
Bell's - Best Brown
Mispillion - Black Tie
Against the Grain - The Brown Note
SN - Pale Ale

Young's Double Chocolate was the one that really woke me up. Chocolate.. no.. wait.. DOUBLE THE CHOCOLATE.. IN A BEER? Where do I sign up?!?!

 

Top 5 beers in 2016:

1. Modern Times - BA Monsters' Park w/ Vanilla
2. SARA - Saison Bernice
3. Bottle Logic - Leche Borracho
4. Monkish - Stone Kisses
5. Highland Park Brewery - Neon

I would say Sierra Nevada Pale Ale initially piqued my interest in craft/independent beer. However, Swami's IPA is probably the beer that really got me hooked.

 

1. Saison Dupont
2. Schlenkerla Fastbier
3. Rodenbach Vintage
4. J.W. Lee's Harvest Ale
5. Orval

Unibroue's Maudite was my first interesting beer.

 

Bell's Two Hearted
Three Floyd's Zombie Dust
Finch's Hardcore Chimera
Evil Twin I Love You With My Stout
Thomas Hardy Ale

Though I've been drinking craft beer since my first Sam Adams Lager at the age of 19, it wasn't until I had Great Lakes Chillwave (then called Alchemy Hour) that I entered a committed relationship with craft. So Chillwave is my plus one.

 

Just in terms of drinking enjoyment, I'd be really happy with just those five beers.

 

Kane Head High
Hill Farmstead Abner
Grimm Lumen
North Coast Old Rasputin
Trillium Vicinity

+1: Chimay blue: Maybe not craft by most's conventional definition but it was the beer that 12 years ago got me exploring the beer world.

 

Magic Hat #9 got me hooked. Not proud.

1. Firestone Walker Stickee Monkee
2. Troegs Nimble Giant
3. New Belgium Love's Leopold
4. Bruery Black Tuesday
5. Jester King RU-55

 

1. Toppling Goliath Sosus
2. Toppling Goliath Hopsmack
3. Surly Darkness
4. Toppling Goliath Pseudosue (Galaxy dry hopped)
5. Central Waters Bourbon Barrel Quad

Gateway beer was Sierra Nevada Pale Ale

 

1. Fremont BBA Dark Star
2. Boneyard Notorious
3. Melvin 2 x 4
4. Reuben's Double Crush
5. Ten Fidy, in any form

+1. Georgetown Manny's Pale Ale

 

Top 5 Beers is tough but here I go:
1.) Vanilla Rye
2.) ’13/’14 Prop (I put these as the same because I still can’t tell which I like better depending on bottle variance)
3.) BCBS regular
4.) Abraxas
5.) Fuzzy

As I was starting to get into craft beer it was Deesko! by 3 Floyds that really accelerated my interest for it and sours