Your favorite top five beers?

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we talkin big companies?

in no particular order:
victory summer love
stone arrogant bastard ale
sierra nevada celebration
rogue john john ale (some kinda funky juniper holiday ale)
kane head high IPA (just had ot for the first time recently and loved it)

i also dont hate miller lite for nights out gettin drunk and doing shots at bars that dont have any interesting beers. i plan to make a miller lite clone soon (only more hoppy naturally) i know people will think im nuts for that one. oh well :)
 
Total Update:

Some changes from the initial standings

Top Five Beers:
1. Russian River Pliny the Elder (13)
2. Founders Breakfast Stout (11)
2. Stone Arrogant Bastard (11)
4. Stone Ruination (10)
5. Northcoast Old Rasputin (9)

Top Five Breweries:
1. Stone (34)
2. Sierra Nevada (24)
3. Russian River (21)
4. Lagunitas (20)
5. Bells (18)
 
No particular order:
- Sierra Nevada Celebration
- Sierra Nevada Ruthless
- Deep Ellum IPA
- Dales Pale Ale
- Franziskaner Hefeweizen (no, I have not found a really good Hefeweizen made in the US yet which can also compete with the price I pay for a 12 pack of Franziskaner).
 
Heady Topper DIPA
Sweetwater IPA
Pliny the Elder (never had Younger)
Ithaca Flower Power
Lagunitas Sucks
 
Caldera - Mogli
Deschutes - The Abyss
Deschutes - Black Butte XX (excluding the XXIII)
Avery - Maharaja
HUB - Ace of Spades
 
we talkin big companies?

in no particular order:
victory summer love
stone arrogant bastard ale
sierra nevada celebration
rogue john john ale (some kinda funky juniper holiday ale)
kane head high IPA (just had ot for the first time recently and loved it)

i also dont hate miller lite for nights out gettin drunk and doing shots at bars that dont have any interesting beers. i plan to make a miller lite clone soon (only more hoppy naturally) i know people will think im nuts for that one. oh well :)

Rogue did three different versions of the John John ale. The one you had was their Juniper pale ale that they aged in spruce gin barrels. They also had a Dead Guy ale aged in their Dead Guy whiskey barrels that was better than the juniper IMO. I never located the third one which is their Hazelnut brown aged in hazelnut spiced rum barrels.
 
Bell's Third Coast Beer
Ale Asylum Hopalicious
North Coast Old Stock
Founders Porter
And yes, believe it or not, I like PBR.
 
Seriously hard to answer a question like this... So I'll go with "drinkable" beers, I.e. the stuff that I'd be happy having on hand on a very regular basis. And I'll break it down by style:

IPA: Stone IPA - Can't go wrong. I'd consider subbing Lagunitas Sucks here if they make it year-round.
Lager: Oskar Blues' Mama's Little Yella Pils
Stout: My own homebrew milk stout
Belgian/other: probably Delirium Tremens?
Wildcard: My own homebrew Gose.

Answers subject to change without notice. Offer not valid in all states.
 
In perfect order:


Deschutes Brewery - The Abyss ---- hands down the best beer I have ever had.
Alaskan Brewery - Perseverance Ale --- so close to The Abyss, yet I don't know if it will ever be produced again.
Stone Brewing - Self Righteous Ale
Deschutes Brewery - black Butte Porter
Ninkasi Brewery - Tricerahops

My justification for all these beers is their intensity. From the Russian Imperial Stouts, to the very hoppy IPAs on the list, it's obvious I don't like mellow beers. There are a lot of beers I wanted on a lis like this, but I tried to follow the rules.
 
Call every bar you know of that has a RR account and ask if they're getting Younger. See if they'll tell you when if they are. Get there way early. It's tap only and the majority of the batch gets served at the brew pub, so not many accounts get it and they don't get very much if they do.

I did find Younger this year. Had it Monday night at a beer bar in Portland, OR. They served it with Blind Pig, Pliny the Elder, Damnation, Supplication and Consecration. I also got to try Notorious from Boneyard. Amazing beers.
 
Now if I could just get to Jasper,In,I could finally try some Wursburger. My family is from around where the beer comes from.
 
Wow that's difficult.

1) Hitachino Nest White Ale
2) Delirium Tremens
3) Wiehenstephaner Hefeweissen
4) Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA
5) Schonbuch Brauhaus Hefeweissen

I'll also never say no to a cold Stella on tap at BWW too. Blasphemy, I know.
 
1) Goose Island Bourbon County Stout
2) Bell's Hopslam
3) Three Floyds Gumballhead
4) Samuel Adams Fat Jack
5) New Glarus Spotted Cow
 
These keep me coming back (in no particular order)

Ayinger Celebrator Dobblebock
Hefeweizen (Ayinger or Weihenstephaner)
Chimay Dubbel (Red)
Left Hand "Fade To Black"
Sierra Nevada APA and Seasonals
 
I guess I've gotta give Duvel another run through.

Simply because it's a great example of the style doesn't mean you have to like it. I don't particularly like that style and honestly I don't get it. I'm not going to force myself to like it. That said, I believe all the people who think it's excellent, just not for me.
 
1. Cigar City White Oak Jai Lai
2. Hopslam
3. Southern Tier Cuvee Series (1 and 2)
4. Fullers Vintage Ale
5. Southern Tier Pumking (Gotta throw a seasonal in there!)
 
1) Flying Dog Single Hop Nelson IPA
2) Green Flash Palate Wrecker IPA
3) Stone Enjoy By IPA
4) The Bruery Sour in the Rye
5) Stone Arrogant Bastard

Many others would be contenders if I could have had them more than once...
 
Such a tough question but here goes in random order.

Highland Cold Mountain Ale
Bell's Two Hearted
Avery Maharaja
North Coast Old Rasputin
Terrapin Moo-Hoo Chocolate Milk Stout

Honorable Mention to Sam Adam's Merry Mischief Gingerbread Stout. Had a growler of this last year and really enjoyed it so hopefully I'll find it again next year.
 
Alagash Fluxus
LaGunitas Maximus
Ninkasi Total Domination
Russian River Damnation
Russian River OVL Stout
 
Stone Ruination
Three Floyds Darklord
Guiness Foreign Extra Stout
Bells Two Hearted Ale
Three Floyds Alpha King
 
Russian River - Pliny the Elder
Stone - Imperial Mint Chocolate Stout
DFH/Sierra Nevada - Life and Limb
Hangar 24 - Double IPA
Stone - Cali Belgi IPA
 
Rahr - ugly pug

Peticolas - velvet hammer

Pilsner urquell (fresh)

Lindemans gueze

Rahr - stormcloud

I could make this list in an hour and be totally different. Ha, but these popped in my head.
 
R...
I could make this list in an hour and be totally different. Ha, but these popped in my head.

Yeah, I know what you mean... Ask me what my 5 favorite beers are next week and at least 3 of them will have changed. That said, in no particular order...

* Stone - Ruination
* Peak Organic - Hop Noir
* Cigar City - Jai Alai
* Widmer Bros - Falconer's IPA
* Weyerbacher - Last Chance IPA

Cigar City is local to me, yes, but this is a seriously good beer; especially the "Humidor" version, which is aged on Spanish cedar. It gives it an extra black pepper-like kick.

Honestly, I was going to put Terrapin's Rye Pale Ale on this list instead of Weyerbacher's Last Chance IPA, but the cause that Weyerbacher is supporting - animal adoption shelters - just makes that beer taste all the better when I drink it. What can I say, I'm a softie like that.
 
Right now (will be different tomorrow):


Bells Two Hearted
Edmund Fitzgerald
New Belgium Ranger
Sierra Nevada Ruthless Rye
Lagunitas IPA

Honorable mention would be anything I could get delivered to my hotel room right now after 14 hours of driving today.
 
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