So.. I am throwing a beer tasting party

You heard me. In a few months (on my birthday) I will be throwing a beer tasting party for me and all my friends, featuring the best (and unique) beers in the world. I would like to get at least one beer per category, and I will try to hit as many as I can. As of right now my beer list is coming from what I have found to be the most comprehensive list of top rated beers available (http://beeradvocate.com/top_beers).

I am throwing this party in April, so I have plenty of time to plan. Food, order to drink, etc. will be planned later. Right now I am working on which beers to get, and that is the purpose of this thread.

EDIT: Subjecting all my friends to all these beers is neither responsible or wise; my plan (as of now) is to pick one beer to represent a category and have everyone try a bit of it, and if they like it they can try some of the other beers in that category. The representative beer will be denoted below with a *. Please help me with this.. many of these beers I have not actually tried

EDIT2: I have combined the beers I have and the beers I want/might want into one list, including all catagories. The catagories are roughly placed in the order they will be served in.


* = The opener for the catagory.
Red = I already have it. Don't both telling me not to get it.
Green = I will tentatively purchase closer to the date of the party. Open to discussion.
? = Should I include this?
??? = Anyone have any ideas?
(nothing) = Pending availability


Czech Beers/Pilsners
-Pilsner Urquell (if I can find it)*

German Beers/Hefeweizens
-Franziskaner Weissbier (Hefeweizen)*
-Reissdorf Kölsch
-Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier

Belgian Ale
-Hoegaarden*

Ale
-Highland Gaelic Ale*
-???

Bitter
-Fullers ESB
-???

IPA/Pale Ale
-Sierra Nevada Pale Ale*
-Dogfish Head 60 Min IPA

IIPA
-Pliny the Elder *
-Dogfish Head 90 min
-Dogfish Head 120 min

Special IPA
-Dogfhish Head Burton Baton (Oak-aged IIPA)*

Belgian Strong Ale
-Trappistes Rochefort 6*
-Trappistes Rochefort 8
-Trappistes Rochefort 10
-Trappist Westvleteren 12

Strong Ale
-Double Bastard *

Porter
-Highland Oatmeal Porter
-???

Smoked/Oaked Porter
-Alaskan Smoked Porter*
-Rogue Smoked Porter?

Dopplebock
-???

Stout
-Sierra Nevada Stout*
-Guinness Special Export (Stout)
-Beamish (Irish stout)

Imperial Stout
-Mikkeller Beer Geek Brunch (Imperial Oatmeal Coffee Stout)*
-The Abyss
-Dogfish Head World Wide Stout

Russian Imperial Stout
-Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout*
-Stone Russian Imperial Stout?

Barleywine
-Rogue Old Crustacean Barleywine*
-???

Stout aged in Bourbon Barrels:
-Goose Island Bourbon County Stout*
-Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout?

Weird/Strange Beers
-Dogfish Head Midas Touch (Ancient Ale)
-Rogue Chipotle Ale?



Most of my friends are ignorant to beer, and to be honest it's likely that many will not like some, if not most of the beers I will provide. Nevertheless, it will offer me the opportunity to taste some of the beers I've always wanted to try and to (at least try) to culture-ize my friends.

I have family in Oregon and North Carolina, friends in Tennessee, and I am in Kansas. I can get relatives and friends to send whatever is available, or I can get it shipped from another country as long as it's reasonable. I am quite poor,as a graduate student, but I really would like to splurge on this. I would relish any advice or critiques on beer selections.

Note: Unfortunately I cannot afford (or find) Samuel Adams Utopias, so mentioning this is not necessary.

Cheers!

IHateMayonnaise

Wow, thats huge undertaking. Might I suggest limiting it to 3-4 styles? ****, you could limit it to one style, and hit up all the substyles. You say your friends are pretty beer ignorant. Thats even more reason to limit it. Also think of limits. If you are drinking that much beer at a party, your are going to end up drunk. Especially with all of the high gravity beer you have listed. Don't worry about Utopias unless you are willing to drop some cash. Its $150 at the store, if you are lucky enough to get any. Its not something you just pop in and pick up. Check out ebay if you are serious about it though.

From the looks of it, I'd stay away from BA's list of beers. The Westy 12 might be pretty hard to come by (and expensive).

I suggest the BJCP guidelines. It lists all the styles, substyles and commercial examples of each.

Edcculus said:

Wow, thats huge undertaking. Might I suggest limiting it to 3-4 styles? ****, you could limit it to one style, and hit up all the substyles. You say your friends are pretty beer ignorant. Thats even more reason to limit it. Also think of limits. If you are drinking that much beer at a party, your are going to end up drunk. Especially with all of the high gravity beer you have listed. Don't worry about Utopias unless you are willing to drop some cash. Its $150 at the store, if you are lucky enough to get any. Its not something you just pop in and pick up. Check out ebay if you are serious about it though.

From the looks of it, I'd stay away from BA's list of beers. The Westy 12 might be pretty hard to come by (and expensive).

I suggest the BJCP guidelines. It lists all the styles, substyles and commercial examples of each.

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Thanks for the reply Edcculus! Yes, quite an undertaking indeed. As I said I will not be getting the Utopias -- one day yes, but right now no. I already bought the Westy 12 (two actually), they are en route.

My idea is that there will be about 15 people coming, some will not want to try various styles, and if they do it will be just a sip. Sharing a 12 oz bottle between 15 people (even for the 120min IIPA @ 18% ABV) isn't a lot. I WILL try every one, but it's going to be at my apartment, so that's alright with me As a responsible adult I will provide sleeping arrangements and allow for designated drivers. I will check out this list and edit my first post

EDIT: Based on the BJCP guidelines, I think I have all the categories I want. I am not including any lagers/pilsners/light ales. Maybe Ill throw in a bud light for comparison but that's it.

Wow, that's an impressive list of beers you've got so far; your friends are lucky to have a party host with such good taste! Every one of them is a kick in your tongue's teeth though; after a few different ones it's going to be hard to distinguish subtleties.

I agree with Edcculus; I'd either go for one of each style (to compare styles) or all from one style (to compare beers). If your friends are not beer aficionados, I'd try to expose them to a wider array of styles, colors, strengths, etc. Your average Bud Light drinker's face will explode just looking at an IIPA so expecting them to enjoy (or try) three is not too likely. If there are enough different kinds of beer, they should be able to find *something* they like.

If there's one beer there that your friends may not like, they'll surely try it to be sporting and for the experience. 10 is probably asking too much.

I think the general rule for tasting is to go from light to dark in color which *tends* to go to a stronger-tasting beer. Make sure there is food and other beverages available for people to cleanse their palates and/or rinse if they don't care for the teaspoon of hops in their sip of the DFH 120 .

Scotty_g said:

Wow, that's an impressive list of beers you've got so far; your friends are lucky to have a party host with such good taste! Every one of them is a kick in your tongue's teeth though; after a few different ones it's going to be hard to distinguish subtleties.

I agree with Edcculus; I'd either go for one of each style (to compare styles) or all from one style (to compare beers). If your friends are not beer aficionados, I'd try to expose them to a wider array of styles, colors, strengths, etc. Your average Bud Light drinker's face will explode just looking at an IIPA so expecting them to enjoy (or try) three is not too likely. If there are enough different kinds of beer, they should be able to find *something* they like.

If there's one beer there that your friends may not like, they'll surely try it to be sporting and for the experience. 10 is probably asking too much.

I think the general rule for tasting is to go from light to dark in color which *tends* to go to a stronger-tasting beer. Make sure there is food and other beverages available for people to cleanse their palates and/or rinse if they don't care for the teaspoon of hops in their sip of the DFH 120 .

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I appreciate the compliment if only I can make beers that can compare with the ones in my fridge..

The DFH 120min IIPA and World Wide Stout surpass what I would call a beer, you can quote me on that. It will come last (or close to it), due to it's overwhelming intensity. Generally yes, I will start with the lighter and end with the darker. Ales first, then hefeweizens, then belgians, then strong ales, etc.. the beamish will most likely kick off the stouts, although it can hardly be compared to what others I have.

How about this: I choose one beer from each category, and have some subsidiary ones behind it for those who like that particular kind of beer. I will put an * in my original post by the beers I feel will be representative of a particular category (PLEASE help me on this!)

So far the *'d beers look ok. If you wanted to pick some ales, you could go for an ESB (not sure what's local to you) and a Mild to cover the whole range (mild -> ESB and IPA -> IIPA). Goose Island's Mild Winter may be available in your area but the rye gives it a little extra kick not normally found in a mild.

If you wanted another take on the malt-focused, stronger beers (since strong and hoppy is covered), you could choose a scotch ale or dopplebock. I've had some scotch ales I really like but I don't care that much for the smoked malt in some of them. My favorite is Scotty Karate by Dark Horse Brewing. For the DB you can't go wrong with Optimator or Salvator; Celebrator is a little more over the top but for a small sample would be good.

You could also have some beers for the Junior Circuit (for children, old ladies, and Light American Lager drinkers). Find a wit (Hooegarten is widely available and a classic example, Celis white should be good, I know New Belgium's Mothership is good, or make the Austin Homebrew kit), a real pilsner (which is a wonderful style despite the crappy "pilsners" sold by BMC), a low-test lambic (you can probably find Lindeman's, although that is not a real hardcore lambic because it's so sweet and fruity), and the hefeweizen. None of these are so dark as to scare people or so strong as to leave them wrecked, but four different flavors to try.

Scotty_g said:

...a real pilsner...

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+1 My suggestion here for a "*" beer would be Pilsner Urquell, a darn fine example of the style.

artguy said:

+1 My suggestion here for a "*" beer would be Pilsner Urquell, a darn fine example of the style.

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* As long as you can find it fresh and not skunkified.

Pilsner Urquell should be bought only if you can find cans or an unopened case that you can take a six pack out of, same for Bitburger if you want a German Pilsner. I think both have best by dates on the packaging, make sure that is in the future.

Before you go putting too much stock in Beer Advocate, consider that you need no qualification to rate there (not that there are not qualified ratings there). Also the placing of beers in to categories is sometimes just flat out incorrect and there seems to be no policing of this.

At least for classic styles from the old world, consider Michael Jackson a better source of information. Alternately, choose classic examples from the BJCP guidelines (which are heavily derivative of Jackson's work, but more up to date).

Now, if you want a list of beers that are popular in the US (with beer geek types), Beer Advocate is the best source of that information.

IHateMayonnaise said:

... Maybe Ill throw in a bud light for comparison but that's it.

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It's good for swishing and spitting between good beers to clear the pallet.

Whenever I bring new beers into a BMC crowd I always try to bring something lighter and then a couple of beers with super character, those will normally be frowned upon by the masses. I'm currently in the process of getting my dad to understand that not all ales are too sweet or not carb'd enough. He's a pilsner guy but I'm going to try to start him on Alt, Koelsch, Cali common, Blondes, and whatnot.

Hophead75 said:

Whenever I bring new beers into a BMC crowd I always try to bring something lighter and then a couple of beers with super character, those will normally be frowned upon by the masses. I'm currently in the process of getting my dad to understand that not all ales are too sweet or not carb'd enough. He's a pilsner guy but I'm going to try to start him on Alt, Koelsch, Cali common, Blondes, and whatnot.

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Believe me, I understand. My Dad has been drinking the same BMC brand since the 60's, (Molson Ex). Even if I could brew a clone and give it to him by the truckload he would probably still buy it from the store, even at $40/24.

That said, I also like consistency and once I finish experimenting with different brews I'll probably settle on one to keep on tap at all times. That's why I went with two taps so I can still experiment with the other.

Thanks for the replies everyone!

I have never really been a fan of pilsners and lagers, a bit too light for me. Nevertheless, they should be included. I don't believe I have ever seen Pilsner Urquell around here, and although it is good in it's own catagory (been brewed the same for some hundreds of years), I don't want to spend a bunch of money to get it shipped from somewhere.

Alternative: A Kolsch. A beer store around me sells the Reissdorf Kölsch, which I had it Coln and I think it's decent. I'm not sure if this is really considered a lager..definitely not a pilsner since it's not from the Czech Republic. Nonetheless I think it will be a good choice.

As for another German beer I think I will add to the list is the Franziskaner Weissbier, since it is also locally available. I know this is a Hefeweisen, but I think it does a good job representing German beers (at least all the ones I've had all the times I've been there).

Hoegaarden might be added as well, even though I don't really like it. Might be good to throw a little Dutch culture into the rink

So I still need one or two regular old Ales..representative of the category. I will check out the liquor stores tomorrow (they're closed on Sundays ) and see what I can find. I would also like a good barleywine, they sell a few around me, one is the Rogue Old Crustacean Barley Wine, not sure on the others.

Also: any recommendations on porters? The one I have up there (Highland Oatmeal Porter) is VERY good, but a bit on the dark and complex side. So I need something a bit more general..

First post is updated, thanks for the input everyone!!

Can I be your friend??

Thats an impressive tasting list my friend.

beerjunky828 said:

Can I be your friend??

Thats an impressive tasting list my friend.

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Sure I hail from Asheville, by the way.

I revised the way I'm listing the beers that I have/want, please see the first post. Suggestions for "?" and "???"'s would be greatly appreciated.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/video-tasting-craft-beers-157923/

You might be interested in this. FWIW, I attend occasionally a "beer school" night and we never do more than five or six beers, its just too much, even if you are only using tasting sizes. Just my two cents.

I made some suggestions on the ones you were having trouble with. I tried to add a wide selection in case you couldn't get a certain brewery. Hope this helps!

German Beers/Hefeweizens
-Franziskaner Weissbier (Hefeweizen)*
-Reissdorf Kölsch
-Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier?

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I think these are good. You could go for some bocks too. Paulaner Salvator or Ayinger Celebrator are good ones. You will know a dopplebock in the store because the name will end in "ator"

Belgian Ale
-Hoegaarden*

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Solid witbier. If you want more non abbey Belgians, you could do a Saison too.

Ale
-Some ESB???

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Bass, Avery 14'er ESB, Great Lakes Moondog ESB if you can get any of them. For this category, you might want to thrown in Ordinary Bitter and even Mild. These styles are relatively hard to come by in the US. Boddingtons is a pretty ubiquitous Bitter.

Spiced Ale
-???

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We are a little out of the seasonal spice beer season. Look around and you might find some Christmas spice beers left

IPA/Pale Ale
-Sierra Nevada Pale Ale*

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Bell's Two Hearted (if you can get it), Highland Gaelic Ale, Highland Kashmir IPA, Sierra Nevada Torpedo, DFH 60 min. Just some suggestions if you are looking to expand this area.

Porter
-Highland Oatmeal Porter
-???

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Smuttynose Robust Porter, Great Lakes Edmond Fitzgerald, Anchor Porter

Stout
-Sierra Nevada Stout*
-Guinness Special Export (Stout) (If I can find it)
-Beamish (Irish stout)

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Lion Stout is a good Export/Island stout if you can't find the Guiness Export

Barleywine
-???

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Sierra Nevada Bigfoot, Anchor Old Foghorn, Victory Old Horizontal, Avery Hog Heaven, Brooklyn Monster Barleywine, Rock Art Vermonster

Stout aged in Bourbon Barrels:
-Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout?

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Goose Island Bourbon County Stout is a great one.

I've only had the Reissdorf Kolsch once and it was pretty obvious that the liquor store didn't turn it over much...it was skunked even in a brown bottle. Goose Island (IL) makes a good Summertime Kolsch (unfortunately it's a seasonal), and one of the breweries in WI makes a Groovy Brew Kolsch but I don't think they are big enough to distribute to Kansas.

I saw in the newspaper today that Sam Adams spring beer is a pilsner...they talked up "all 5 noble hops" which may be some marketing fluff, but it's a solid pils. They probably distribute anywhere this side of Mars. Victory Prima Pils is pretty good too if you wanted another domestic choice.

My friend and I have been putting on our own little beer fest every year for the past 6 years now. Last year we had 21 different beers. ( I supplied 5 of my own on tap). All are imported or Craft Beer. (ABSOLUTELY NO BMCs) (Side note: My home made Stout won best of show, even without a Stout tap)

The first years, we limited to 6 guys. But last year the women bitched so much about not being invited that we let them in. So last year we had 5 couples. It did go well , but ended up having a few of the women throwing in the towel early

We plan a dish of food about every hour, and 3 servings of beer per hour. We calculate 5 - 6 OZ of each beer for the guys and 3 to 4 Oz for the gals. We start with the light (color or flavor) and go heavy.

Last year we started at 5pm and ended at 1:30 am. We made it through all the beers but some of the food dishes were not touched.

We make out the beer drinking order list before hand and stick to it. We also try to be smart looking and take notes when tasting, but that never lasts past the 4th or 5th beer, then we just give up the note taking

We are planing on getting T-Shirts done up for this years. We have a logo already. Our event is always the Last Saturday of May.

We also charge cover charge. It was $50 per couple last year. It was $40 per guy the years before. No one brings any beer, my friend and I supply all of it, and also the Food, although, a few couples last year did bring some food.

Food should be of the finger food variety, nothing too heavy. So T-Bones and prime ribs and lasagna are out, although, we do usually make ribs, we just don't eat a full rack. Living on the Canadian east coast, we usually have some sort of seafood dish, like mussels or oysters for those who like them, Oysters are amazing with beer.

Anyway, if you have any other questions about logistics, let me know, I'll try to help.

And thanks for the reminder, it is just about time we start to plan out our beer list for this year.

dp

I have not read through the entire thread, just the OP, so I apologize if I'm repeating an already expressed sentiment.

My suggestions are as follows:
- Don't bother with the Rogue Chipotle Ale, IMHO. It is the only beer that I have tried in the last year that I downright loathed. I don't think the flavors complement each other at all. Terrible Beer in my opinion.
- Bell's Expedition Stout is a great example of an Imperial Stout. I strongly recommend you try to get your hands on a bottle or two of that (It's about $10/12oz here in Chicago)
- Smoked Porter category needs to include Alaskan Brewing Smoked Porter. It is generally accepted as the best beer of the category, and consistently wins many competitions for the Porter category. You should be able to count on your contacts in Oregon to help you out with this one.
- Belgian Strong Ales, try to expand in to a few different trappist breweries, it seems you're unjustly favoring Rochefort (great beers, don't get me wrong).

Good luck, you've got a lot of work ahead of you (if you can call having this much fun as work).

The Gordon Biersch German lagers are great if you can't find fresh examples of imports. Especially for a skunked Pilsner Urquell or something.

Edcculus said:

-Franziskaner Weissbier (Hefeweizen)*
-Reissdorf Kölsch
-Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier?

I think these are good. You could go for some bocks too. Paulaner Salvator or Ayinger Celebrator are good ones. You will know a dopplebock in the store because the name will end in "ator"

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There are several dopplebocks at my local liquor store, I shall record their names and return promptly (unless you can suggest one that I can get shipped from somewhere)

Ale
-Some ESB???

Bass, Avery 14'er ESB, Great Lakes Moondog ESB if you can get any of them. For this category, you might want to thrown in Ordinary Bitter and even Mild. These styles are relatively hard to come by in the US. Boddingtons is a pretty ubiquitous Bitter.

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I will investigate this as well. I know very little about ESBs and bitters in general..but I will look in to it.

Porter
-Highland Oatmeal Porter
-???

Smuttynose Robust Porter, Great Lakes Edmond Fitzgerald, Anchor Porter

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Will look into this. Where are they available?

Barleywine
-???


Sierra Nevada Bigfoot, Anchor Old Foghorn, Victory Old Horizontal, Avery Hog Heaven, Brooklyn Monster Barleywine, Rock Art Vermonster

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Don't recognize any of these, where are they available?

Stout aged in Bourbon Barrels:
-Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout?

Goose Island Bourbon County Stout is a great one.

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I chose the founders kentucky because it was on BA's top best beers list, so in that sense my choice was somewhat arbitrary. Where can i find goose island?

EDIT: My contact has the Goose Island, I'll go ahead and get one. I doubt I'll be able to get the Kentucky.

DRoyLenz said:

I have not read through the entire thread, just the OP, so I apologize if I'm repeating an already expressed sentiment.

My suggestions are as follows:
- Don't bother with the Rogue Chipotle Ale, IMHO. It is the only beer that I have tried in the last year that I downright loathed. I don't think the flavors complement each other at all. Terrible Beer in my opinion.
- Bell's Expedition Stout is a great example of an Imperial Stout. I strongly recommend you try to get your hands on a bottle or two of that (It's about $10/12oz here in Chicago)
- Smoked Porter category needs to include Alaskan Brewing Smoked Porter. It is generally accepted as the best beer of the category, and consistently wins many competitions for the Porter category. You should be able to count on your contacts in Oregon to help you out with this one.
- Belgian Strong Ales, try to expand in to a few different trappist breweries, it seems you're unjustly favoring Rochefort (great beers, don't get me wrong).

Good luck, you've got a lot of work ahead of you (if you can call having this much fun as work).

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I thought the Chipotle Ale was interesting, hence why I had it in the weird/strange catagory. Not many people have had a spicy beer before. I agree that it is not very drinkable, though.

I'm good on stouts, imperial stouts, IPAs, and IIPAs.

I will see what my contact (aka twin sister) can do about the alaskan smoked porter.

Already got the Rocheforts, it's a done deal.

EDIT: It's available in Oregon, ill get my sis to pick one of the alaskan smoked porters up

Here's what I would do:

12 beers, 6 lagers, 6 ales.

Of the 6 lagers, one would have to be a BMC product, just for contrast. One would be a true pilsner- German or Bohemian, one would be an Oktoberfest, one would be a Dunkel, one would be an American lager of some sort - Sam Adams maybe, and the final would be something like Carlsberg or Stella Artois.

The idea being to show the major styles of lager, and some important differences between styles, and it's important IMO, to show a BMC light lager, and other light lagers to show the difference.

In the ale category, it would be the following categories: Pale ale, stout, brown ale. In each category, show a US version vs. the foreign one to show the different take on it on either side of the Atlantic.

This way, the tasting gives them the most popular categories, and a decent breadth of what is available in them, without getting too esoteric for neophyte beer drinkers (e.g comparing Hacker-Pshorr Oktoberfest to Spaten's to Paulaner's)

If you can get Orion, that's a fine Japanese lager that makes a great counterpoint to American light lagers and Pilseners.

As far as the beer I listed goes, Sierra Nevada has national distribution. Unless your state has a cap on ABV in beer, you should be able to find Bigfoot.

Great Lakes is a brewery in Cleveland. They have regional distribution in Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and maybe Indiana, Kentucky and West Virginia.

Anchor is pretty much available everywhere I've seen too. If you can't find it, any one of your contacts shouldn't have a problem.

porters:
edmund fitz, anchor, or sierra nevada

bitters:
goose island honker's is a great special bitter, otherwise there's a brewery in Milwaukee (lakefront) that makes a killer ESB. all organic as well.

bocks:
i don't know any well-travelled bocks, but another local brewery, Sprecher, makes a great maibock. technically Rouge dead guy is a maibock.

Just updated the list of what I have acquired, I will investigate more later and make a trip to the liquor store and report back

A. This is sweet. Looks like a great list building already.

B. For an ESB I would select Fuller's ESB. It might not be the greatest out there (although I really like it) it definitely fits the definition of the style to a T.

C. I love Mayonnaise.

cford1 said:

A. This is sweet. Looks like a great list building already.

B. For an ESB I would select Fuller's ESB. It might not be the greatest out there (although I really like it) it definitely fits the definition of the style to a T.

C. I love Mayonnaise.

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A: Thanks!

B: I have no idea on ESBs, I'll buy a few and try them to get a sense of what they're like, then I'll choose.

C: I'm sorry to hear that

(order, list updated once again)

This sounds like an awesome idea. I made some comments below on beers I have experience with. Good luck with your party.

Belgian Ale
Do you want an example of a belgian wit, which is what Hoegaarden generally is, or do you want to rock some belgian beers in general. If it's the later, I'd suggest Orval (Specialty) and La Chouffe (Specialty) and Saison DuPont (Saison).

Bitter
Fullers ESB is considered the classic example of an ESB, in fact, no other beer in Britain can use the term "ESB" on their beer because Fullers trademarked it (much like Anchor did with the term "steam" in the US with respect to California Commons). Another good example of an ESB is Avery's 14er ESB.

IIPA
-Pliny the Elder - if you can find this, get it. IMHO it is "THE" example of a IIPA.

Special IPA
-Dogfish Head Burton Baton (Oak-aged IIPA) - Burton is AMAZING. It's actually a blend of an English Strong Ale and the IIPA.

Belgian Strong Ale
Others to consider are Leffe Blonde (Belgian Blonde), Westmalle Double or Tripel, Victory Golden Monkey (Tripel), Russian River Damnation (Golden Strong), St. Bernardus Abt 12 (Dark Strong)

Dopplebock
Celebrator, Optimator, Salvator are all very solid choices.

Stout
-Sierra Nevada Stout - This is an American stout which means it has a lot of citrus hops in it. To me, it doesn't taste like what I think of when I have stout. Lion Stout is a good choice.

Barleywine
I'm sure you'll get lots of suggestions but for American Barleywine I recommend Sierra Nevada Bigfoot, Avery Hog Heaven, and Deschutes Mirror Mirror. For English, Avery Samael, J.W. Lees Harvest Vintage, and Dogfish Head Old School (some have this listed as American, I'd personally classify as English).

Weird/Strange Beers
DFH Midas is a good choice, but is a very sweet beer. If you can find it, I'd recommend DFH Red and White or Black and Blue instead of Midas.

depending on how big the pours are... the beers coming after the first 8 or so will just be for sport at that point. others have said this too and i see your EDIT #1.

Maybe do it over multiple days?? Sat - Sun.

in any event, it sounds like a great time! enjoy.

Belgian Ale
Do you want an example of a belgian wit, which is what Hoegaarden generally is, or do you want to rock some belgian beers in general. If it's the later, I'd suggest Orval (Specialty) and La Chouffe (Specialty) and Saison DuPont (Saison).

Belgian Strong Ale
Others to consider are Leffe Blonde (Belgian Blonde), Westmalle Double or Tripel, Victory Golden Monkey (Tripel), Russian River Damnation (Golden Strong), St. Bernardus Abt 12 (Dark Strong)

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For Belgians I already have Hoegaarden, Trappistes Rochefort 6, 8, 10, and Trappist Westvleteren 12. From what I recall one of the Rocheforts is dark, other than that should I have a darker one? Or anything else? I have 5 belgians, are any of those that you recommend really going to add that much to the pot?

Bitter
Fullers ESB is considered the classic example of an ESB, in fact, no other beer in Britain can use the term "ESB" on their beer because Fullers trademarked it (much like Anchor did with the term "steam" in the US with respect to California Commons). Another good example of an ESB is Avery's 14er ESB.

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I will pick up a Fullers tonight (if they have it) to give it a try. Maybe also the Avery.

IIPA
-Pliny the Elder - if you can find this, get it. IMHO it is "THE" example of a IIPA.

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It's en route!

Special IPA
-Dogfish Head Burton Baton (Oak-aged IIPA) - Burton is AMAZING. It's actually a blend of an English Strong Ale and the IIPA.

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In my fridge right now..mmm...

Dopplebock
Celebrator, Optimator, Salvator are all very solid choices.

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None of these are local, I'll need some more input before I shell out all the green to get it shipped from somewhere.

Stout
-Sierra Nevada Stout - This is an American stout which means it has a lot of citrus hops in it. To me, it doesn't taste like what I think of when I have stout. Lion Stout is a good choice.

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Since the Lion is not local (it's in NC though) I'm just gonna go with the Sierra Nevada.

Barleywine
I'm sure you'll get lots of suggestions but for American Barleywine I recommend Sierra Nevada Bigfoot, Avery Hog Heaven, and Deschutes Mirror Mirror. For English, Avery Samael, J.W. Lees Harvest Vintage, and Dogfish Head Old School (some have this listed as American, I'd personally classify as English).

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I'll see if they've got Bigfoot, I think they have Avery Hog Heaven. No dogfish head in Kansas unfortunately, and I haven't seen that one in NC. Might have the last one in Oregon, but not sure whether it's worth it to ship it.

Weird/Strange Beers
DFH Midas is a good choice, but is a very sweet beer. If you can find it, I'd recommend DFH Red and White or Black and Blue instead of Midas.

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Midas is on it's way, red white or black i have never seen or heard of. What are they?

IHateMayonnaise said:

Dopplebock
Celebrator, Optimator, Salvator are all very solid choices.

None of these are local, I'll need some more input before I shell out all the green to get it shipped from somewhere.

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They are all made in Germany, but I always see at least one of them on the grocery store shelves. That is, like I said, unless your state has a maximum alcohol % that can be sold in stores. With the limit of what you seem to be able to get, this may be the case. Paulaner Celebrator is around an 8% beer.

IHateMayonnaise said:

I'll see if they've got Bigfoot, I think they have Avery Hog Heaven. No dogfish head in Kansas unfortunately, and I haven't seen that one in NC. Might have the last one in Oregon, but not sure whether it's worth it to ship it.

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You can get Mirror, Mirror at Safeway here.

Realized that Safeway is probably regional. Translation: You can get Mirror, Mirror at (insert largest grocery store chain in your area) here.

Edcculus said:

They are all made in Germany, but I always see at least one of them on the grocery store shelves. That is, like I said, unless your state has a maximum alcohol % that can be sold in stores. With the limit of what you seem to be able to get, this may be the case. Paulaner Celebrator is around an 8% beer.

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Can't get any of those in Kansas I'm pretty sure, and there's no ABV limit. NC has a limit of 16%, TN doesn't have one, and I don't think that OR has one.

I have had Optimator in Germany, it is pretty good. Celebrator ranks over Salvator on BA I'll see what I can do.

dkershner said:

You can get Mirror, Mirror at Safeway here.

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Of Sierra Nevada Bigfoot, Avery Hog Heaven, Deschutes Mirror Mirror, Avery Samael, J.W. Lees Harvest Vintage, and Dogfish Head Old School Sierra Nevada Bigfoot and Mirror Mirror rank highest on BA, plus I know I can get both. I'm leaning towards those.

I like the 6 of each idea. Here are a few others:

Pils: +1 for Victory Prima Pils, which is just too good to ignore

Stout: O'hara's Celtic Stout, but there are alot of stouts that are pretty good. For the non-stout drinkers, I find that they often take a liking to Left Hand Milk Stout. Or Young's double chocolate...

Wheat: An American wheat that's pretty good as a "this side of the pond" choice is Blue Star, by North Coast (tough to go wrong with North Coast)

Great Lakes also has distribution in Wisconsin, but only Madison and Milwaukee...and I think they might also have dist. in upstate NY but I'm not sure abt that. Edmund Fitz is a fine porter.

Went to my local liquor store, which has the best selection in the entire city. Here is what I found that caught my eye:

Available Barleywines:
-Schlafly Reserve (Barleywine Style Ale)
-Rogue Old Crustacean Barleywine

Stouts:
-Schlafly Reserve (Stout aged in Bourbon Barrels)

Belgians:
-Avery Salvation (Belgian Strong Pale Ale)

Bitters:
-Breckenridge Extra ESB

Bocks:
-Left Hand Goosinator Doppelbock

Smoked Porters:
-Left Hand Smoked Porter

Czech Beers:
-Zatec Czech lager

I went ahead and bought the Breckenridge Extra ESB to try, and also the Rogue BarleyWine, which I am adding to the list.

IF you would be willing...another vote for Bells Two Hearted in the IPA category.
Idk if you can get it, but i really like Troegs Troegenator (double bock)...of course i may be partial bc its from PA.
Lastly, if you see it somewhere, i personally think that Duck Rabbit Barleywine is very good.
Oh yea, id love an invitation too!