Top 50 Craft Beers in pictures (by Zymurgy)

[steveringo]

As relayed by the Hartford Courant:

Pictures: Best craft beers in America and where you can get them in Orlando - Courant.com

Many I have never heard of, but will be looking for....

#1. Russian River Pliny The Elder

 

[Podunkparte]

It looks like a good list overall but the order looks completely random.

#25 Bourbon County Stout, then #23 is Lagunitas' Little Sumpin Sumpin. The Lagunitas is a decent beer, but Bourbon County is a world class, game changing beer. They practically perfected barrel aged stouts.

To speak to your #1 Pliny the Elder comment. You won't get any distribution as far as bottles in NY or Boston, but some of the better craft bars in Pennsylvania does get Pliny. Vinnie, the owner of Russian River Brewing has some kind of connection with Penn. because normally only CA, OR, (recently) CO, and (until recently) WA get their beers.

 

[Jims_Doors]

I've had probably a dozen that were shown.

Troeggs "Nugget Nectar" (out of Pennsylvania) is amazing but is seasonal as is Sierra Nevada's "Celebration" Both excellent beers. I'm not a Stout guy at all. I don't want to taste chocolate or oatmeal over the course of the evening.

Great Lakes out of Cleveland makes great beers. Their Edmund Fitzgerald is listed but their Dortmunder Gold, Commodore Perry and Elliot Ness are much better. I'm an IPA / Lager guy.

Here a cool site that you can keep track of beers you've had and see what ratings others have givin' that beer. I don't do write up ratings but like going here to see what others have to say about a beer I've never had before.

BeerAdvocate - Respect Beer.


Plus if I'm dropping 10+bucks for a 6...then it better be at least 7.0ABV and above.

 

[Sleepy T]

Had quite a few beers on that list (Sierra Nevada, Stone, DFH, Troegs, Bell's, Ommegang) and they are all very good beers IMO. The ones that I am dying to try are both of the Founder's Stout beers, Russian River's and 3Floyd's beers. Also have never been able to find Bell's Hopslam before..had the 2-Hearted Ale and Oberon, they are good. Never tried the Green Flash beers either. Seen the ones listed..may have to give them a go.

 

[Sleepy T]

Oh yeah. The Alchemist' Heady Topper supposed to be awesome too.

 

[Taz_Hokie]

The 25 Best Craft Breweries in America | Craft Beer | The Daily Meal

Here's another best craft brewery list. Glad to see Dogfish at #1.

 

[Taz_Hokie]

Holy shit, Sierra Nevada Celebration is so fucking good. I cannot wait till this years batch. I've had six of the top 11*.

 

[chartresspires]

Oh yeah. The Alchemist' Heady Topper supposed to be awesome too.

It is, just don't expect to find it beyond 20 miles from the brewery. Oh, and if you are trying to get some at the brewery go there mid-week and never on a Saturday (they stopped being open on Sundays because they never had any beer left, and you will be lucky to get it on Saturday).

 

[Podunkparte]

I've had probably a dozen that were shown.

Troeggs "Nugget Nectar" (out of Pennsylvania) is amazing but is seasonal as is Sierra Nevada's "Celebration" Both excellent beers. I'm not a Stout guy at all. I don't want to taste chocolate or oatmeal over the course of the evening.

Great Lakes out of Cleveland makes great beers. Their Edmund Fitzgerald is listed but their Dortmunder Gold, Commodore Perry and Elliot Ness are much better. I'm an IPA / Lager guy.

Here a cool site that you can keep track of beers you've had and see what ratings others have givin' that beer. I don't do write up ratings but like going here to see what others have to say about a beer I've never had before.

BeerAdvocate - Respect Beer.


Plus if I'm dropping 10+bucks for a 6...then it better be at least 7.0ABV and above.

But in a stout, that's what to look for and it can be delicious. And you don't taste oatmeal in an oatmeal stout. It's there for the mouth feel created in the brewing process.

Yeah, Great Lakes does make some great beer. Their Blackout Stout (and Barrel aged variant) are very good.

Careful, I posted a link to BeerAdvocate and was chastised for trying to provide too much craft beer knowledge to this forum since it's "just" a sports forum. ; )

Had quite a few beers on that list (Sierra Nevada, Stone, DFH, Troegs, Bell's, Ommegang) and they are all very good beers IMO. The ones that I am dying to try are both of the Founder's Stout beers, Russian River's and 3Floyd's beers. Also have never been able to find Bell's Hopslam before..had the 2-Hearted Ale and Oberon, they are good. Never tried the Green Flash beers either. Seen the ones listed..may have to give them a go.

Founders makes amazing stouts. The regular Imperial Stout is my favorite of the group, but Breakfast Stout is very good, and KBS (Kentucky Breakfast Stout, which is more than just the breakfast stout aged in bourbon barrels- it's a whole different recipe) is a gold standard in the barrel aged imperial stout class.
Russian River is among my top 5 breweries. They make amazing IPAs like Blind Pig, Pliny the Elder and Pliny the Younger, and they're near the top of the class in American Wild Ales like Supplication, Beatification, Consecration, and Temptation. Just a ridiculously good brewery. They recently pulled distribution from my state which is a huge bummer, but I can get their beers through other means.
Three Floyds makes a lot of very good beer as well. Zombie Dust is an amazing beer, but can be under appreciated being a Pale Ale as opposed to a more strongly flavored beer like an IPA or an imperial stout. In my opinion, their famous beer, Dark Lord, while claiming fame in the passed 7 years or so for various reasons, is an overly sweet, syrupy imperial stout. There are far better examples around the country right now of how to brew an imperial stout that doesn't taste like sweetened soy sauce.
Hopslam is good fresh. After a few months though the hops will fade out and what makes it special is gone. Two Hearted though is worth the hype.

Oh yeah. The Alchemist' Heady Topper supposed to be awesome too.

Another Imperial IPA that is worth the hype, and that's rare coming from the East Coast. West Coast IPAs are more known for their in-you-face flavor profile that you get with Heady Topper

The 25 Best Craft Breweries in America | Craft Beer | The Daily Meal

Here's another best craft brewery list. Glad to see Dogfish at #1.

Good lineup, though I completely disagree with Dogfish Head being close to #1. They may try to innovate with their beers, but more times than not they swing and miss. They also don't have a real flagship beer in any style that is better than another brewery's example. They get hype for World Wide Stout and their 120 Minute IPA, both near 18%abv, but both also near undrinkable. They might fit in near #25 in my list. They certainly aren't a better brewery than Russian River, Founders, Allagash, Avery, Stone, Cigar City, or Sierra Nevada.

 

[Taz_Hokie]

Good lineup, though I completely disagree with Dogfish Head being close to #1. They may try to innovate with their beers, but more times than not they swing and miss. They also don't have a real flagship beer in any style that is better than another brewery's example. They get hype for World Wide Stout and their 120 Minute IPA, both near 18%abv, but both also near undrinkable. They might fit in near #25 in my list. They certainly aren't a better brewery than Russian River, Founders, Allagash, Avery, Stone, Cigar City, or Sierra Nevada.

You may be right, but I'm a bit biased. Dogfish was my first foray into the world of craft beer about 8 years ago and the 60 minute has been my go to (although Bell's Two Hearted has risen to the top of that list as well).

 

[Used 2 B Hu]

Careful, I posted a link to BeerAdvocate and was chastised for trying to provide too much craft beer knowledge to this forum since it's "just" a sports forum. ; )

Hah! Podunk, you were hardly "chastised."

You created a thread and used the word "stupid" to describe the general beer discussions that are present on this forum. I simply said that I wouldn't give anybody a hard time if that's what they want to do, since most guys in here are just messing around. I never used the phrase "this is just a sports forum."

Plenty of guys in here can and do have serious beer discussions, but plenty of others just want to compare their bud to someone else's miller, and they should be allowed to do that without having their topic deemed idiotic.

And to the guy who said he wanted to try Founder's stout: save your money. Their beers are mediocre and over priced.

 

[Eddie_Shack]

I think it's weird they had Founder's Breakfast over KBS... Breakfast is one of my favorite beers of all time, but KBS is absolutely out of this world. It comes, then it's on Ebay for $50/fourpack a minute later.

 

[Podunkparte]

Hah! Podunk, you were hardly "chastised."

You created a thread and used the word "stupid" to describe the general beer discussions that are present on this forum. I simply said that I wouldn't give anybody a hard time if that's what they want to do, since most guys in here are just messing around. I never used the phrase "this is just a sports forum."

Plenty of guys in here can and do have serious beer discussions, but plenty of others just want to compare their bud to someone else's miller, and they should be allowed to do that without having their topic deemed idiotic.

And to the guy who said he wanted to try Founder's stout: save your money. Their beers are mediocre and over priced.

It's funny how you want the text in black to be taken seriously, then you create the text in red. Anyone who thinks Founder's Imperial Stout is mediocre and overpriced obviously doesn't know what they're talking about.

Feel free to go back to talking about how easy it is to get your Miller Light out of the bottle now that you have a Vortex Bottle though.

 

[Eddie_Shack]

Hah! Podunk, you were hardly "chastised."

You created a thread and used the word "stupid" to describe the general beer discussions that are present on this forum. I simply said that I wouldn't give anybody a hard time if that's what they want to do, since most guys in here are just messing around. I never used the phrase "this is just a sports forum."

Plenty of guys in here can and do have serious beer discussions, but plenty of others just want to compare their bud to someone else's miller, and they should be allowed to do that without having their topic deemed idiotic.

And to the guy who said he wanted to try Founder's stout: save your money. Their beers are mediocre and over priced.

That's an opinion, and I think it's safe to say most people would disagree with you.

Top 250 Beers - BeerAdvocate

 

[Podunkparte]

That's an opinion, and I think it's safe to say most people would disagree with you.

Top 250 Beers - BeerAdvocate

Exactly!

 

[Sleepy T]

And to the guy who said he wanted to try Founder's stout: save your money. Their beers are mediocre and over priced.

Yeah, Seems like it is a very popular beer, not at the tune of $50 a 4-pack though. If I am ever lucky enough to try it out, I will be the judge of that^^^...

Even though I am not a Stout guy...I like a good one.

I am sure it will be better than I ever imagined.

 

[Sleepy T]

A couple weeks ago, I picked up a 6 pack of Fuller's London Porter at the specialty store. It was expensive (and fairly low ABV)...but damned tasty and true to the English style. One of the best porter's I have had. Try it sometime if you haven't guys.

 

[thecrow124]

Lets be realistic, the only bad beer is beer that doesn't suit your taste palate. I don't particularly like stouts or ambers, but that doesn't makes them bad beer, just beers I don't like.

 

[phantomfoul88]

Right now this is my favorite IPA. I found one store that still sells it right now.

 

[Podunkparte]

Right now this is my favorite IPA. I found one store that still sells it right now.