Evan's beer rankings
Last updated 12/31/08. Click here to see previous version.
| Top 10 Overall (to avoid redundancy beers are not on more than one list) | ||||
Rank |
Name | Brewery | Style | Comments |
1 |
Beatification | Russian River Brewing Company, Santa Rosa, California | American Wild Ale | A few of us took a trip to the legendary Ebenezer's Pub in Lovell, Maine. The owner, Chris Lively, took us on a private tour of his cellar after I began asking about Russian River beers (specifically Beatification). I had been interested in this beer since it is (as far as I know) the first spontaneously fermented beer to be made outside of Belgium. Chris is about the most generous guy ever and offered us a bottle of this for free! It was amazing - pale gold, all kinds of sour, funky aroma like a normal gueuze but more intense. Taste was magical - refreshing, sour (but not overly sour). Surpassed my expectations. |
2 |
Drie Fonteinen Oude Gueuze | Brouwerij Drie Fonteinen, Beersel, Belgium | Gueuze | Split a bottle of this with a friend at Novare Res in Portland, Maine. The first thing you notice about this gueuze compared to others is the tight head that dissipates slowly and leaves tons of lacing on the glass. The aroma is more lemony and refined than some other gueuzes I've had, and the mouthfeel is just perfect - thin yet creamy, perfectly carbonated, and utterly delicious. |
3 |
Victory Prima Pils | Victory Brewing Company, Downingtown, Pennsylvania | German Pilsener | Pilsener is one of my favorite styles since they are often hoppy but very crisp and refreshing. This is the ultimate pils in my opinion. These guys have managed to get more hop flavor and aroma into a pale lager than most IPAs. Yet, the beer is well-balanced with and awesome bready malt-sweetness. I have no idea how they got that much malt flavor into such a pale beer. We've tried brewing pilsners a couple times now and still can't come close to this one. Fantastic. |
4 |
EKU 28 | Kulmbacher Brauerei AG, Kulmbach, Germany | Eisbock | Eisbock is an obscure style, but basically what they do is make a doppelbock, and after fermentation, partially freeze it and remove some ice, thus concentrating the beer. Then they drop in down into caves for 9 months to lager. Crystal-clear, amber hue. Smells like brandy, taste is perfectly balanced between the maltiness and the high alcohol levels (~11% abv, although the alcohol never burns, even when it gets warmer). The ultimate beer to snift in front of a fireplace. |
5 |
Bam Bière | Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales, Dexter, Michigan | Saison | This is a review of this beer that I posted on Beer Advocate:
Just split a bottle with my brother. Pours with a giant white, frothy head, which dissipates pretty quick but leaves some lacing. Color is a nice pale gold, clear but definitely some yeasties swimming around. Very pleasantly surprised after smelling this one. I've had a fair share of saisons and some Jolly Pumpkin beers, and was hoping this would be a bit sour and funky. Well, the smell indicates that it will. A bit lemony with a hint of 'armpit' (in a good way), earthy and maybe some faint hops. Taste is a nice mix of some earthy, spicy yeast with a good amount of crisp malt afterwards, with a nice sour finish. Mouthfeel is very lively - lots of carbonation but not excessively thin. My only gripe is that there is a massive amount of yeast sludge floating in the bottom of the bottle which gets into the glass (even after a timid pour). |
| 6 | Stone IPA | Stone Brewing Company, Escondido, California | American IPA | My main gripe with most IPAs is the extensive use of somewhat dark crystal malts (40-60L) which doesn't really go well with lots hops. Stone has done an excellent job of making a very hoppy beer which has a malt character that blends with (rather than competes with) the hops. This is one of the paler IPAs I've had but is still fairly sweet, and the hops are just great. |
| 7 | La Fin Du Monde | Unibroue, Chambly, Quebec | Tripel | Unibroue makes amazing Belgian-style beers, and this is probably their best. Pours a pale gold, slightly hazy (which I like in a tripel). Aroma is awesome, some vanilla, maybe some clove back there somewhere. This is a great beer any time of the year. |
| 8 | Green Flash West Coast I.P.A. | Green Flash Brewing Co., Vista, California | American IPA | This beer makes my top 10 list basically on aroma alone. Pours kind of coppery-red, and the first thing that his you is a HUGE hop aroma wafting all around the room. It's like you just opened a pouch of fresh hops. Taste-wise, the beer is not nearly as bitter as one might expect based on aroma. |
| 9 | Péché Mortel | Brasserie Dieu Du Ciel, Montréal, Quebec | Imperial Stout | Jet black, massive coffee aroma. Taste is huge coffee, roasty, and finishes fairly dry for an imperial stout. Far more drinkable that some other coffee imperial stouts (e.g. Speedway Stout). A great beer that is worth seeking out. |
| 10 | Rochefort 10 | Brasserie de Rochefort (Abbaye de Notre-Dame de Saint-Rémy), Rochefort, Belgium | Quadrupel | Since it has been a while since I've had this, I don't have a lot of details that come to mind. Pours pretty dark, but some ruby highlights are visible if held to the light. The alcohol is dangerously well-hidden for such a big beer, and the finish is dry despite having plenty of dark-fruit flavors. Very drinkable. |
| Top 3: Trappist ales (not counting Rochefort 10 which is on the "10 best" list) | ||||
| 1 | La Trappe Quadrupel (Koningshoeven / Dominus) | Bierbrouwerij De Koningshoeven B.V., Berkel-Enschot, Netherlands | Quadrupel | Had a few sips of this from my brother's glass (on tap at Ebenezer's) but that was enough to tentatively place it in the top spot for this category. Very heavy on the dark fruit tastes which I like. Note: need to try Orval again and it may find its way onto this list. Last time I had it was before I knew much about beer. |
| 2 | Chimay Grande Réserve (Blue) | Bières de Chimay (Abbaye Notre Dame de Scourmont), Baileux (Chimay), Belgium | Belgian Strong Dark Ale | |
| 3 | Westmalle Trappist Tripel | Brouwerij Westmalle (Adbij der Trappisten van Westmalle), Malle, Belgium | Tripel | |
| Top 5: Belgian (non-trappist) or Belgian-style ales (from other countries) | ||||
| 1 | Fantôme Saison | Brasserie Fantôme, Soy, Belgium | Saison | |
| 2 | La Roja | Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales, Dexter, Michigan | American Wild Ale | Described as an "amber ale brewed in the Flanders tradition". |
| 3 | Delirium Tremens | Brouwerij Huyghe, Melle, Belgium | Belgian Strong Pale Ale | A remarkable example of how yeast can influence beer so drastically. |
| 4 | Cantillon Classic Gueuze | Brasserie Cantillon, Brussels (Anderlecht), Belgium | Gueuze | A very funky gueuze. |
| 5 | Saison Dupont | Brasserie Dupont, Tourpes-Leuze, Belgium | Saison |
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| Top 5: India Pale Ale/Double IPA | ||||
Rank |
Name | Brewery | Style | Comments |
| 1 | Stone Ruination | Stone Brewing Company, Escondido, California | Double IPA | This is an extraordinarily hoppy beer. The hops are so thick and flavorful in the beer you can almost chew it. |
| 2 | Two-Hearted Ale | Bell's Brewery, Kalamazoo, Michigan | American IPA | Not the hoppiest or strongest IPA, but one of the best balanced. The hops have a distinct taste unique from other IPAs (Centennial, I believe). Definitely grows on you. |
| 3 | Founders Red's Rye | Founders Brewing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan | Rye Beer | Listed as a "Rye Beer" on BA, but I don't see any problem considering this under the IPA category since it's a somewhat pale, very hoppy ale. The rye is definitely present but not overwhelming - mostly what comes through is a fainy spicy, grainy taste. This beer is loaded with Amarillo hops which are just beautiful - very citrusy and resinous and plenty bitter. |
| 4 | 90 minute IPA | Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Milton, Delaware | Double IPA | This beer sets the standard for double IPAs. Tons of malt, tons of hops, and enough alcohol in each bottle to enbalm a small dog. |
| 5 | Weyerbacher Double Simcoe | Weyerbacher Brewing Co., Easton, Pennsylvania | Double IPA | SImcoe hops rock. Tastes like pine needles and grapefruit. A very distinct beer. |
| Top 3: Stout (Imperial and otherwise) | ||||
Rank |
Name | Brewery | Style | Comments |
| 1 | Founders Breakfast Stout | Founders Brewing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan | Imperial Stout | |
| 2 | Speedway Stout | AleSmith Brewing Company, San Diego, California | Imperial Stout | |
| 3 | Guinness Extra Stout | Guinness Ltd., Dublin, Ireland | Irish Stout | To anyone who doesn't like Guinness, it is probably because you had it with one of those stupid nitrogen-releasing widgets. As far as I can tell nitrogen kills a beer's flavor. The stuff out of the regular bottle is just perfect. Sour, dry, and not that heavy, contrary to popular belief. |
| Top 3: Maine beers | ||||
Rank |
Name | Brewery | Style | Comments |
| 1 | Allagash Dubbel | |||
| 2 | Geary's Hampshire Special Ale | Geary's Brewing Co., Portland, Maine | English Strong Ale | Brings back such fond memories of Maine. This beer is very similar in taste to a barleywine except lower alcohol and lower hops. Fairly boozy tasting, which I think adds to this beer. Very sniftable. |
| 3 | Coal Porter | Atlantic Brewing Co., Bar Harbor, Maine | Porter | One of my all-time favorite porters, mainly because they didn't shy away from roasted malts. This would be a good beer to drink on an oil rig or maybe a construction site. |
| Top 3: Strong lager (bocks, doppelbocks, baltic porters, etc.) | ||||
Rank |
Name | Brewery | Style | Comments |
| 1 | Ayinger Celebrator | Brauerei Aying, Aying, Germany | Doppelbock | Liquid bread. Very dark, lots of sweet fruit flavors (raisin, plum, molasses) but not cloying like a lot of doppelbocks. Had this one at Flying Saucer in Raleigh. |
| 2 | Kulmbacher Eisbock | Kulmbacher Brauerei AG, Kulmbach, Germany | Eisbock | Like an imperial Celebrator, except sweeter. I like this stuff a lot but is much different from EKU 28, my favorite Eisbock. Whereas EKU 28 is pale and has lots of emphasis on alcohol 'warmth', Kulmbacher is darker and focuses more on malty flavors. If you like malty beers, this one's for you. |
| 3 | Hallertau Imperial Pilsner | Sam Adams, Boston, Massachusetts | Imperial Pilsner | Just packed with resinous noble hop flavor. This thing will really make your toes curl. People that don't like hops will absolutely loathe this beer. A very nice example of the difference between European and American hops. |
| Top 3: Lager | ||||
Rank |
Name | Brewery | Style | Comments |
| 1 | Boston Lager | Sam Adams, Boston, Massachusetts | Vienna Lager | Smooth, malty, and a hint of spicy hops in the background. For me, this is a classic American beer and I think it's freakin' delicious. |
| 2 | ||||
| 3 | ||||
| Top 5: Homebrew | ||||
Rank |
Name | Brewery | Style | Comments |
| 1 | Yeager Pale Ale (YPA) | Corey's house | American IPA | Wish we wrote the recipe down better. Cascade hops come through big time in the aroma but the bitterness was a little one-dimensional. Best part was the color (coppery-red) and the malt flavor. Mashed ~ 10 lbs Maris Otter and whatever specialty grains we could find. A bit overcarbonated though. This stuff didn't last long in my possession. |
| 2 | Improvised witbier | Corey's house | Belgian Witbier | A homebrew miracle. Wanted to make a witbier but we had no yeast or wheat malt. So I went to the grocery store and got about 4 lbs of raw bulghur wheat and wheat germ, mashed that along with 5 lbs pilsner malt, 1 lb wheat malt, and some oats. Mashed all afternoon and wound up with a higher gravity than we predicted! Added some coriander and fresh orange zest, and a dash of lactic acid. Then, pitched onto a giant yeast cake already in a carboy from another beer. Not my favorite style, but this is the best witbier I have ever tasted. This beer was also a miracle in its carbonation speed. We bottled it on a Sunday, my MS thesis defense was on a Friday. By Friday, it was ready! I think the beer knew. |
| 3 | Dema-goddess | Corey's house | Belgian Special Ale | 17% abv. This stuff could kill a donkey. Tastes great, although on the hoppy side in my estimation. Changes every week in the bottle, lately a lot of sour fruity flavors are starting to become more prominent as the beer dries out (been in the bottle for ~4 months). Has a strange side effect of making you want to get in a fight with someone. |
| 4 | Banana-beer | Corey's house | Hefeweizen | Simple hefe but came out great, thanks to the awesome Weihenstephaner yeast we used. Very banana-ey thanks to the yeast (hence the name). Might try fermenting this beer a bit cooler (~68) next time to tame those wild flavors. |
| 5 | Pils v1 | Matt's house | German Pilsener | Nothing but pilsner malt. Did a double decoction and used a blend of four noble hops. Fermented around 50 F for 2 weeks and lagered at 37 F for about 5 weeks. Had a definite lager taste out of the carboy, although now that it is bottled tastes closer to an IPA. Very tasty, but too hoppy, even for a pils. |
| Top 5: Beer available in Peru (aside from Heineken) | ||||
Rank |
Name | Origin | Style | Comments |
| 1 | Cusquena | Cusco, Peru |
Macro lager | Actually a decent beer. Probably wouldn't buy it if I saw it in the US, but for Peru this is the top-shelf stuff. Actually tastes like they used barley in this one. |
| 2 | Pilsen Callao | Lima, Peru | Macro lager | Definitely the best party beer. Crisp and easy to drink, best enjoyed in massive quantities while standing in a circle with friends. Noticeably improves dancing capabilities. |
| 3 | Brahma | Sao Paulo, Brazil | Macro lager | Not as good as Pilsen, but about 3 cents cheaper per bottle on average. |
| 4 | San Juan | Pucallpa, Peru | Macro lager | Very similar to Pilsen, the main difference is that it tastes like they used water straight out of Rio Ucayali to brew it with. |
| 5 | Cristal | Lima, Peru | Macro lager | The only difference between this stuff and water is the color. Makes a good water substitute, particularly if you are in Lima. |
| Top 5: Barleywines, old ales, strong ales | ||||
Rank |
Name | Brewery | Style | Comments |
| 1 | Firestone Twelve | |||
| 2 | Duck-Rabbit Barleywine | Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery, Farmville, North Carolina | American Barleywine | This has something that the other barleywines don't have: a sour-fruit flavor and aroma. Barleywines can be heavy, but this one isn't (but it is darn strong, 11% abv). The 2008 is different than older ones in that it is hoppier and fruitier. |
| 3 | Bigfoot Barleywine-Style Ale | Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Chico, California | American Barleywine | Probably the hoppiest barleywine I've tried. At first taste it is pretty harsh, but you warm up to it. I think I went through a 6 pack of this stuff one night. |
| 4 | Old Stock | |||
| 5 | ||||
| Top 3: Fruit beers, hefeweizens, and otherwise girly beers | ||||
Rank |
Name | Brewery | Style | Comments |
| 1 | Hoegaarden | Brouwerij van Hoegaarden, Hoegaarden, Belgium | Belgian Witbier | Don't get me wrong, this stuff is great. Just make sure to follow it with a Kulminator or Bell's Expedition stout to regain your status as a Man. This is the classic witbier, and is very refreshing. Anyone that drinks it with an orange should be punched though. |
| 2 | Bar Harbor Blueberry ale | Atlantic Brewing Co., Bar Harbor, Maine | Fruit Beer | If it is going to be a blueberry ale, it has to be the Atlantic Brewing version. |
| 3 | Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier | Brauerei Weihenstephan, Freising, Germany | Hefeweizen | Like other hefeweizens, except this one actually has flavor. A distinct banana flavor and smell is noticeable, thanks to their special yeast strain.
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