Over at The Brew Site, Jon is currently in the midst of a multi-post series on "Fifty Beers to Drink Before You Die." I'm not totally clear on the methodology--the fifty beers I want to try before I die would not be the fifty I think you should try. Since I've already sampled a handful of transcendent beers, I would of course urge everyone to try those; on the other hand, I suspect there are at least fifty more that might make my short list if I could track 'em down.
So in a variant to Jon's enterprise, I'll offer up a game I've played with friends in the past: You're on a desert island and you can have five cases of any beer; which would they be? In beer drinking, we tend to appreciate more beers than we love. On a desert island, you only take your loved ones. Which would you take?
I'll ponder and answer in the comments.
My purpose is more along the lines of, 50 beers "everyone" should try. The beauty of it is, it's totally subjective, and I'm going to ask some of the other beer bloggers (you among them) what their picks would be... and run those, too, probably. :) By and large, these aren't necessarily the 50 I would pick only for myself, either.
ReplyDeleteDesert island... are these 5 cases of the same beer, or a case each of 5 different beers? Hmmmmmmm....
I think it would be fun if people listed at least their top 20 beers that everybody should try!
ReplyDeleteThis 50 beer list is fairly lame and based VERY loosely on the best of different beer styles...
But, If I wanted to say what is teh best HefeWeizen produced in the world, Widmer's bastardized and boring wheat(y) beer would not make any list. Maybe Spaten Franzikaner (SP).
Nor would Guiness make the high chart for a Stout, even an Irish Stout, but that is a sunjective choice.... I would pick Beamish, but someone else might say Murphey's, to each his own. Maybe that's the lession in these lists or should I say, waste of TIME making these lists, they're all sunjective to ones personal palate. Unless it's done by controled groups! That would be fun!
The average joe top 50 beers:
2 cases of BUD and an extra couple bottles...
But what would the Yuppie's top 50 be? Or the beer enthusiasts vs the basic homebrewer vs the connosier beer guy vs professional brewer.... Those might be interesting lists.... ;-}
Anybody have a thought on this??
Jeffery?
Are these 5 cases of the same beer, or a case each of 5 different beers?
ReplyDeleteThey're your five cases, if you want them all to be the same beer, go man go. Generally, we play that five is about the bare minimum in which you could find enough diversity to satisfy your needs.
As I sit here now, the five that come to mind--which may change five minutes from now--are Guinness Extra Stout (I agree with DBT that Beamish is the best 4% version, but I wouldn't take it to my island), Boon Lambic (though if it were Cantillon instead, I wouldn't kick it off the island), Saison Dupont (Lord have mercy, but Hennepin is almost as good), Full Sail Pale (because you have to have one easy-drinking ale; I could go with a Roots, a Deschutes, Caldera, probably four or five others), and Pliny the Elder.
ReplyDeleteI would sorely miss BridgePort IPA, Shakespeare Stout, Delirium Tremens...okay, now I see why Jon went with fifty.
Let's see... I'd match your Saison Dupont, definitely. The other four I'd pick are... Stone Ruination IPA, Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale Ale, Celebrator Doppelbock, and, uh... Samuel Smith's Imperial Stout, I think.
ReplyDeleteMine are:
ReplyDeleteRoots Red
Terminal Gravity IPA (Or Dogfish 90 Minute IPA) - when I need a big beer
Rogue Mocha Porter
Full Sail Session - when I just need to wet my whistle
and my friend Chris' homebrewed Scottish Ale.
Yep.
OK.... I had to think about it for awhile... and yes, my selection can change at any moment... Here would be my current choices:
ReplyDeleteLa Moneuse Farm Ale (Saison)- Belgium. Wallonia
Damnation (Strong Belgian Blonde)- Russian River brewing Co. Santa Rosa, CA
Racer 5 (IPA) - Bear Republic Brewing Co. Healdsberg, CA
Bell's Expedition Stout - Bell's brewing CO. Kallamazoo, Michigan
Dick's Best Bitter - Dick's Brewing CO. Centralia, Washington
Well, desert islands tend to be pretty warm, so the beer I take isn't going to keep very long. It should also taste okay at warmer than normal temperatures.
ReplyDeleteHere's my list in the order I'd drink it (coldest to warmest).
1. Bridgeport IPA (x2)
2. Deschutes Inversion IPA (x1)
3. Full Sail Amber (x1)
4. Sheaf Stout (x1)
I see alot of people have lots-O IPA's! Maybe you guys have a different processing system than me..... If I imbibe that many IPA's without substanial food, I'd going to be SHOOTING POO like there's no tomorrow! ;-}
ReplyDelete...and without proper toilet paper on that desert island, those leaves would be chaffing my bunghole pretty bad!
:-O
My 5:
ReplyDeleteRogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar
Rogue Morimoto Soba Ale
Hair of the Dog Adam
Widmer Snow Plow Milk Stout
Adnams Broadside