*The Good, The Not-So-Bad & The Hoppy*
This list will be added to over time. Look for spartan tasting notes as many of these are off of memory. My obvious style choice is IPA. I love the clean body, the complex structure, the floral and citrus notes, and hops, hops, hops! I love the distinct, clean grapefruit of some IPA's that lets you know that you have arrived at IPA nirvana. Although breweries like Deschutes have managed to effect flavors like caramel in their IPA's. While others have nuanced the nutty and the toasty. Belgian Trappiste-styles are a close second. I am a big fan of seasonal ales, especially the colder months, as winter is my season of choice. I am into Porters a bit. My tastes expand almost daily. You will notice multiple beers from one company. That is because breweries like Stone (CA), Deschutes (OR), Sierra Nevada (CA), Big Sky (MT), Rogue (OR) and New Belgium (CO) just know how to make great beer in all styles.
NOTE: The first 5 beers are numbered and very special! They are numbered in the proper order! This list is negotiable based upon further review, but #1 is set forever, I don't think it can ever be replaced.
That said, I have 2 other categories:
1) "Must-Haves" which are top beers in their style AND overal
2)"Sentimental Beers" which are beers that I do not really drink anymore but either got me into "real beer", or represented a "Zeitgeist": A spirit of a certain time and/or moment in my life
Stranded-On-A-Desert-Island-Beers
#1 - Stone Ruination IPA
#2 - Big Sky Brewing IPA
#3 - 10 Barrel S1NISTOR Black Ale
#4 - Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere Harvest IPA
#5 - Stone Cali-Belgique IPA
Must-Haves
Big Sky Moose Drool
Alaskan Winter Ale
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale
New Belgium Ranger IPA
New Belgium Hoptober
Flag Porter 1825 Original
Elysian "The Immortal" IPA
Deschutes Inversion IPA
Deschutes Black Butte Porter
Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale Ale
Deschutes Jubelale
Duvel
Chimay Cinq-Cents
Paulaner Hefe-Weissbier
Ninkasi Total Domination IPA
Ninkasi Tricerahops Double IPA
Rogue Hazelnut
Rogue Shakespeare Oatmeal Stout
Four Peaks Hop Knot IPA
Sentimental Choices
Widmer Broken Halo IPA
Red Hook Long Hammer IPA
Breckenridge Vanilla Porter
Tecate Light (only a couple people should get this one..love ya kristin and toby)
