While the spice of variety is what makes the world of craft beer so mysterious and fun, there's always a style you enjoy and your favorite example of such. Personally, I'm a saison guy. They're crisp, fruity, spicy and complex. Goose Island Sofie is a personal fav. It's tart, with a crisp green apple flavor. It's super drinkable. Anyway, what about the other BA's out there?
I'm a saison guy too. But I favor Saison Dupont. It's what really got me into this crazy game to begin with, to be completely honest.
Hard to name a specific "style" in my mind. I love so many, and while Russian imperial stout is listed as my favorite, the styles I find myself consuming the most of are American pale and German pils. I like a good session brew, and these are what join me on many of my voyages.
For a while Saisons were on the endangered styles list. Now the US brewers have grabbed it and turned the style upside down (barrel aging, sour, ultra funky). Not saying that is bad, because I love it. The same with my favorite style. Scotch Ales/Wee Heavy. American brewers have turned it into something different than what it was in Scotland, which again I love. Now it is more super alcoholic on the leval of a barleywine that can be barrel aged, or uses smoked malt of some kind. Anyway my favorite Wee Heavy is Traquair House Ale or Jacobite Ale. Silver City Fat Scotch Ale and Fat Woody are just as good though.
Oh man this is tough. I can't narrow it down to a single one so I will say: Quad- rochefort 10 Imperial stout- the abyss (fan of 2011) Hefe- Weihenstephaner Am I a bad person for giving 3 styles instead of 1, probably
I'm 50/50 IPA and Stout. My favorites are: Alesmith IPA & Sonoran Inebriator Stout (a local brew in AZ)
Weihenstephaner was my first "true" induction into good beer and anything from the brewery is world-class. Really great example of a weizen.
Can't pick just one, it changes with the seasons. And for me, the beer of the summer season is Saison, for which Tank 7 is my favorite example of a hoppy Saison and Victory Helios is my favorite example of a dry spicy Saison. Spring is the IPA/IIPA, with Short's Huma Lupa Licious and Heady Topper filling out their respective categories. Winter is the Impy Stout, the favorite being Founder's Breakfast Stout. Autumn is, well, don't have one yet. Maybe wet hop IPA or smoked porter.
Im an IPA guy, Union Jack is my favorite year round offering. I love Pumpkin Ales in Fall: Smuttynose & Pumpking are good.
Czech Pils is the style I will always come back to. And the best example of that as far as I am concerned is Sierra Nevada Summerfest. I always have some on hand this time of year.
I'm going to cop out and just say Belgian. Also going to cop out on the example and say the one in front of me.
Imperial Stouts - Founders (Imperial, FBS, KBS, CBS), Courage Russian Imperial, Bell's Expedition, New Holland's Night Tripper, BCBS (I've only had Coffee and Bramble), Southern Tier's Choklat and Creme Brulee, etc, etc.
I'm an IPA nut and a BA aged stout.Porter/Scotch Ale nut. Heady, Flower Power, Alpine KBS for a Stout Backwoods Bastard which I may like more than KBS.
It's really strange to call myself a 'Flanders Red Ale guy', but I'd be lying if I said it's not my favorite style. I know they're not sessionable, but in a way they're always a 'turn-to'. While I've been trying as many examples as I can over the years, Rodenbach Grand Cru hits home.
I love pumpkin ales and Punkin/Pumking are neck and neck. Elysian also has an awesome lineup of pumpkin ales...ugh...hard to choose one but I drink an awful lot of Punkin so I'll go with that.
Barleywine is my favorite style, but I also drink alot of Saisons, IPA's, and RIS' BW- Insanity, Monster, Harpoon Leviathan, Sucaba Saison- Smuttynose Farmhouse Ale, Pretty Things Jack D'or and Field Mouse Farewell, Hennepin IPA- Flower Power, 2XIPA, Big A IPA, or whatever is freshest RIS- ST Imperial Series, Black Chocolate Stout, Old Raspy, Old Fat Dog, Gonzo Imperial Porter (it's a stout)
I have two diverse styles and my favorites: Scotch Ales - Backwoods Bastard (on tap) & Alesmith Wee Heavy (Bottle) Belgian IPAs - Houblon Chouffe
My favorite style is also Saison and while I love many of them (DuPont, Fantome, Jack D'Or, BK Sorachi Ace, Boulevard Saison Brett), Hennepin is my favorite of the bunch. So complex yet easy to drink IMO and always readily available in my neck of the woods. For some reason, after trying it many times, I just do not like Sofie. I know it gets rave reviews but I just flat out dislike it. Different strokes as they say!
Personally, I didn't like fresh Sofie. However after a year plus of age at a warm ambient temperature it turned out to be much drier and overall delicious.
I don't have a favorite style. My fridge is typically stocked with about 15 styles, determined by what's available, quality, freshness, and price. I think the universe of beer is just too big to have a single favorite style, although infatuations are understandable.
For me, simplicity rules. I like dunkels and kellerbier. Straight ahead maltiness and drinkability. Give me a Mahr's U or Augustiner Dunkel and I'm a happy guy.
Cross between 2 styles... Straight American Porter - Founders Porter DIPA - Hill Farmstead Double Galaxy
IPA - the ones I make Yellow Lager - was Glissade (rip), now SN Summerfest, Spaten, St. Pauli Girl, Pilsner Urquell, and whatever other imports I can find (which is getting harder and harder) for less than $1.50 /btl. Porter/Stout - Sinebrychoff, Ipswich Oatmeal Stout
Barleywines. American/English, Barrel Aged. Ill take em all down. Give me some more Wooden Hell, King Henry, BA Hi-Fi, Abacus, Mirror Mirror Cheers!
My go-to style is a porter and right now Ballast Point's Victory at Sea has set the bar VERY high. I recently discovered Napa Smith's Bonfire which is a good solid brew and worthy of a bottle or two to always have in stock.
I've never had Victory at Sea, but I absolutely LOVE their black Marlin porter, and I never hear anyone talk about it. It's one of my top 3 porters. But let me get this straight - is there a basic version of 'Victory at Sea"? I see listed on here a barrel aged version, a peppermint version, candy cane version, vanilla, etc. Which are people normally referring to when they just say "Victory at Sea" ...the "coffee vanilla" variety? Looks like that's the most commonly reviewed.
I love a good Dooplebock and I will say my fave within the Style is Korbinian - widely available, reasonably priced (two things that are starting to get harder&harder to come by in craft beer) and oh so delicious!
I find US porters miss the mark, the notable exception being Anchor Porter...world class. Otter Creek's Smokestack Porter is maybe even better than Anchor's, although Otter Creek exhibits no where near the quality/consistency of Anchor. Smuttynose's Robust Porter is (was?) excellent, but quality/consistency is an issue again. If I want a porter I reach for Taddy...Recently taking a liking to Porterhouse's Plain Porter, on tap.
Try La Rossa. La Rossa is quite a refined DB, sometimes my subconscious tells me it's better than the Germans.
The one I had was the coffee vanilla. It's the only one I've ever encountered, so I tend to forget that they've had other interpretations. So far, with Ballast Point, I've only had VAS and Sea Monster (both absolutely solid,) so now I'm on determined to go beyond and see what else they have (up next is actually Black Marlin!)
Anchor Porter was the beer that started it all for me. It's been awhile, so I'll have to revisit the old friend.
Weizenbock - Weihenstephaner Vitus IPA - Firestone Walker Union Jack & Racer 5 + Green Flash (draft only)
