It’s been five years since my last blog post. Been busy, life happens, and unfortunately adulting needed to be done.
So, for my (non)triumphant return, I figured I’d write about beer. 🙂 More specifically, which beers make up my perfect 6-pack. Not all six are necessarily my favorite beers on the planet, but they still make up my perfect 6-pack. If that makes any sense.
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale Chico, CA
Now this IS my favorite beer. The O.G. If I had to pick one beer – and only one beer – to drink the rest of my life, it would be Sierra Pale Ale. It’s perfect any time of the year, on any occasion, and you can find it anywhere. Bars, grocery stores, restaurants, craft beer places…doesn’t matter. The greatest balance of taste, bitterness, ABV, and drinkability. Not too light, not too strong. It’s perfect.
Escutcheon Brewing Habermehl’s Oktoberfest Winchester, VA
Marzens are my favorite beer style and Escutcheon’s Oktoberfest is my favorite of that style. Great malt, great drinkability, ton and tons of flavor. It’s only available in the taproom, so you’ll need to buy more than a few growlers to take home. Definitely worth a trip to Winchester.
Goose Island Bourbon County Stout Chicago, IL
I’m going to catch major flack for this one, but it is what it is. THIS. IS. MY. FAVORITE. STOUT. Period. I love barrel-aged heavy stouts and this is the best. I’ve tried others on numerous occasions, and I keep coming back and comparing them to this one. No other stout I’ve tried balances the richness, sweetness, boldness, and flavor into a magic elixir like Goose Island does with this beer. No one. ABInBev has fucked up a lot of their beers, but thankfully not this one.
The Olde Mecklenberg Brewery Captain Jack Pilsner Charlotte, NC
We’ll just shorten it to OMB. This is my favorite pilsner. Smooth, unbelievably flavorful with good bitterness, and very drinkable at only 4.8%, this is IMHO the greatest pilsner on the planet. I love german-style beer, and they definitely do it right.
Great Lakes Brewing Dortmunder Gold Lager Cleveland, OH
A staple in my fridge, this is another one of those beers I can drink anywhere, anytime, any season. A little sweet, a hint of hops, and refreshing. A great example of a dortmunder and unequivocally Cleveland.
Masthead Brewing IPA Cleveland, OH
This is not my favorite IPA, but for some reason when I’m in the mood for an American IPA, I seem to always reach for it. This IPA has great hop flavor with Simcoe and Mosaic hops, but not too much to give you “hop burn” and be too bitter. It’s also not trendy with 10x dry hopping which turns out to just be nasty. I love Masthead and I love this beer.
Honorable Mention: Troegs Nimble Giant, Ardent Pilsner, Crooked Run Coast Pilsner, Crooked Run Vain, Smartmouth Game On IPA, Sierra Nevada Narwhal, Sierra Nevada Southern Gothic, Triple Crossing Jubilee Bier, Guinness Draught
Rants and Raves 