I can't list ten "world class" beers, but I can tell you that no top ten list is accurate if Deschutes "The Abyss" gets left off:

http://www.deschutesbrewery.com/brew...s/default.aspx

http://beeradvocate.com/lists/popular

(Beer Advocate has it at #11 - what do I know....:-))

Be it cigars, bourbon, food, wine, beer, whatever.....what interests me and holds my attention is complexity of taste. There is no doubt in my mind that The Abyss is hands down the most complex beer I've ever tasted. And, living in the microbrew beervana that the Pacific Northwest is, I've been lucky to taste quite a few of them. Hard to impossible to find (I have my two cases stashed away), but completely unforgettable once you've had it.

It would top my "10 Best" list, without hesitatioin.
[Reply]

Where can I find this? Sounds good!
[Reply]

1. Stone 12th Anni Bitter chocolate oatmeal stout
2. Alpine Duet
3. Alpine Nelson
4. Pliny the Younger
5. Alpine Bad Boy
6. Stone 8th Anni
7. Widmer Brrr!
8. Alpine Pure Hoppiness
9. Alesmith Decadence Imperial Porter
10. Deschutes Mirror Mirror

The Abyss and Pliny Elder are honorable mentions
[Reply]

It doesn't get down South yet but they were just partially acquired by Anhauser-Busch so we may see it in the near future.
[Reply]

Part of the fun is trying different beers, figuring out what you like, and then having that change over time as your palate develops you begin liking more extreme beers (highly hopped, high alcohol, etc).

Just start the way all of us did and start drinking Sam Adams, Guinness, Stella, etc after you're tired of American macro brews. You'll gradually begin to like craft brews and you'll figure out what you like.

No need to skip growing up.
[Reply]

Hope it didn't come in the "vortex" bottle, Scott. :-)
[Reply]

Thanks for all of the lists and advice thus far. I have tried most every American macro brews and am interested in trying the craft or micro brews. I would love to have enough money to just start sampling but I don't. So that is why I am asking for top ten lists so I can start to try those. I could wade through the other forums like what are you Sri king and such but I find it more useful to have you guys make lists that I and others can look at. Thanks thus far and I look forward to drinking these brews.
[Reply]

Another thing to keep costs down is to find a store that has mix and match six packs or sells singles. I assume you are in Arkansas so I looked up stores near Bentonville on Beer Advocate's "Places" page. nothing has been reviewed there but has been in Fayetteville

http://beeradvocate.com/beerfly/list...me&sort=rating

It appears there is a good store called Liquor World

http://www.liquor-world.com/
[Reply]

I have indeed actually! I tried that exact sampler just the other week and was thoroughly surprised at how good the different beers were! To be honest, I didn't even know that Shiner even made different styles of beer other than their Bock! Now I REALLY need to make a trip down to the brewery in Shiner considering I am only a few hours from the brewery!

You are speaking my language!! In case you were wondering, the opposite of "dunkel" is "helles," the two meaning "dark" and "light" in German.
[Reply]

Word has it that some of the BC batches of Sumerian brew were quite good. :-)
[Reply]

Respectfully, I disagree...I think the Abyss and Mirror Mirror are on different levels altogether....and the Abyss is a far superior brew. Like many things in life, YMMV....
[Reply]

Truth but I'll play the game for a bit

1. Three Floyds Dreadnaught
2. DFH World Wide Stout
3. Rochefort Trappistes 10
4. Aventinus
5. Stones Double Bastard
6. Three Floyds Robert the Bruce
7. Stones Russian Imperial Stout
8. Stones Vertical Epic 10.10.10
9. DFH 120 Minute IPA
10. DFH Palo Santo

Pretty much anything Stones, Three Floyds or DFH.
[Reply]

That is part of what makes beer, and cigars so enjoyable. Some of the beers I listed I drink on a regular basis and some of those I have only tried a few times, but perhaps it is where I was and who I was with when enjoying them that put them on my list....much like cigars at a herf.

Mirror Mirror on the first day of SD Beer Week 09, on my first trip to the Stone Brewery, eating boar ribs and talking beer/cigars with the headbrewmasters of Stone and Green Flash. That Mirror Mirror straight from the tap was better, to me, than the 2 Abyss I drank at my brothers house at Xmas time.

I read the title of the thread and gave my top 10. Anyone who says that they have a definitive list of the "best ever" or an absolute top 10 is full of creosote. :-) :-)

:-)
[Reply]

sorry if that came off as snippy. I am horrible at saying what i mean when typing. :-)
[Reply]

Didn't sound "snippy" and there's no worries on this side of the keyboard; differences in taste are what make these types of discussions interesting.

....but I still like The Abyss WAY better.....:-)

Have fun - N.F.H.
[Reply]

One of the biggest things I notice about the lists here is how regional many of them are. Many of the breweries listed on the lists of others are beers I haven't had access to at this point. For many people a better question might be What are the ten best beers distributed in MY STATE HERE?

I see nothing by Allagash, a great farmhouse style brewery in Maine that doesn't travel too far. Kate the Great ought to make someones list but again, that gets carried by hand out of New Hampshire. It's hard to get your hands on Hill Farmstead even in Vermont, but the beers coming out of Greensboro are amazing.

That said I like beer too much to pick 10, you'd probably just get the last 10 beers I drank. I might be able to do it if we limited it by style. And, I like reading the lists of others because at least it lets me know what I should look to get my hands on when I do travel.
[Reply]

Excellent point.
fwiw - we have a decent variety of Allagash available here in San Diego.
[Reply]

Case in point - When I have traveled to other parts of the country and asked for what kind of Sierra Nevada beers the bar/restaurant carry.
I'm usually told, "The only kind... Pale Ale!"

For you who think SN Pale Ale is the sh!t... It is not their best by a long shot!

At any given time Sierra Nevada has 7 to 8 bottled beers out!

BTW - I don't drink Pale Ale unless I'm traveling!
[Reply]

well said!

I grew up in Seattle (Red Hook, Pyramid) and now live in SDiego and haven't traveled too far from the westcoast, so my list is definitely from a certain region.
[Reply]

Had no idea. I've visited San Diego a bunch of times and never noticed it. I figured it was only the east coast that got it. Much like the Sierra Pale don't judge Allagash by the white.
[Reply]