Top 5: Beers I Love

Hooray, subjectivity!

Beers are funny, like lots of other things, in that what might be my absolute favorite beer could be one that you'd think is, well, shit.

And on that note, I present the Top 5 beers that I'll always order.

#5: Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
Mmm... A fine, fine beer. It's rich and smooth and probably has more flavor than any other beer I've ever enjoyed. Sometimes, the flavors in a beer can overwhelm and ruin the enjoyment of it. But not so with Sierra. I know this is going to sound funny and perhaps cliched, but I can drink Sierra after Sierra and not get sick of it. It just keeps going down.

#4: Guinness
Brilliant! (Ok, that was lame. Sue me.) Whenever I'm out with a group of people and I order a Guinness, one person always scrunches up their nose and says something like, "I don't know how you can drink that stuff." And I'll tell you all something: it's an acquired taste, plain and simple. The first time I ever drank a Guinness I couldn't stand it. And then I started combining it with Woodpecker Cider, in a drink that has a different name depending on which bar you order it at. And more and more, I grew to love my Guinness. Now I wouldn't even think of pairing it with something else. Perhaps it's a common selection for a list such as this, as it's one of the most popular beers in the world, but, well, too bad.

#3: Brooklyn Lager
Whenever I have a friend come into town for a visit, I always make sure to bring them somewhere to try out a Brooklyn, the showpiece beer of the Brooklyn Brewery. Located in a neighborhood that was once one of the busiest brewing neighborhoods in the country, the single best place to taste this beer is at the brewery itself. Open on Friday nights and Saturday afternoons it's the freshest version of a damned tasty beer you're going to get your hands on. My friends and I make Saturday trips to the brewery every couple of months, armed with a deck of UNO cards and an appetite for cheap beer and ordered-in pizza. If you're in town visiting, make this a stop on your touring. If you're a local to NYC and haven't been, shame on you.

#2: Hoegaarden
This is a funny beer... Not in the way it tastes, but in how much it polarizes people. For one thing, it's near-fluorescent yellow color scares away so-called "beer drinkers." Add to that the slice of lemon that's traditionally served with it, and most just assume it's a fruit-flavored, or girly (if you'll excuse the term), drink. It's not. When served from a fresh keg (and unfortunately, sometimes it sits around too long and the kegs get stale) it has a sharp and crisp taste with just a little bit of citrus. For me, served ice-cold, it's the perfect summer beer. More and more bars seem to have it these days, and at any bar that calls themselves a brew-pub or whatever they're bound to have the Belgian gem. A great little piece of tradition: the first Hoegaarden of the day should be fully consumed in a mere 3 gulps.

#1: Paulaner Hefe-Weissbier
So here it is. Number One. It was a tight race between Paulaner and Hoegaarden, and if you know both of these beers there are strong similarities between them. Both are unfiltered wheat beers, both tend to be served with a lemon wedge (at least in the US; never in Germany). But you'll rarely get the funny looks from the Bud-drinkers among your group for drinking Paulaner. It looks like a normal beer, just cloudy. But it tastes much more rich than you're likely used to. Hefeweizen is a style of German beer, and between my beer drinking around here and on my trips to Germany, Paulaner's is the best I've had. Also becoming more and more common around town, it should be easy to find. It gets top spot here on this list simply due to the fact that it's remained among my group of greatly-loved beers for the longest of any of the 5 here today. Beers come and go for all of us, it's a trend/streak thing or a mood thing or a seasonal thing, but Paulaner's Hefe-Weissbier has stuck through everything.

Comments

[Jen]

Horray subjectivity indeed!

I was surprised to see Sierra on your list. I heart Sierra, but I'm no beer expert. It's great because it's everywhere and it's tasty. I was expecting to see some more esoteric selections than those that you included. I expected to at least see some snotty Chimay-type selections.

Has Fat Tire made its way to the east coast? I believe it's a Denver beer. It's hugely popular in SF and has become my house beer. I tasted it against Sierra once (alas, not a blind taste test) and I preferred the Fat Tire. They're quite similar though.

[Jordan]

Chimay is alright, but it's not a favorite. I'll drink it if I'm in a Belgian restaurant or something, but that's about it. I don't want into a bar & order up a Chimay.

I don't think Fat Tire is here, but I've tried it somewhere while travelling. Can't remember where for the life of me.

Perhaps one day I'll write a list of regional beers I like.