Current Top 10ish List

My Top 10ish List now contains 13 beers.

Additions since last list: De Stolle Stille Nacht, Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine Style Ale, and Trappistes Rochefort 10

Deletions since last list: Bell's Expedition Stout

Beer: 10
Brewer: Trappistes Rochefort
Style: Quadruple
Previous review
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Beer: Bigfoot Barleywine Style Ale
Brewer: Sierra Nevada
Style: American Barleywine
Previous reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4
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Beer: “Finest Kind” IPA

Brewer: Smuttynose

Style: IPA

Previous review

Dates on which reviewers at Beeradvocate rated it as one of the best beers on the planet: 29 December 2005. (Not on10 March 2007 and 8 February 2009.)

Beer: Gueuze 1882 Black Label
Brewer: Girardin
Style: Gueuze
Tasting notes: (3) A bottle purchased about 2 years ago. Tart, complex, funky. Less lemon than I remember. Almost quaffable. Still the best. (2) Lemon, vinegar, and apple cider. Each sip causes salivation. (1) Sour and tart but doesn't take away your breath. Sort of a fizzy lemon cider.
Dates on which reviewers at Beeradvocate rated it as one of the best beers on the planet: 10 March 2007 and 8 February 2009. (Not on 29 December 2005.)
Comments: May be my favorite of all.

Beer: Gueuze
Brewer: Cantillon
Style: Gueuze
Tasting notes: Tart and funky.
Dates on which reviewers at Beeradvocate rated it as one of the best beers on the planet: 10 March 2007 and 8 February 2009. (Not on 29 December 2005.)
Comments: May be my all-time favorite but I'll wait till I taste Giradin again.

Beer: Harvest Ale aged in Calvados Cask (Calvados is French Apple Brandy.)

Brewer: J.W. Lees

Style: English Barleywine

Previous reviews: 1, 2.

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Beer: Hefeweissbier

Brewer: Weihenstephaner

Style: Hefe Weizen

Tasting notes: (6) Fruity w/ lemon up front and cloves and pepper at finish. Flavorful, quaffable, and light. Less banana than I remembered. (5) Last of a 6er. Sorry to see it go. (4) Upgraded from highly recommended. Light yet flavorful. The PERFECT summer beer? (3) Still great. (2) 2 330-ml bottles from VWB. Great. Refreshing and flavorful. Terrific with lemon-pepper fish. (1) Cloves and banana from the oldest brewery in the world. A light and tasty complement to a summertime dinner al fresco.

Dates on which reviewers at Beeradvocate rated it as one of the best beers on the planet: 29 December 2005, 10 March 2007 and 8 February 2009.

Beer: 120 Minute IPA

Brewer: Dogfish Head

Style: Double IPA

Tasting Notes: A BIG english barleywine. Sweet raisin mash w/ bitter hops fighting to emerge followed by big alcohol blast. A 2+ hr. sipper.

Dates on which reviewers at Beeradvocate rated it as one of the best beers on the planet: Not on 29 December 2005, 10 March 2007 or 8 February 2009.

Beer: Saison Deluxe

Brewer: Southampton

Style: Saison

Tasting Notes: (5) Second and last bottle purchased two years ago. Wonderful, citrus, spicy. Downgraded from my favorite. Didn't make me go WOW. May have been because I was rushed or that the beer followed a Golden Ale. (4) A bottle purchased one year ago. A delight. Massive head, wonderful effervescence, complex citrus and apple flavors with some sour funk and a nice touch of hops. May be better w/ yeast: orange flavor comes forward and the hops recede. Upgraded to my favorite. (2) Another bottle @ Mekong. I love this beer. Tingly effervescence, tangy spiciness, citrus flavor, balanced dryness with a touch of sour. (1) A bottle @ Mekong. Massive head. Lovely straw-orange color. Taste is light and dry, with citrus, lemon rind, apple, complex spiciness, and a touch of funk. Eminently quaffable, quenching, and clearing. May be my all-time favorite.

Dates on which reviewers at Beeradvocate rated it as one of the best beers on the planet: Not on 29 December 2005, 10 March 2007, or 8 February 2009.

Beer: Sanctification

Brewer: Russian River

Style: American Wild Ale

Tasting notes: (2) Very nice. Lemony, sour, funky Belgian Pale Ale. Upgraded from Recommended w/ qualifications to highly recommended. Then upgraded to top 10ish list a few days later. I could not get the taste out of my mind. (1) Wow. Sour pale ale? Different and refreshing and gueze-like.

Beer: Stille Nacht

Brewer: De Dolle

Style: Belgian Strong Dark Ale

Previous review

Dates on which reviewers at Beeradvocate rated it as one of the best beers on the planet: Not on 29 December 2005, 10 March 2007, or 8 February 2009.

Comments: I want to buy more and age it longer. Stille Nacht is the brewer's Christmas beer.

Beer: Vigneronee
Brewer: Cantillon
Style: Fruit Lambic
Tasting notes: A slightly tamer(?) version of Girardin Gueuze. May be better?
Dates on which reviewers at Beeradvocate rated it as one of the best beers on the planet: Not 10 on 29 December 2005, March 2007 or 8 February 2009.
Comments: The brewer soaks Muscat grapes in lambic beer to make Vigneronee.

Beer: Yeti Imperial Stout
Brewer: Great Divide
Style: Imperial Stout
Tasting notes: A "fresh" bottle. Chocolate filled the air upon pour. Chocolate taste, followed by more chocolate. As the beer warmed the taste when from sweet to bittersweet chocolate and bitter piney hop finish emerged. Went gr8 w/ fudgie brownie and french vanilla ice cream.
Dates on which reviewers at Beeradvocate rated it as one of the best beers on the planet: 29 December 2005, 10 March 2007, and 25 November 2008