Since I started the thread, I get the privilege of posting the first reply.
I have a hard time picking a single favorite style, but if forced I'd pick india pale ale. Hops are glorious. Fantastic. Amazing. A good IPA is like a good woman - rich, complex and satisfying. Makes you want more.
Stone Brewing Company's Ruination IPA is unbelievable. It's brewed in California and I'm on the east coast, so for the longest time I couldn't get it. They didn't distribute it in this area. It remained but a fantasy. But in the past two months, joy of joys, it's finally here! And it's worth the wait. It has the best aroma I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing. It's like lying in a bed of freshly-cut flowers while on LSD. The taste? Well, it's beyond words. If I had to pick a single beer to have for the rest of my life, it'd be Ruination IPA.
Fortunately though, I don't have to pick a single beer. I have choice. I've been quite into dark beers like porters and stouts lately. I picked up a six of Duck-Rabbit Brewery's Russian Imperial Stout last night, and I have to say it's very good. The aroma is fantastic and initial flavor is very deep, with strong flavors of roasted nuts and chocolate balanced with a nice bitter background. The finish however is a little bit disappointing - a bit too sour and sharp. Brooklyn's Double Chocolate Stout is so goddamned good I nearly fell out of my chair when I first tried it on tap. Weyerbacher's Old Heathen Imperial Stout is much the same. Fuller's London Porter is very nice as well.
Stone Brewing is, in my experience, the best brewer in this country right now. Not just Ruination, but Arrogant Bastard. Oaked Arrogant Bastard. Double Bastard. Oaked Double Bastard. Even their basic Pale Ale is fantastic - so well balanced.
Mendocino Brewing's Eye of the Hawk Select Ale has been a standby for a while now. It's often on sale in my area (about $7/six pack) and for that price almost can't be beaten. It has a very nice caremely malt flavor backed up by a substantial, but not overpowering, hoppiness. It's also 8% ABV, so I'm feelin' good after just one. Anchor Steam's Liberty Ale is a great beer. Nice floral hoppiness on the nose, but a sharp hoppiness on the tongue. Nicely balanced and drinkable.
On the other hand, I bought a single bottle of Belhaven's Wee Heavy a couple weeks ago and was a bit disappointed. It was decent, but not as good as I was expecting. I suspect it may have been a bit less than fresh. I prefer Belhaven's basic Scotch Ale - it's deep, honey, caremely malt flavor is very distinctive.
There are so many great breweries in the US that I can't do them justice here. Quality beer here in America has just exploded in the past 10-15 years, and the art of craft brewing has gotten to a level that rivals the best breweries in Belgium, Britain and Germany. The whole notion of "American beer sucks" just isn't true anymore. That said, many of the best beers are adaptations of already-existing styles, so we must pay homage to our European forebears.
I definitely would like to travel to Europe someday in the not-too-distant future, and beer will be a focus of my journey. I'd like to try a pint of Guinness in a pub in Dublin, because my experience of it here has been nothing other than poor. In fact I can say that for me, Guinness is crap. It's dull, weak and watery. The flavor just isn't good. I've heard that it's because Guinness doesn't travel well, so I'm not saying it's outright worthless. I'm hoping to change my opinion when I sample a proper fresh pint. I'd like to try a proper bitter out a real draught keg in England, as is the true way. None of this CO2-powered nonsense - real ale out of a proper pump-style draught keg is a thing of beauty, but unfortunately it's almost impossible to find here.
The next stop would be, naturally, Belgium. Chimay red label. Chimay blue label. Maredsous. Westvleteren. Oh god. Belgian beers are wonderful. Trappist monks know how to live. After England, Scotland and Belgium I'd probably be too drunk to even stumble into Germany. But I'd do it, for the good of humanity. Oktoberfest in Munich is my Mecca, even though I'm less familiar with German styles than any other. I'd like to learn, and what better way is there than firsthand?
Damn, I need a beer.
