Belt's Beer Garden: Top 5 List

First off, Merry Christmas everyone!

For this week's installment, instead of reviewing a couple of beers, the main reviewers (myself, Norm Miller, and Carter Adler) wanted to share our list of top beers in a range of categories. These are the brews we hope to find in our presents today.

Before we begin, Carter wanted to make a brief statement:

I'd like to make a special shout out to the recently defunct (closed this summer) Indigo Imp, which did small-batch open fermentation in shallow tanks (for more exposure) in Cleveland. The brewery in general, and their Blonde Bombshell in particular, would have been in my top five if they were still around.

I'd also like to share a fun and tasty beer combo, "The Double Barrel", a 50/50 mix of Alltech's Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale and the less-widely-distributed Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Stout.

Thanks, Dave, for pushing us all to keep drinking more good beer!

- Carter Adler

For this we simply created a list of categories and ranked our top-5 brews in each one. Some of us didn't have five for each category and so just listed our favorites that we had tried. The categories are as follows; Top Breweries, Best Overall Beers, IPAs, Pale Ales, Saison, Amber/Reds, Lager, Pilsner, Pale Wheat, Witbier, Hefeweizen, Porter, Stout, Fruit, Brown Ale, Blonde Ale, and Specialty brews.

We'll start with the best selling style in the world...IPAs.

Top 5 Beer List
Style: IPA	Dave	Norm	Carter
1	Russian River - Pliny the Elder	Surly - Abrasive	Great Lakes - Chillwave Double IPA
2	Maine Beer Co - Another One	Russian River - Pliny the elder	Short's - Huma Lupa Licious
3	10 Barrel - Apocalypse IPA	Pipeworks - Square Grouper	West Sixth - Heller Heaven Double IPA
4	Austin Beer Works - Fire Eagle	Pipeworks - Citra Ninja	West Sixth - IPA
5	Breakwater - Del Mar Jetty	Three Floyds - Permanent Funeral	Columbus Brewing - Dalton

Next up the Pale Ale.

Top 5 Beer List
Style: Pale Ale	Dave	Norm	Carter
1	Maine Beer Co - Mo	Three Floyds - Zombie Dust	Arbor - Ypsi Gypsy Pale Ale
2	Odd Side Ales - Citra Pale Ale	Half Acre - Daisy Cutter	The Brew Kettle - Four C's American Pale Ale
3	Maplewood - The Charlatan	Lagunitas - Equinox	Founders - Zuper Hophead
4	Marz - The Machine	Two Brothers - Sidekick
5	Maine Beer Co - Peeper	Three Floyds - Alpha King

After the Pale Ales, it tis the Saison:

Top 5 Beer List
Style: Saison	Dave	Norm	Carter
1	Dogfish/Stone/Victory - Saison du BUFF	Brasserie Dupont Spl - Saison Dupont
2	Arcana - SD Saigeson	Bruery Terreux - Saison Rue
3	Perennial - Saison de Lis	Boulevard Brewing - Tank 7
4	Epic - Sour Apple Saison	Off Color - Apex Predator
5	Allagash - Saison	Backcountry Brewery - Imperial Saison

Amber Ales are our next category:

Top 5 Beer List
Style: Amber/Red	Dave	Norm	Carter
1	Maine Beer Co - Red Wheelbarrow	Three Floyd's - Amber Smashed Face	New Belgium - Fat Tire
2	21st Amendment - Toaster Pastry	Pipeworks -Blood of the Unicorn	Chelsea Alehouse - Amber Ale
3	Maine Beer Co - Zoe	Emmett's - Red Ale
4	Beer Republic - Red Rocket	One Trick Pony - Stormcat
5	Half Acre - Ginger Twin	Sierra Nevada - Nooner Pilsner

Next up: the top-5 lagers:

Top 5 Beer List
Style: Lager	Dave	Norm	Carter
1	Ale Syndicate - Roe's Hill		Sam Adams - Winter Lager
2	Leinenkugel - IPL		Blue Stallion - Munich Dunkel
3	Sierra Nevada - Beer Camp Hoppy Lager (2015)		Hudepohl - Amber Lager
4	Short's - MMMKay		Great Lakes - Dortmunder Gold
5	Wisconsin - Betray Ale

After lagers, naturally, comes pilsners:

Top 5 Beer List
Style: Pilsner	Dave	Norm	Carter
1	5 Rabbit - Gringolandia Super Pils	Sierra Nevada - Nooner Pilsner	Blue Stallion - German Pilsner
2	Two Brothers - Kick 'Em in the Pils	Victory - Prima Pils	Great Lakes - The Wright Pils
3	Fountain Square - Workingman's Pils	Firestone Walker - Pivo Pils
4	Goose Island - Blue Line	Left Hand Brewing - Polestar Pilsner
5	Flat 12 - Hinchtown Hammer Down	Bell's - Lager of the Lakes

Pale Wheat beers are our next category.

Top 5 Beer List
Style: Pale Wheat	Dave	Norm	Carter
1	Three Floyd's - Gumballhead	Three Floyd's - Gumballhead
2	Marz - Jungle Boogie	Lagunitas - Little Sumpin' Sumpin'
3	Maplewood - Lemon Drop Wheat	Boulevard Brewing - 80-Acre
4	4 Hands - Contact High	Half Acre - Akari Shogun
5	Hailstorm - Alabama Hot Tub	New Belgium - Snapshot

Keep your Witbiers about you:

Top 5 Beer List
Style: Witbier	Dave	Norm	Carter
1	Mikkeller - Wit Fit	Harpoon - UFO White	Great Lakes - Wit Till Next Year
2	Einstök Olgerđ - Icelandic White	Dogfish Head - Namaste	Sam Adams - Cold Snap
3	Brick by Brick - Running Dune (Lithuania)	Revolution - Bottom Up Wit	Sam Adams - White Christmas
4	Barrel Trolley - Belgian White	Two Brothers - Night cat	New Belgium - Snapshot
5	Tow Yard - Hula Hoop Girl	Bell's - Winter White Ale

Hefeweizens are next:

Top 5 Beer List
Style: Hefeweizen	Dave	Norm	Carter
1	Garage Brewing - Mango Hefeweizen	Cambridge Brewing -Hefeweizen
2	Lakefront - Wisconsinite	Two Brothers - Ebel's Weiss
3	Live Oak - HefeWeizen	Greenbush - Sunspot
4	Wild Onion - Hefty Weiss	Ale Asylum - Unshadowed
5	Lightning - Thunderweizen	Piece Brewery - Top Heavy

Now on to something darker...porters:

Top 5 Beer List
Style: Porter	Dave	Norm	Carter
1	Einstök Olgerđ - Toasted Porter	Bell's - Porter	Country Boy - Jalapeno Smoked Porter
2	Thirsty Dog - Old Leghumper	O'so Brewing - Night Train	Smuttynose - Robust Porter
3	Ballast Point - Victory at Sea	Revolution - Eugene	Great Lakes - Edmund Fitzgerald
4	Breckenridge - Vanilla Porter	Left Hand - Black Jack
5	Great Lakes - Edmund Fitzgerald	Ballast Point - Victory at Sea

And stouts:

Top 5 Beer List
Style: Stout	Dave	Norm	Carter
1	Garage - Marshmallow Milk Stout	Ska- Estival Cream Stout	Founders - Kentucky Breakfast Stout
2	Tallgrass - Buffalo Sweat	Bell's - Kalamazoo	Left Hand - Milk Stout *(not Milk Stout Nitro)*
3	Bell's - Neptune	Deschutes - Obsidian	Founders - Breakfast Stout
4	Bell's - Special Double Cream Stout	Bell's - Expedition	Alltech - Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Stout
5	Ska - Hibernal Vinifera	Anderson Valley - Huge Arker	Cellar Rats - Black Rat Imperial Stout

Let's not forget brown ales:

Top 5 Beer List
Style: Brown Ale	Dave	Norm	Carter
Brown Ale: 1	Surly - Bender	Back Forty - Truck Stop Honey Brown	Shorts - Bellaire Brown
2	John Smith's - Newcastle Brown Ale	Pearl Street - Downtown Brown	Shorts - Good Humans
3	Sam Smith's - Nut Brown Ale	Dark Horse - Boffo	Bells - Best Brown
4	Big Sky - Moose Drool	John Smiths - Newcastle Brown Ale
5	Stone - Drew & Steve's Imperial Mutt Brown	Tyranena - Rocky's Revenge

Or blondes:

Top 5 Beer List
Style: Blonde Ale	Dave	Norm	Carter
1	Maplewood - Creepy Ginger	Lagunitas - Fusion 30	Ommegang - Gnomegang
2	Lagunitas - Fusion 30	Brouwerij - Piraat	Country Boy - Cougar Bait
3	Brouwerij Huyghe - Delirium Tremens	Ska - True Blonde	Arbor Brewing - Strawberry Blonde
4	Firestone Walker - 805 Blonde	Argus - EZ Rider
5	4 Hands - Send Help	Sierra Nevada - Yvan the Greart

We're nearing the end now. Just four more categories.

Here's our favorite fruit beers:

Top 5 Beer List
Style: Fruit Beer	Dave	Norm	Carter
1	Moa - Breakfast	Founders - Rubaeus	Founders - Mango Magnifico
2	Shiner - Prickly Pear	Flying Dog - Supertramp	Arbor Brewing - Strawberry Blonde
3	Legacy - That Guava Beer	21st Amendment - Hell or High Watermelon
4	Abita - Strawberry Harvest
5	Unibroue - Ephemere Pomme

Next up, the best specialty beers:

Top 5 Beer List
Style: Specialty Beers	Dave	Norm	Carter
1	B. Nektar - Kill All the Golfers (mead)		Founders - Kentucky Breakfast Stout
2	Iron Fist - Spice of Life (spiced beer)		Alltech - Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Stout
3	Left Hand - Good Juju (spiced beer)		Aecht Schenkerla - Märzen Rauchbier
4	Redstone - Nectar of the Hops (mead)		Alltech - Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale
5	Furthermore - Knot Stock (spiced beer)

Just two more categories...but they are the big ones.

Our penultimate list features our top five breweries.

Top 5 Beer List
Best Overall Breweries	Dave	Norm	Carter
1	Maine Beer Co	Three Floyd's	Shorts
2	Stone	Lagunitas	Country Boy
3	Maplewood	Pipeworks	Founders
4	Sierra Nevada	Bell's	Blue Stallion
5	Marz Community Brewing	Revolution	Hoppin' Frog

And finally, the best beers we've ever had:

Top 5 Beer List
Best Overall Beers	Dave	Norm	Carter
1	Maine Beer Co - Another One	Surly - Abrasive	Founders - Kentucky Breakfast Stout
2	Russian River - Pliny the Elder	Russian River - Pliny the Elder	Great Lakes - Chillwave Double IPA
3	Odd Side Ales - Citra Pale Ale	Three Floyd's - Zombie Dust	Samuel Adams - Winter Lager
4	Three Floyd's - Gumballhead	Ballast Point - Grapefruit Sculpin	Country Boy - Jalapeño Smoked Lager
5	Maine Beer Co - Mo	Bell's - Expedition Stout	Blue Stallion - Barrel Aged (Bourbon) Wee Heavy

So what do you think? Did we get it right? Anything you'd change? Let us know if we missed any great beers/breweries.