The Session #21: What is your favorite beer and why?

First of all, what is The Session? In a nutshell, The Session is a collection of articles written by a multitude of contributors based upon a central theme or question. For the glorious history of The Session, check out Brookston Beer Bulletin for the complete story.

This month, Matt C. of A World of Brews will be hosting The Session. He asks a singular, yet potentially loaded question: What is your favorite beer?

My answer: I don’t have a favorite beer. Haven’t had one in years. It’s always awkward when I get asked that question as well, What’s your favorite beer? It depends. It depends on my mood. On what I’m eating. On what the weather is like. On how much cash I have in my wallet. I don’t have a favorite beer anymore not because there aren’t any good beers but because there are too many beers to choose from.

I don’t particularly care that I don’t have a favorite. I find the very idea of having a favorite to be very limiting. As a BJCP judge, I have had the opportunity to be exposed to a wide variety of beers, both commercial and homebrew. If anything, being a BJCP judge has served nothing more than to help kill the idea of a favorite beer. I just can’t bring myself to choose just one. Can’t do it, won’t do it.

I will admit that I do have favorites, yes, plurals. I’ve learned that there are some styles of beer that I enjoy drinking much more than others and I do show a preferential bias (redundantly repetitive, anyone?) towards. I am a big fan of American Pale Ales, Stouts, Belgian Strong Ales and Sour Ales. I have found a new appreciation for lighter beers such as the kölsch, cream ale and pilsner. I have also just started to appreciate German lagers. Yet for me to point to anyone beer and say, “That’s it, that’s the one. My favorite, above all others” is too limiting, too caging.

Yet, within each style of beer I’ve tasted, there are beers that I believe are exemplary of that style. Firestone Walker’s Pale 31 is an awesome example of a Pale Ale. I think Left Hand Brewing’s Milk Stout is devine for a Sweet Stout while AleSmith’s Wee Heavy is almost beyond reproach as a Scottish Strong Ale. I would order these beers above most others I’ve already tried in their particular styles. But should I be presented with the having to choose between a pint of a pale ale I’ve never tried before and Pale 31, I’d choose the unknown simply because I’ve never had it before.

Still, I’ll give it a shot. I’ll accept the challenge and I’ll name a favorite beer. I’ll hold my very own “Best of Show”.

In essence, what I’ll do is gather the highest scoring/first place beers in each category that I’ve drank in the past and have a “taste-off”. The beers in the BOS round are the cream of the crop for a particular style and now they get to go head-to-head with the winner being at the whim of the judge’s discretion or mood. Usually only the most seasoned judges work this round. Since I am the only guy here doing any writing for this blog, my committee of 1 will be narrowing down the beers until I’ve reached my so-called favorite.

With that in mind, here are the contenders (keep in mind that I’ve actually drank all of these beers. I would come off as retarded if I hadn’t. I may still come off as retarded but for other reasons.):

• Category 2 – Pilsners: Trumer Pils
• Category 3 – European Amber Lager: Gordon Biersch Märzen
• Category 4 – Dark Lagers: Linden Street Black Lager
• Category 6 – Light Hybrid Beer: Reissdorf kölsch
• Category 8 – English Pale Ale: Black Sheep Ale
• Category 9 – Scottish and Irish Ale: AleSmith’s Wee Heavy
• Category 10 – American Ale: Firestone Walker Pale 31, Stone Pale Ale, Anderson Valley Poleeko Gold, Left Hand Brewing Jackman’s Pale Ale
• Category 12 – Porter: Deschutes’ Black Butte Porter, Rogue Mocha Porter
• Catgory 13 – Stout: Left Hand Brewing Milk Stout, Deschutes The Abyss
• Category 14 – IPA: Russian River Pliny the Elder, Stone Ruination IPA, Moylan’s Hopsickle IIPA (Imperial IPA/Double IPA)
• Category 17 – Sour Ale: Rodenbach Grand Cru, Duchess de Bourgogne, New Belgium La Folie, Petrus Oud Bruin, Monk’s Cafe Flanders Red Ale
• Category 18 – Belgian Strong Ale: Chimay Premiere (Red), St. Bernardus Abt 12, Chimay Grande Reserve (blue)
• Category 22 – Smoke-flavored and Wood-aged beer: Lost Abbey Angel’s Share, Petrus Aged Pale, Firestone Walker Double Barrel Ale

Wow. That’s a lot of beer. Let’s sift through this even more. While good beers, I’ve eliminated the styles I am less fond of. It’s not like I don’t like those styles, I just love these more:

• Category 8 – English Pale Ale: Black Sheep Ale
• Category 9 – Scottish and Irish Ale: AleSmith’s Wee Heavy
• Category 10 – American Ale: Firestone Walker Pale 31, Stone Pale Ale, Anderson Valley Poleeko Gold, Left Hand Brewing Jackman’s Pale Ale
• Catgory 13 – Stout: Left Hand Brewing Milk Stout, Deschutes The Abyss
• Category 17 – Sour Ale: Rodenbach Grand Cru, Duchess de Bourgogne, New Belgium La Folie, Petrus Oud Bruin, Monk’s Cafe Flanders Red Ale
• Category 18 – Belgian Strong Ale: Chimay Premiere (Red), St. Bernardus Abt 12, Chimay Grande Reserve (blue)
• Category 22 – Smoke-flavored and Wood-aged beer: Lost Abbey Angel’s Share, Petrus Aged Pale, Firestone Walker Double Barrel Ale

The field gets even narrower. I’ve eliminated some very noteworthy beers with my only criteria being how much I remember enjoying those beers:

• Category 10 – American Ale: Firestone Walker Pale 31, Left Hand Brewing Jackman’s Pale Ale
• Catgory 13 – Stout: Left Hand Brewing Milk Stout, Deschutes The Abyss
• Category 17 – Sour Ale: Petrus Oud Bruin, Monk’s Cafe Flanders Red Ale
• Category 18 – Belgian Strong Ale: St. Bernardus Abt 12, Chimay Grande Reserve (blue)

It was difficult to come to this singular point. I’ve spent the better part of this post arguing why I don’t have a favorite beer but here I am narrowing down the field just so I can say, “Okay, I guess this beer is my favorite”. And the “winner” of the BetterBeerBlog “Best of Show” is… *drumroll*… Firestone Walker’s Pale 31.

The first time I tried Firestone Walker was for a beer and food pairing event I was hosting. I had a small sample during my BJCP class but it was only a few ounces. To fully experience this beer, you’ll need a full pint. This beer had the most wonderful hop aroma, bursting with citrus and floral American hop character. The flavor is balanced for the style, which is to say it’s hoppy but not harsh or overly bitter. In fact, the bitterness is quite smooth and refreshing. It is just the right level for the style. The malt backbone of this beer is sturdy and surprisingly European with Maris Otter, Munich and Crystal malts lending a complex yet clean malt flavor profile. Weighing in at a mere 4.7% ABV, this beer is session-level strength. Great news for those of us who drink beer for flavor instead of to get drunk as we can drink just a little bit more of this beer because it’s lighter in gravity. Since the day I tried it, I almost always compare any pale ale I drink to Pale 31. This is my standard bearer for Pale Ales, my personal benchmark.

Left Hand Brewing’s Jackman’s Pale Ale was a very fine example of a pale ale as well. Out of all the pale ales I tried in Colorado, Jackman’s was the closest that came to the “West Coast” version of the style. I eliminated Milk Stout simply because I enjoy the pale ales too much while The Abyss I felt was too complex for an everyday beer; it’s more of a special occasion beer. I have a great love for sour ales but the fact remains is that even with my favorites, they can be hit or miss. St. Bernardus Abt. 12 is an exceptional and full-flavored, complex beer with a high level of alcohol. Great for sipping. The Chimay Grande Reserve on the other hand will always have a special place in my heart as it was my very first Belgian beer.

I still stand by my guns that I don’t have a favorite beer. I will continue to order what I happen to be in the mood for or what I feel will go well with what I am having for breakfast/brunch/lunch/dinner. Even with Pale 31 available to me, I will always try what I haven’t tried first before ordering a pint of Pale 31. That’s just who I am. Still, I can’t help but glance longingly at Pale 31 every time I pass by it at BevMo.

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