Best Beers I've Had

The story started when a woman I was dating in 2009 saw that my fridge only contained Busch Light! She was a wine connoisseur and bought me beer of the month club for 6 months to broaden my pallet. Each month I received 12 beers from two different breweries and two different beers from each brewery. They provided a detailed brochure of each brewery and each beer detailing the type of beer and what to expect. Over the course of 6 months my pallet chose West Coast Hoppy IPA’s. There are only four ingredients in beer: water, malted grain, hops, and yeast. The hops are changing all the time with new variations being created. New Zealand hops are hot right now although I don’t love them. I do have visiting New Zealand on my list. My hop choices are Citra, Simcoe, Mosaic, and Warrior. Brewers can mix and match hops to create a wonderful pallet wrecker. 😊 

Russian River’s Pliny the Younger is a Triple IPA released once a year in limited quantities. Denver receives kegs at several locations in February. My go to place is Cedar Creek Pub, they get 1 keg and tickets are first come, first served. The keg holds 55 ish 8oz pours. This beer is 10.25% and the recipe changes yearly. The 2026 release uses: Simcoe, Amarillo, Tangier, Citra, Mosaic, Nectaron, and Warrior. Yum! I have visited the Santa Rosa and Windsor Russian River locations.

Comrade Brewing’s mainstay is named Superpower and they occasionally release Dankonomics and More Dodge Less Ram. They brew West Coast IPA’s and it’s my most visited Brewery in Denver.

Focal Banger and Heady Topper from Alchemist Brewing in Vermont. Denver gets releases every few months. I visited the brewery in 2025 it was on my bucket list. This beer is an East Coast IPA but not really a Hazy IPA. I am not a fan of Hazy IPAs. Hazy IPAs add oats and make is “juicy” and a “soft mouthfeel” and that is not my thing.

I’ve had Sam Adams Utopia (limited release every other year and high abv at 30% in 2025) one time at the Big Beers and Barleywines Festival in Breckenridge in 2019. The festival no longer exists due to costs. Bottles sell quickly at $240 and resale for $300-$1,000 which is crazy. I have Sam Adams Brewery on my bucket list to visit in Boston. The picture shows the latest 2025 version that I purchased locally for $240. It's 30% and it's not really a beer. They say it's an ale brewed with maple syrup, aged in various barrels finishing in an Irish Whisky barrel. It's resealable and non-carbonated so it will not go stale. I finally had a 2oz taste in February 2026 and it was like a port wine, maple, vanilla and liquor. I will taste this again over time. Wow!

Westbound and Down Select IPA won gold at GABF when it first came out, it's a fantastic Beer released every so often.

Dogfish Head 90 minute IPA and 120 minute IPA (this one is more malty but 10% abv) both are very good. I had this brewery on my bucket list and visited in 2023.

Dry Dock Brewery’s Double IPA. This local brewery used to have this beer on full-time, but they only make in August IPA to celebrate National IPA Day which is the first Thursday in August.

Beer Nerd I am!