Beer Power Rankings

In the words of Benjamin Franklin, "Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."

Dennis suggested this and I don't know how I didn't have the idea first.  Today is National Beer Day, so it seemed like a good time to write this post.  This is going to be like the 1986 three-point contest when Larry Bird came into the locker room and said, "Man, who's comin' in second?"  If you know me, you already know which beer is number one on this list.

When I was 21, my signature move was bringing a random six-pack to a party.  It could have been anything that I saw at the beer distributor that looked interesting.  I did it mostly because I hadn't been exposed to many beers other than the cheap stuff people had at parties.  So I wanted to try different things.  These days, my taste in beer has become much more refined.  I have a pretty standard set of beers that I'll buy, so this list has been carefully thought out.

Let me explain how I came up with these rankings.  The beers are ranked on how likely I would be to buy the beer at a beer distributor or order it at a bar, not necessarily on how good I think they are.  For example, if a beer company had a really really good summer beer, it might be better than several of the beers on this list, but it's not making it because I wouldn't drink that beer over Sam Adams Summer Ale.

Before we get to the list, in the interest of full disclosure, I do own one share of stock in the Boston Beer Company.  But I own it because I like their beers so much, so I think I'm biased because their beer is so good, not because I own a very very small percentage of the company.

Let's start with some honorable mentions:

Sam Adams White Ale.  It used to be the spring seasonal.  I liked it a lot.  It might have been in my top five, but I haven't had it since 2009 probably (they switched to Noble Pils in 2010 and then Alpine Spring in 2012).

Bud Light.  I thought it was the best selling beer in the world, but the internet says it's second to Snow Beer (it's Chinese and almost all of its sales are domestic, I suspect made up numbers) since 2008.  I like capitalism, so I have to give them credit for their success.

Sam Adams White Lantern.  It's new and very good, but it's kind of similar to Summer Ale and I'm not drinking this over Summer Ale.

Bass Ale.  It's from England, but Pete tells me you would never find Bass Ale in England.  Back in the days of the Artful Dodger in 2005, this was my beer of choice.  I haven't had it in a long time, but it was my favorite option of a not so extensive list of choices at the Dodger.  It was such a dive bar.  It was great.

Sam Adams Boston Ale.  This is one of Sean's favorites.  It's a very good beer, but I don't drink it all that often.  If I did, it might be in my top 10.

And now for the top 10:

10.  Brooklyn Pennant Ale '55.  Actually, I don't know if I've ever had this beer.  But it's a beer named in honor of the 1955 World Series Champion Brooklyn Dodgers, so it had to make the list.  I need to buy a six-pack and give it a try.

9.  Coors Light.  I like to keep some good beer and some cheap light beer in the refrigerator.  Coors Light is my light beer of choice.  You have to give them credit for the ridiculousness of the whole mountains turning blue when it's cold thing.  Can't I just touch it and feel if it's cold?

8.  Sam Adams Octoberfest.  It's a very good beer, but I can't put it any higher because I'm always disappointed when I see it for the first time.  That means Summer Ale is disappearing.  I was happy to see it on tap at Mary Carroll's during 12 Bars of Christmas, though.  That was unexpected.  It's definitely the second best of the Sam Adams seasonals.

7.  Sam Adams Boston Lager.  This is where it all started for Sam Adams.  There are other Sam Adams beers that I like better, but they wouldn't exist without the success of Boston Lager.  It might be third on the list of beers that I most frequently drink at bars (behind Guinness and Sam Adams Summer Ale).

6.  Newcastle.  Bill introduced me to Newcastle.  It's the only imported beer other than Guinness that I'm likely to drink at a bar.  Bill may have fallen off the face of the earth, but Newcastle reminds me of hanging out with him back in 2005.

5.  Blue Point Blueberry Ale.  I remember the first time I had Blueberry Ale.  It was in 2005 or 2006 at John's apartment.  I just grabbed a beer, not caring which one I took.  I just saw that it was a Blue Point beer and drank without realizing exactly what it was.  Then I enjoyed the blueberry deliciousness.  For now, it's on the list, but that might change in the near future (stay tuned).

4.  Sam Adams Irish Red.  I don't think I've ever seen it on tap at a bar, which is unfortunate because it's an excellent beer.  Sam Adams has some beers that are similar to each other, but Irish Red is pretty unique.  Very good stuff.

3.  Guinness.  I probably drink more Guinness at bars than anything else.  I also make a point of drinking Guinness the night before Notre Dame football games and also to celebrate victories.  I hope to be enjoying a Guinness on Tuesday night for the women's basketball team.  Getting to the Guinness Storehouse was probably second on the list of things I needed to do when I was in Dublin (behind only going to the Notre Dame-Navy game).  And Irish car bombs (despite the horrific origin of their name) are fantastic.

2.  Sam Adams Chocolate Bock.  It's chocolate, it's beer, it's amazing.  I've only seen it in their Winter Classics variety pack.  I'm not a fan of the Winter Lager at all, but it's totally worth having to drink two of those to be able to enjoy the Chocolate Bock.  I wish it was available at bars or in six-packs.

1.  Sam Adams Summer Ale.  You knew this already.

Happy National Beer Day!