BeerBorg

gotta go with philm00x on this. never tried any of them

I missed out on the one commercial release of Westy 12 late last year since Tennessee wasn't in on the release and I would have had to travel to Bowling Green or Huntsville (they were raising funds to rehab their monastery and thus did their one and only commercial release... Here's the story...), but have had St. Berny's 12, thought I didn't feel right counting that one in my total... I guess I could say 13.5 out of 20...

I've had many of these at tastings, but some through other means. The Stone has been on tap at a local pub that keeps usually six Stone taps going out of their 50 or so taps, so this is the only one I've gotten at a pub here in TN. I like that one an awful lot. This list is interestingly Bell's heavy... Haven't had Batch 7000, but Hopslam and Expedition are both favorites. Of course, Dreadnaught and Dark Lord are from my favorite brewery and have been had (several times in the case of Dreadnaught... it is a great IPA, and is on tap a lot in Indiana...). Founders is also a favorite, though I think I like CBS better than KBS (both are really good, though). Kealia hooked me up with Pliny, and have had at tastings since. Both Russian River beers have been tasting beers, as well as the Fonteinen, Goose Island and Alesmith. Sami was served at the Yazoo Funk Fest. I've had several Surly (have some in my fridge right now), but I've never had Darkness. I've missed out on Abyss and the Westy at tastings (opened before I got there), and haven't had the opportunity to have the Hair of the Dog beers.

This kind of thing is the reason I'm glad I've hooked up with the tasting group in the area... I don't buy a lot of these outright, though I do buy a bottle or two while travelling so that I have a bottle to take to a given tasting... they don't particularly like people showing up at tastings empty-handed...

I've tried St. Bernardus 12 before, so put me down for 1/2 of 20, I guess. But looking at that list, nothing really interests me to hunt them down, not a big fan of these Imperial/ Double stouts and IPA's, just too much, guess these guys don't think a beer is any good unless you can run your lawn mower off it as well as drink it.

Though I don't fault those who don't have interest in trying any of these, because everyone's tastes are different and it's purely personal choice as to what you drink and what I drink (which, of course, is what makes beer great, and is also why I don't criticize BMC drinkers either, though I try to coax those that are friends into the craft world... but I digress).

Here's the way I see it....

1) It isn't these guys that are exclusively saying it... they are using over 3 million ratings on BeerAdvocate to reach this listing. Thus, a lot of people are included in this ranking.
2) I personally am glad I've tasted a lot of these. They are great beers in my experience. That being said, I'm glad I didn't purchase full bottles of a lot of them, as some of these are good in small portions and for sharing.
3) To that point, I find that going to these tastings/sharings is a great communal experience. While you find a snob or two occasionally, most are there just to be friendly, share their beers, have a good time, etc. It's a great deal of fun.
4) The great thing about beer is that there are more than 100 styles and thousands upon thousands of beers to try. A lot of great stuff out there, and a lot of styles to match the tastes of each individual customers. Variety is the spice of life, as they say.
5) Dreadnaught is worth your time if you are in IPA drinker. IMHO, it's better than Pliny, but both are worth seeking out.
6) Pliny is like $5, while Dreadnaught is maybe $10. You can score a bottle of KBS or Hopslam for maybe $4, and a bottle of Expedition for maybe $2. Only a few beers on this list are splurges (Dark Lord is $20, but is very limited. Westy is not cheap, but not crazy high [I think the sale in US was $85 for six bottles and two nice chalices, so maybe $10/bottle], but is so limited you end up paying a lot for it on the resell market, etc.). That is another great thing about beer. If you want to get a super high-end bottle of wine, you're thinking $100 or much more. A high end beer is more like $20-30, and many are less than $10.

I'm still waiting to hit a brew house here. Haven't had the chance. Next weekend will be another brew weekend. But, weekend after that, it might be possible...if we're not off camping.

Hmm, didn't know that about the St. Bernardus 12. Although, I should have suspected some similarity because of the name. I've seen St. B here many times so I think I'll have to try it now to get a feel for what so many people call the best beer in the world.

I could do my daily jog and run between the places they are brewed. That would be rewarding LOL.

The biggest difference is that St. Bernardus uses the original Westvleteren yeast strain, or a mutation of it. And the current Westvleteren beer actually uses a Westmalle yeast strain (like WLP530/Wyeast 3787). So if you brew your own you actually get closer to the Westvleteren version then the St. Bernardus version! (how is that for confusing LOL, but that's how it is in the world of monks that brew stuff).

Westvleteren is carbed just a touch more lightly. They both are using saaz and styrian goldings for hops (saaz early, styrians later in the boil).

If you wanted to clone the St. B more closely you'd have to step up bottle yeast. I'm pretty sure the bottle yeast is the real strain.

If you buy a bottle, do not drink it really cold. It's best in the 50s. It lets all the flavors and aromas pop.

Sad, I haven't tasted any of the beers on that list. Course, I wouldn't have an interest in all of those stouts listed. So many beers, so little time!