A personal - and delicious - top-tenner

If one has a particular passion, one loves to rank its constituents. Here, let's talk beer; and I offer a very personal top-tenner, in no particular order:

01. Drake's Brewing - IPA
02. Drake's Brewing - Imperial Stout
03. Flying Dog Ales - Classic Pale Ale
04. Moylan's - Hopsickle Imperial Ale
05. Full Sail Brewing - Son of Spot
06. Russian River - Damnation
07. Bear Republic - Racer 5
08. Avery Brewing - IPA
09. Avery Brewing - Mephistopheles' Stout (2006)
10. North Coast Brewing - Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout

honorable mentions (not for quality):
xx. Tecate
xx. Pabst Blue Ribbon

As you can see, I lean towards American beers with bite, which basically has meant Northwest Pale Ales, American IPAs, and Imperial Stouts; I'll mix it up with a Belgian strong ale once in awhile. And as I try more and more (and more), I'm sure to update the list; we'll watch it grow.

Plenty of other folks put in their two cents about "top beers" as well:

Beer Advocate
Men's Journal
The Brew Site
Hedonist Beer Jive

And they all have the same caveat as mine: these lists are simply starting points for some beer exploration (and not set-in-stone declarations of absolute greatness). Find some of these goodies and give 'em a go; you'll be sure to find some you like (and some you don't). Beyond these, I've got a couple more beers on my radar; I'm looking forward to trying them in the next couple of weeks:

a. Lagunitas - Kill Ugly Radio
b. Avery Brewing - The Reverand
c. Avery Brewing - The Czar Imperial Stout (2003)
d. Avery Brewing - The Maharaja Imperial IPA (2007)
e. Russian River - Little White Lie

Salud! Oh, and I'm always open to suggestions, especially if you're buying..