By the Pint's Top Ten Beers

Everyone I've ever talked to about Bell's beers has nothing but nice things to say about them. Their beers have been hit or miss with me... I've not has a beer from Kalamazoo that I've hated but there are been plenty which have been forgettable. When I first hear about the Batch 9000 I was intrigued. First because this beer was a limited release to commemorate the 9,000 batches of beer brewed at Bell's, but also because it was brewed with molasses and licorice... that's something you don't drink every day.

Dogfish Head's 60 Minute IPA may be their best selling beer but I've always regarded 90 Minute as the beer that took them to the next level. 60 Minute is a solid beer and back when it was first brewed, it may have been revolutionary... but now, it's just another continuously hopped IPA. It's a good beer, which is why it sells in such huge quantities, but it's not what I'd call World Class. 90 Minute is a different story, it was more than just 1.5x the beer 60 Minute was.

Like every other beer drinker who owned a television set in the Fall of 2010, I really wanted to try Bitches Brew. This was the inaugural beer of the Brewmasters show, brewed for Savor to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Miles Davis album of the same name. Living 10 hours from the nearest Dogfish distributor meant I completely missed out on this beer. I recently moved to Delaware and was able to find several bottles of Bitches Brew sitting on the self at the Dogfish Head brewery, so I brought a few home to commemorate my move to The First State.

A great Rauchbier has been my white whale after leaving Bamberg about five years ago. Bamberg Rauchbier is a great, roasty, bacony, dark style of beer that is smoky but not burnt or incredibly intense. Over the past five years I've been trying various American style Smoke Beers and Rauchbiers, trying to find something comparable to the Bamberg Rauchs. I've found that nearly all of the American Smoke Beers are much more dark, burnt and bitter than the German style. The comparison I use to explain this to others is that American Smoke Beer tastes like a campfire while Bamberg Rauchbier tastes like dark chocolate covered bacon. I've heard good things about a Rauchbier from Quebec that is similar in style to what I'm looking for. I was finally able to find a bottle and I can't wait to try it.