Favorites

Belgians

Ayinger

There's a goat on one of the bottles. 'nuf said. Ok, so goats aside, this is a regular drinker for me, my go-to white Belgian. I'm not a huge fan of their fall seasonals, like the Jahrhundert, I like to stick with the regular Brau-Weisse, although we don't have access to all of their beers, so there are probably others I might like. Should probably do a tasting trip :) Ayinger's brewery is in Aying, Germany.

Allagash

Any of it and all of it. From their classic white Belgian to their black stout, Allagash nails them all. Not only do they have great "regular" beer, but they also have two cask-aged series. On top of all of this, their entire brewery is powered 100% by wind power. Impressive. Allagash is located in Portland, Maine. Lucky to get their bottles all the way out here.

 

Avery Salvation Belgian Style Golden Ale

Tons of flavor. Golden in color, 9% abv, comes in a 22oz bottle. Avery is from Boulder, CO. Most of the Avery beers I've had have all been the knock-your-socks-off types, really strong, high alcohol, almost perfumey flavor...this golden ale is toned down a bit, just enough punch but not the bad aftertaste. Plus the artwork on their bottles is pretty interesting. Dark, but interesting.

Stouts

see above for Allagash Belgian Black Stout

Guinness
So I have a hundred stouts to choose from, and I pick the most predictable one. Here's why...it was the first beer I liked. It looks really cool when it's settling. It's from Ireland, and so am I. It's damn good. I hear it has vitamins. There's a story that Irish women used to be told to drink Guinness when they were pregnant because it contains vitamins. Probably very small trace amounts, but it's something. A meal in a glass...it's in the same category to me as comfort food...like the mac & cheese of beers. Oh, and on our very first date ever, my husband and I bonded forever over a few pints of Guinness. Aww :)

Seasonals

Elysian Night Owl Pumpkin Ale

In my experience, pumpkin ales are either right on or way off. Either they are too hoppy or too sweet, or just right. This one's just right. You're still drinking beer, but it's almost like you're also having dessert. That's 2 for 1. Elysian is also close to home, their brewery is in Seattle. 

Howe Sound "Pumpkin Eater" Imperial Pumpkin Ale

Canadian beer from British Columbia. Great pumpkin ale, and the bottle is resealable, so you don't have to worry about drinking the entire litre all at once. It's 8% abv, so you could.

Beers I miss

Widmer Brothers Snow Plow
This winter beer was a delicious, warming, milk stout. My husband actually emailed the brothers to see what's up--they discontinued it to introduce "brrr!" It's nothing like Snow Plow, unfortunately, but the company's response was really long and really nice.
We also scored some of the last bottles in the state on a totally random trip to Malt & Vine in Redmond. I would have paid any price they wanted for them--turns out their distributor had just dropped off a box of random left-over beers from their warehouse and there were four bottles of this stuff. Sold!