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Wednesday, April 4, 2007

Say You're Stranded on a Desert Island...

Inevitably, when I'm teaching a beer class, giving a seminar, or consulting, I will be asked, "What's your favorite beer?" It seems simple enough, a fair question. It is, however, a very difficult one for me to answer. One that I always try to dodge, because I have tasted so many good beers and beer styles vary so much that trying to compare them is like trying to compare apples and barrel-aged oranges fermented with coriander.

Through my protests, there is always a persistant smarty-pants who asks the irresistible question we've all heard a million times. "Christina...if you were stranded on a desert island and could only take five beers with you, what would they be?"

So, after amendments allowing me to have electricity enough to supply a five-handled keg-o-rator, a magical lifetime supply of my five beer choices, and the proper glassware on this island, I begrudgingly answer: prefacing, of course, with what I will say to you now.

This list is by no means binding. It could change at any time (although I doubt Craftsman could ever be off the list.) If, at any time, I am faced with a real-life-desert-island-beer-picking scenario, I reserve the right to change or modify this list in any way I see fit.

Here we go. If I were stranded on a desert island, and I could only take any FIVE beers with me... today they would be:

Craftsman Smoked Black Lager
Bear Republic Racer 5 India Pale Ale
Westmalle
Trappist Tripel
Cantillon Gueuze
Scaldis Noel
Craftsman Cabernale
Alesmith ESB
Rochefort Trappists 10
Lost Coast Great White
Unibroue 10
Craftsman Weizenbock
Ommegang Biere de Mars
Saison DuPont
Three Floyds Alpha King Pale Ale
Deschutes Black Butte Porter

(*The mixing possibilities of these beers are endless - but that's a controversial topic for another blog.)


The Second Question:
The follow-up question always is, "Where do we get these beers?" I'll give you the short list for Los Angeles. This is BY NO MEANS all inclusive, but I frequent these places to get the good stuff:

Bars/Restaurants:
Father's Office - Where it all began for me. The staff are experts.
The Otheroom - Where it continued. HUGE list.
Bottle Rock - Great wine bar beer list. All bottles so far.
The Library Bar - Tucked away downtown. Awesome and chill. Draughts and Bottles.
Lucky Baldwins - Don't miss one of their Belgian Ale Fesivals.
3rd Stop - I even respect their Pabst Blue Ribbon tap.
Violet - Chef Jared Simons rocks.

Stores:
Wine Expo - The best place to buy beer on the west side. The staff is very knowledgeable.
Wine House - Who knew?
Wally's Wine & Spirits - Zagat's #1 Wine Shop in Los Angeles
Whole Foods (my neighborhood store has a great beer selection)

3 comments:

  1. Hey nice to meet you, I'm a beer chic too. My husband and I are homebrewers in Phoenix, AZ. I liked your list "if I was stranded on a desert island...." My top 5 are:

    Dogfish Head: Raison D'Etre
    Four Peaks: Oatmeal Stout
    Chimay: Blue label
    Oakcreek Brewing Company: Hefeweizen (but it's not bottled, does that count?)
    Corona and Pacifico - with chips and salsa of course

    My husband (Chuck) thinks he would take:

    Stone: IPA
    Fullers: ESB
    Unibroue: Fin Du Monde
    Saison Dupont
    Sierra Nevada: Celebration Ale

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey nice to meet you, I'm a beer chic too. My husband and I are homebrewers in Phoenix, AZ. I liked your list "if I was stranded on a desert island...." My top 5 are:

    Dogfish Head: Raison D'Etre
    Four Peaks: Oatmeal Stout
    Chimay: Blue label
    Oakcreek Brewing Company: Hefeweizen (but it's not bottled, does that count?)
    Corona and Pacifico - with chips and salsa of course

    My husband (Chuck) thinks he would take:

    Stone: IPA
    Fullers: ESB
    Unibroue: Fin Du Monde
    Saison Dupont
    Sierra Nevada: Celebration Ale

    ReplyDelete
  3. hi christina, it was nice to meet you on tuesday! the tasting was awesome and the beers delicious. thank you for inviting me.

    although i haven't tried everything on your list, my list would definitely be down for racer 5, cantillon gueuze, saison dupont, westmalle, and pliny the younger (ok the last one's not on the list! - i cheated).

    ReplyDelete