The recent comments in the “Giving up coffee” thread inspired this thread. I agree that a large % of American beer is crap, but there is some good stuff out there. So, who has a favorite?
I, for one, have been enjoying the Rogue line lately. The Dead Guy Ale and Mocha Porter in particular are nice.
Abida Turbo Dog. 
–James
I don’t know much about beer (I tend not to drink beer, but there’s a few I like). There’s a beer local to Charleston called “Palmetto” that’s really good. Well, the pale ale is good, and the amber is good. The porter is very bad (and I tend to like porters).
Amazingly great Belgian style beers from beautiful Cooperstown NY. Well worth a weekend roadtrip:
Yeah, are you including ale or just beer??
no question as to who’s the BEST American brewer:
Yuengling
www.yuengling.com
PSSST: That’s “YING- ling” 
I am not much of a beer person so I don’t really prefer any light beer over another (I don’t like dark beers). There are a lot of breweries in the San Diego area such as Karl Strauss, Stone Brewing, etc. A lot of folks around here like Stone Brewery’s Arrogant Bastard Ale (don’t ask). I personally like Sam Adams if I had my druthers.
EDIT: It looks like the language filter is picking off that word, but it is the same as an illegitimate child. It’s also what the folks in South Park call someone after they have killed Kenny.
yep, that beer is the best bang for the buck
Anchor Steam. Hands down. I would drink that in preference to just about anything. http://www.anchorbrewing.com/
Redwolf
Saranac puts out an Imperial Pale Ale that’s pretty good. I also like Blue Mood Belgian White. Then of course there is homebrew, which is the better than anything else you can buy at the store
Yep. Ales, lagers, stouts, whatever. It’s all good.
When ordering in a new restaurant or a new town, I’ve found that asking for “the darkest you have on draft” turns up very good results, at least if the answer is something local. I can never remember the names, but that doesn’t really matter…
Racer 5 IPA from Calaforny. To me, it’s the perfect IPA. I am still trying to find the perfect ones in the other categories, but that’s my winner. I LOVE that stuff.
Not American but North American … I’m very fond of “La Fin du Monde” from Unibroue in Québec. A rich triple-fermented Belgian style beer. All their beers are subtle and interesting, and the labels are works of art.
http://www.unibroue.com/index_eng.html
How can you go wrong with a cool quaff of “End of the World”?
I’m not much of a beer drinker (I can’t taste bitter), but that’s one of the things I love about going to New Orleans - Abida Amber on tap!!!
Oh yeah, for Amber Ale, Boont is high up there.
Nowadays, everyone is into Belgian style ale. You need a goldurned directory to figure out all the refinements within it, though…
While the major American brewers produce something more akin to water than beer, the micro-brewers (both pubs and bottlers) are putting out beers to rival anything European.
My favorites are Copperhead Pale Ale and Skyhigh Rye by Freestate Brewery, Possumtrot Brown Ale and Muddy Mo’ Stout by the 75th Street Brewery, and Boulevard Dry Stout.
Hurray for craft brews (and home brewing as well…I need to find the time to start back up at that).
Eric
Anything by Ommegan, New Belgian Brewery are pretty well up there. I like the Belgian style of beer, especially with frites and mayo. National distribution, .i.e. airport lounge, Sam Adams works all the time.
The finest American beer always comes in a can, a cold can.
Rest assured, that every can has a label, but then beer guzzling never was an innelectual activity.
So, just grab a cold one, never mind the label, and you are thereby assured to have first class, quality American beer.
Yeah, I’ve lived in Europe, but for the same money I can have 4 or 5 American cans of beer for the price of just one of those European beers.
'Nuff said.
ya know, sometimes you are such a troll… 