In the September/October issue of Imbibe, the editors selected their 99 favorite beers in different categories, such as seasonals or beers to drink with a burger. In “Imbibe Vs. Beerspotter,” Y&H’s Beerspotter takes each list to task.

“Hop monsters”: the phrase is enough to put a grin on your face and a pucker on your tongue. If America can be said to have a brewing style, this is it. Imbibe presents a grab bag of IPAs and the like, from straightforward brawlers like Green Flash Imperial IPA to left-field entrants like He’brew Bittersweet Lenny’s RIPA, brewed with wheat and spicy rye malt and seven kinds of hops. The highlight of the list is Avery Maharaja, a 10.5% abv giant with more spices than a piping curry. In addition to apricot and bitter orange tang, there’s some serious garlic and onion flavors. And it comes out delicious to boot. To quote Shaft, it’s a bad mother-(shut yo’ mouth).
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This week marked the arrival of Athens, Ga. brewery Terrapin to the D.C. area, with launch nights at Galaxy Hut on Tuesday and Rustico on Wednesday. I missed out on Galaxy Hut, but at a packed Rustico I sipped guzzled flagship and rare brews alike, all in free swag glassware.

Terrapin is only coming as far north as NoVa, and while I lament not being able to walk around the corner for a six-pack, it also raises the exciting possibility of making a car trip to the Arlington for a case of rye beer and a drive-worthy bowl of pho. In any case, here’s last night’s drool list:
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A sixer of Dale’s to go — on your desert island

I’ve had, and still do have, a proclivity toward lists and the ranking of favorites. High Fidelity inspires desert island-record discussions. Fantasy football drafts are a drug. And as tykes, my brother and I would sit cross-legged in the living room, surrounded by sorted mounds of Halloween candy or Pogs (depending on the season) and conduct elaborate trades and negotiations based on our arbitrarily prized possessions. (Should I be confessing this in print? If I ever run for public office, let’s pretend this didn’t happen.)

The point being: I’m no different today. So when I see the Alström brothers of Beer Advocate fame enumerating their top five desert island beers alongside a profile in The Boston Globe, I start getting ideas. Building a desert island list is a delicate task. With records, you need to take into account all the different styles, eras, and at least one sentimental favorite. You probably want some reggae in there, being on an island. So while ranking Pogs may be less nuanced, picking just five beers to drink for all of sand-locked eternity seems unfair, if not impossible. Or in other words, fun.

Like records, my favorite beers change frequently — probably every time I walk into a beer store. But here’s my outline, the prototypical desert island beer list. And despite the urge to apply a beach theme, I have one rule: nothing with a lime in it. Ever.

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