5 beers-a very tough question

I had a message yesterday from BeerBloggingBuddies (check out their blog) asking what my top five favorite beers are. That shouldn't have been SUCH a tough question to answer, right? Well it was. I could only come up with 3 that rotate their spot in my heart as number one beer. After further discussion with my husband, I decided that there is no way I can answer that question... I have such a love for ALL beer that if I choose five, I would feel like I was picking a favorite child (I only have one of those so that would be easier). Therefore, I have modified the question (I hope the Beer Blogging Buddies won't mind)...
 
What five beers would you serve to someone to make them love beer as much as you do?
 
Of course, being as hyper organized as I am (or try to be) I broke my list into categories, then chose my favorites from each category, because not everyone has the same tastes as me I would have to showcase the variety and tastiness of a variety of beers.
 
The categories I picked? The beers I chose? Glad you asked! Yes, I know some categories have two beers, and there are more than five categories; I couldn't decide!

Ebel's Wiess

Belgian Style

• This is my favorite type of beer, so narrowing it down was difficult, very difficult. I was able to decide on Ebel's Weiss from Two Brother's in Warrenville, IL and Juliet from Goose Island in Chicago (no Illinois breweries are not a requirement, just a coincidence) Dog Fish Head’s Raison D’Etre should also be on here… because sometimes it is my Raison D’Etre (French for reason to be). Oh, and that is JUST the American craft beers…

IPA and APAThis was tough also, because I am not particularly fond of IPA’s, but they are growing on me. The IPA that I would choose to share with a potential convert would have to be Three Floyd’s Apocalypse Cow(Seasonal). Yes, I know it is a double IPA and can knock you on your butt, but it is also well balanced and doesn’t assault your taste buds. (I also really like Resistance IPA from Two Brothers but didn’t want to muddle the waters with too many from one brewery)

For my APA choice, I chose Magic Hat’s #9. It is so well balanced that it embodies everything that you would want a beer with the moniker “American” to have. The malt is clear and perfectly roasted; the hops are strong, but not overpowering. Just thinking about it makes me want to have one now…

Stout

Creme Brulee Stout

• A stout that I could not live without (ha-ha) would be difficult to find… I am not a HUGE fan of stouts, but I do like them on occasion. Guinness is the obvious choice, but ever since I had expired Guinness (sometimes bargain bins should be left alone) I can’t even smell a Guinness. Recently I have tried some really fun stouts from Southern Tier, and I have to say I might pick one of them to “win” over my imaginary beer convert. The stouts? Well they were Mokah and Crème Brulee, both by Southern Tier.

Pilsner

Krombacher Pils

• Pilsners are always a welcome sight in my house. We       have had some really fantastic stand out of the crowd Pilsners, and some that were just “eh”. There are two that I would recommend to anyone, Pilsner Urquell and Krombacher’s Pilsner

Fruit Beer (not my favorite but some people go nuts for it)

I really liked Clown Shoes Clementine Beer, it wasn’t overly sweet or fruity. I also like (in small doses) Banana Bread Beer by Wells and Youngs Brewing.

Seasonal

• 

  Pumpkin Ale

There are thousands of seasonal beers to choose from and all are good for their specific season. Since we are coming into fall, I would have to choose and Oktoberfest beer, a pumpkin ale or perhaps something like Leinenkugel’s Fireside Nut Brown. Say what you will about me picking a mass distributed beer… I like it. Now, I will admit that my favorite beer is a spring time beer... you may have heard me gush about it. It's from Ommegang in NY and it is Biere De Mars (I can't help but salivate as I write about it). It occurs to me that if I gush about it too much, you may buy it and leave me none... which would not be cool. 

Specialty

Chateau Jiahu

• Theobroma from Dogfish Head and Château Jiahu from Dogfish Head are great examples of thinking outside the Bavarian Purity law and making beer that is unique and fantastic! Another interesting “specialty” beer is Biere de Miel (beer with honey) from Brasserie Du Pont. This beer is not like any that most have had before, it is sweet while remaining crisp and balanced.

 Whew! All that beer talk made me thirsty! So, as you can see I can't just choose FIVE beers that I love the best... I can barely choose 15! I know I missed some types of beers and some fantastic breweries, so why don't you write me a list of your favorites, of what you would subject a beer convert to? Need the email address again? It's sarah@hoppybeergirl.com or you can tell me on Twitter or Facebook.