As I sit here sipping on nice cold Blind Pig I had to change my previous rating of it. Initially when I first tasted it back in the Summer of '07 I gave it a 4.6 or so. I've continuously changed my rating for it, based on samples in different places. I believe the lowest I rated it was 4.3 or so after being kinda disappointed with the batch that was on tap at the Russian River brewpub this last Summer. That batch really lacked some kick to it, and I think it was much undercarbonated up there at that time. Anyway, after not having had it for over a month I opened up a bottle (11/19/08 bottling) I purchased at Whole Foods in Pasadena. This is such a great IPA. Flavor of mango and other citrus fruits, resiny finish, great carbonation. A+ all around. Bumping this up to 5.0 overall right now.
Which made me wonder how many beers I had rated a perfect 5.0 (I loosely am aware of which ones I have). The beers I have rated perfect 5's on BeerAdvocate are:
- Russian River Blind Pig IPA
- Russian River Pliny the Elder (fresh and on tap at their brewpub.... the bottles are not perfect 5's for me)
- Russian River Pliny the Younger
- Russian River Sanctification
- St. Bernardus Tripel
- Troegs Nugget Nectar (this one will probably be downgraded soon to somewhere around a 4.6)
The ones to just miss the perfect score with only 4.9's are:
- Alpine Pure Hoppiness (it's definitely way better than Nugget Nectar, updates will have to made in the near future).
- Moonlight Reality Czech Pilsner
- Stone Russian Imperial Stout vintage 2004, tasted in 2007.
I notice a lot of raters on BeerAdvocate will not give beers perfect 5's, as if they are waiting for some beer to come along that completely redefines beer or something. I think these people are selling themselves and these beers a bit short. I obviously have no problem handing out perfect scores :-)
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3 comments:
After reading your take on the Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier, I decided to give it ago even though I am not a real big fan of the style. Gotta say, for the style, that is a "5" to me. Been craving another one all week.
Unfortunately, I've yet to get my hands on any Russian River brew.
My perfect 5.0's?
1. St. Bernardus ABT12
2. Rochefort 10
3. Karmeliet Tripel
4. Southern Tier Imperial Choklat
5. Orval
5. Stone Imperial Russian Stout
6. Southern Tier Gemini
Lots of 4.9s and slightly below. But I could honestly drink each of the above, everyday for the rest of my mortal life.
Damnit, I forgot Stone Vertical Epic 08.08.08
Something about that brew just does it for me. Perfect combination of a Belgian-style tripel with the butt ton of American hops. Heaven in a bottle. I have one bottle left and I'm not sure how much longer I can hold out...
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