I was very fond of my home brewed stouts and porters.
Yep, I could happily drink anything in that list. No arm-twisting required.
Ah, now that makes a lot of sense and explains my separation from the masses on its merits.
Racer 5 from Bear Republic.
Maudite or Don de Dieu by Unibroue in Quebec. Or maybe Trois Pistoles
*Long time ago me and my brother Kyle here,
we was hitchhikin’ down a long and lonesome road.
All of a sudden, there shined a shiny demon… in the middle… of the road.
And he said:
“Drink the best beer in the world, or I’ll eat your soul.”
Well me and Kyle, we looked at each other,
and we each said… “Okay.”
And we drank the first thing that came to our hands,
Just so happened to be,
The Best Beer in the World, it was The Best Beer in the World.
…*
-Tenacious D?
Anyway, my current favorites are Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale, Bell’s Two Hearted Ale, and Shorts Huma Lupa Licious. ETA: That’s looking at relatively available bottled beer only.
I personally prefer Goose Island BCS to Dark Lord. You would’ve enjoyed this: On our wedding day at the after-party barbecue at the house (we had a regular reception, too, but it was a lunchtime affair) I pulled out my stash of 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009 Dark Lords for a vertical tasting. 
Figured that was as good a time as any to drink up my stock (one bottle was broken and lost in the process, but it was the 2007 vintage which I had two bottles of.) Honestly, I prefer Goose Island BCS to it. I don’t want to say Dark Lord is overrated; I like it well enough. But it’s not my first choice for Imperial stouts. Their Dreadnaught, though, is probably my favorite Imperial IPA.
Speaking only for myself:
Celebration Ale - Sierra Nevada
Runners up:
Hopslam - Bell’s
Dale’s Pale Ale - Oskar Blues
Not valid.
Heineken???!!!*
**
FUCK THAT SHIT!!!**
PABST! BLUE! RIBBON!
It’s funny how non-Americans (particularly Europeans, IME) seem to look down on American beer, yet most of the Top Beer listings are dominated by American beers.
I don’t think Three Floyds or Stone (maybe Stone) or whatever other microbrew travels much. Hell, I can’t find any Goose Island in DC except for like a 312 or on a rare occasion a Matilda.
Many non-Americans still think American beer is the rather limited macro-lager scene that dominated before breweries like Sam Adams hit it big and breweries like Sierra Nevada and Anchor got more nationwide exposure. (And, of course, the macros are still the dominant product overall.) That said, I think that reputation is finally starting to erode a bit internationally.
Also, you have to take into account that a lot of the top beer listings are dominated by “Big Beers,” that is, heavy, full flavored beers that just wallop you with hops or malt. I wish there was a little more attention paid to finely crafted everyday drinkers like ESBs, pilsners, Bavarian lagers, that sort of thing. There are a lot of amazing beers in those categories, but they don’t just pummel you with FLAVOR!!! like the IIPAs, the Belgian Quads and Dubbels, or the Imperial Stouts.
You also might want to take into account who is doing the voting on those lists, too. I really do think that parts of America are the best place to be right now if you’re a beer lover, as you have access to a crazy wild variety of local styles, playful experiments, and a well-stocked supply of imports. But I would take those Best Beers in the Worlds list with a healthy dose of skepticism.
That’s because the people polled for the listings are mostly Americans. This country has some truly wonderful beers being made, but for every Pliny the Elder there are a couple dozen Old Horse Piss being cranked out by American brewpubs. Europe has some truly stunning beers, but they just plain don’t travel, so most Americans have never an inkling of their existence. Or if they have tasted them, they’ve tasted swill (see earlier post about Pisner Urquell). The reverse is why Europeans look down on American beers. The ones we make that do travel and are exported all over the world are megabrews like BudMillerCoors. They have every right to think American beers are shite based on what they’ve been exposed to.
eta: triple simulpost!
One the other hand, British beer critic extraordinaire Roger Protz did declare Goose Island’s IPA the best beer in the world. This, frankly, shocked me. It’s not even one of my ten favorite Goose Island beers. (I love that he won an award called “Beer Drinker of the Year.” Where do I sign up for consideration?)
I believe that might be because Guinness is a very unique beer, not necessarily the best one (don’t get me wrong, it’s great!). People who like the taste of it have little other choice, whereas there are thousands of pilsners, lagers, weizen or ales, respectively, that are fairly similar to each other.
There’s plenty of beers in the Guinness style (Irish/dry stout), but they do tend to be a bit hard to find. I’d say Murphy’s Irish Stout is probably the closest and most common you’ll be able to find, but it’s hardly ubiquitous like Guinness seems to be.
I live in Virginia and my favorite beer that I can obtain easily is Yuengling.
Huh, strange. I’m in Atlanta and I can find Goose Island all over the place (as well as Stone). Haven’t looked for Three Floyds, though.