Here is a list of my all-time favorite beers, in no particular order. This list is subject to change in accordance with my mood and/or whim. :-)

These beers are what I would consider the best 1,2 or 3 examples of their respective styles I've come across to-date. So if your new to this good beer thing, this can be used as a very reliable guide to get you off on the right foot, so to speak.

So, without further ado,

Altbiers

Hacker-Pschorr Alt Munich Dark

Simply the best Altbier in the world.

Belgian Ales

Chimay Grand Réserve (Blue Label)

Quite possibly the best beer ever brewed. Rumor has it that it is no longer being brewed in the old way by the Trappist monks, and that the quality of this beer has suffered more than significantly as a result. I haven't personally tried any for a couple of years now, but I think I may have single-handedly kept Happy Harry's in Fargo, ND able to restock their shelves on a regular basis several years ago. :-)

Chimay Cinq Cents (White Label)

Nearly as good as the Grand Reserve, but probably suffers the same fate as its sibling.

Saint Sixtus Westvleteren 8

This is a Belgian Dubbel (double), an explosion of multiple aromas and flavors all at once. Pour it carefully in order to keep the considerable fiz from being even more so--but it needs some. A properly poured belgian ale has a head up to about a quarter the height of the liquid (this is actually to help keep the aromas in the glass and from escaping too quickly into the air as you consume it). Belgian trappist ales are unfiltered beers, so also take care to let the bottle sit for a spell after opening it, and not jostle the bottle too much when pouring. Unless you're like me and actually like the B-12 shot you get from the bottom of one of these. :-)

La Fin Du Mond

This beer has recently--for me--unseated Chimay as the best tripel of all time.

Bitters

Fuller's ESB

I love bitters, and this may be the best example of it I have ever come across.

Theakston's XB Bitter

 

Brown Ales

Samuel Smith's Nut Brown Ale

 

"Squeeze My Nut Brown Ale"

My buddy Steve and I pretty much hit a grand slam with our very first beer kit (OK, our second), slightly modified.

Doppel (Double) Bocks

Spaten Optimator

 

Celebrator

Dunkels (Dark Lagers)

Lobkowicz Baron Tmavý Ležák

One of the finest beers I have ever tried of any kind. Currently my favorite.

Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier Dark

 

India Pale Ales

Samuel Smith India Ale

 

Tupper's Hop Pocket IPA

 

Porters

Samuel Smith Taddy Porter

 

Sierra Nevada Porter

 

Żywiec Porter

"Summit Wishes They Could Make A Porter This Good"

Steve's and my second trip out making beer of our own, game winner. The next two batches were--shall we say--disappointments in the extreme, and we haven't tried since. It kind of sucks to rip a couple of winners right off the bat--your expectations get set so high that everything that follows needs to be stellar just to seem OK.

Scottish-Style Strong Ales

Orkney Skullsplitter Ale

This ale earns its moniker. Trust me. These guys up in the Orkney Isles do two other things besides this: fish and make scotch (specifically Highland Park). You get my drift.

Strong Ales

Thomas Hardy's Ale

Stouts

Mackeson XXX Stout

If you like drinking chocolate (I do), this is your beer. Thick, rich, malty and downright delicious. I once had a desert at a resteraunt which consisted of lady fingers sitting in a bed of cherry sauce and Mackeson XXX. It was a beautiful thing.

Young's Oatmeal Stout