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17 beers to impress your beer-snob friends (without breaking the bank)

Maybe you’re not a beer snob, or even much of a beer person, but your friends are growing increasingly picky about their porters. Insistent on their IPAs. Absolutely aggravating in their abbey ale arrogance … well, you get the idea.

You could blow a good chunk of your upcoming tax refund on the priciest bottles, and your friends and guests would at least admire the effort. But why not impress them instead with your ability to pick out high-quality brews without looking like you broke a sweat?
We asked a few of the region’s more discerning beer palates to reveal their best-bang-for-the-buck beers. Most of them can be had anywhere fine beers are sold for less than $10 per six-pack—sometimes decidedly less. Notably, most of them come from Northeast breweries, and the majority of those from WNY itself. We also cherry-picked a few pointers from beer snobs around the web.

Sierra Nevada Celebration

“Wildly good at a very reasonable price,” according to Joe McBane, owner of Rochester’s Tap & Mallet, where the region’s beer lovers commune over their love of all things craft and cask. Celebration is a (winter) seasonal ale, though, so McBane also recommends Blackbird Oatmeal Stout from Flying Bison, a Buffalo brewery that “always puts out a great product at a very fair price.”

High-End Cans

Canned beer—it’s not just for football or archly ironic youngsters anymore. Lots of craft breweries are picking up on the convenience of cans—lined with a water-based sealant to keep metal out, but filled with beer still meant for enjoying in a glass. Cans of Modus Hoperandi IPA and ESB Special Ale from Colorado’s Ska Brewery won a best-in-class nod from the Serious Eats blog, as did Dale’s Pale Ale from Oskar Blues (also a Colorado maker) and the easier-going Porkslap Pale Ale, hailing from the Butternuts Beer & Ale company out of Garrattsville in South-Central New York.

Ellicottville Winter Witte

“Nice twist on the traditional style, utilizing a citrus-y hop to match with the expected orange peel and coriander notes,” says Ethan Cox, cofounder of Buffalo’s new Community Beer Works microbrewery. For other beers in the under-$10 range, Cox recommends Alpine Black IPA from Otter Creek (“mellow hop bitterness meets mellow malt roast-iness”) and Flying Bison Blizzard Bock (“Firm malt body makes this beer a great pair with many [hardy] dishes”).

Cheaper Picks from BeerAdvocate.com

Beer Advocate is where lovers of beer go to congregate, complain, review the newest brews, and discuss the finer points of finishing hops. From their home page, look in the left-side column for “Top Beers,” which you can further refine from a pull-down menu, if you happen to know someone’s favorite styles. Most will be pricey, but you can snipe some cheaper beers from the bunch: we found Rogue Chocolate Stout, Ithaca Brewing Company’s Cascazilla Red Ale, and Sierra Nevada’s Kellerweis Hefeweizen.

Anything Made by Ommegang

“Witte, Abbey Ale, Hennepin, and Rare Vos are [all] extremely well-made Belgians and quite affordable,” says Mike Shatzel, owner of Buffalo’s Blue Monk. Shatzel buys mostly kegs these days, but believes Ellicottville Brewing Company’s Pale Ale, Southern Tier’s IPA, Great Lakes Brewing Company’s Edmund Fitzgerald porter, and most beers from the Smuttynose and Lagunitas breweries are altogether reasonable. Shatzel, too, finds Flying Bison’s goods are notably good for the price.

 

 

Kevin Purdy is a writer living in Buffalo who was, at least at publication time, the Foursquare mayor of the Blue Monk.