Redefining Rare Beer

When you get deep into circles of beer aficionados they want to talk about "Rare Beer" and where they got it.  First thing that comes to mind is the Dark Lord sitting in my beer cabinet or gobbling up the last of the Drie Fonteinen or even a Utopias.  For those of you who don't know Dark Lord is only sold one day a year, Drie Fonteinen is no longer brewing (but still blending) and Utopias is a limited batch every other year.  True these beers are limited or virtually extinct.  Furthermore the beers are all held in high regard.  Two of the three were on my personal bucket list for a while now and all are in my 1001 journey.  However, I type this drinking a Two Brothers Avalon Spiced Ale.  

Avalon is a limited run beer.  It falls under the category of Herbed/ Spiced Beer in Beer Advocate.  There are only 510 entries in this category.  However, this beer is the only one I know that uses cider in the brewing process.  Not only did the brewers make a limited release they went out on a limb.  Southern Tier's Creme Brulee or Three Floyds Ham on Rye are another example of brewers doing something rare.

Creme Brulee is technically an Imperial Milk Stout, but the flavors incorporated into the beer of burnt sugar and vanilla show a higher level of craftsmanship rarely seen.  Additionally Ham on Rye (saw it once in the brewpub) tasted so much like the ham sandwhich most of us brown bag everyday I asked if it was brewed with ham in the boil.  The answer was the malt was smoked like ham.  I responded by suggesting it be served with a pickle.  This beer actually changed the way I view beer.

More than one brewery produces a Russian Imperial Stout, Imperial Milkstout or Lambic.  The vast majority of breweries produce a light lager, a wheat, a pale ale, IPA, and stout.  Brew pubs will normally throw in a Fruit beer, Kolsch style, amber and a few others throughout a year.  You do not always see these styles of beer.

So I challenge you to take the time to try some of these rare beers.  Remeber a limited production brewery might have some amazing beer, but at the end of the day it might be the same thing you have drank over and over again.