Semantics and the Search for a ‘Perfect’ Beer

What is a perfect beer?

Ask the question and subjectivity runs amok.

Would it be our favorite beer? One that holds particular nostalgic value? A sum of specialized ingredients? Something that simply stands out as so different, it’s one of a kind?

There are many ways to consider what “perfect” means to us, especially in terms of a good or product. Generally speaking, when it comes to beer, the effort to define perfect often becomes a quantitative one, relying on beer rating websites that offer numeric value to a particular brew.

Westvleteren 12 is a perfect 100 on both Beer Advocate and RateBeer. Heady Topper and Pliny the Elder, too. Sorry, Dark Lord, you missed it by five points on Beer Advocate.

If those are examples of “perfect” beers, what does that mean for us? If a beer is perfect, should it also be a favorite? Or are those things utterly, completely, mutually exclusive?

All these questions rattled around my head recently when I poked through Reddit’s beer community and spotted two threads on the front page:

• Which beer would you rate a perfect 10 out of 10? And why?
• You are stranded on a deserted island. What’s the one beer you can take with you?

To me, these questions aren’t terribly far off from being one in the same. The first asks what is the world-class beer you love beyond all others, while the second poses the popular question of a “desert island beer.”

Results of the “perfect beer” were predictable, creating a list of IPAs, double IPAs and imperial stouts (plus one quad!) with an average ABV of 8.5 percent:

Beer Name	Brewer	Style	ABV
Breakfast Stout	Founders	Imperial Stout	8.3
Pliny the Elder	Russian River	DIPA	8
Rochefort 10	Rochefort	Quad	11.3
Mass Rising	Jack’s Abby	DIPL	8
Juice Machine	Tree House	DIPA	9.8
Enjoy by 12.26.14	Stone	DIPA	9.4
Dreadnaught	Three Floyds	DIPA	9.5
Double Shot	Tree House	Stout	7.6
Barbapapa	Pretty Things	Imperial Stout	12
KBS	Founders	Imperial Stout	11.2
Bon Bon	Singlecut	DIPA	8.2
Haze	Tree House	DIPA	8.2
Hoppy Birthday	Alpine	IPA	5.25
Celebration	Sierra Nevada	IPA	6.8
Sucks	Lagunitas	DIPA	7.85
Yellow Belly Sundae	Buxton	Imperial Stout	12
Tasmanian IPA	Schlafly	IPA	7.2
Harvest Ale	Founders	IPA	7.6
Grapefruit Sculpin	Ballast Point	IPA	7
Jai Alai	Cigar City	IPA	7.5
Two Hearted	Bells	IPA	7
Zombie Dust	Three Floyds	IPA	6.2

Meanwhile, desert island question went in another direction, with far fewer results:

Beer Name	Brewer	Style	ABV
Jai Alai	Cigar City	IPA	7.5
Liliko’i Kepolo	Avery	Wit	5.6
Sorachi Ace	Brooklyn	Saison	7.2
Orval	Orval	Belgian Pale	6.2
Saison DuPont	DuPont	Saison	6.5
White	Allagash	Wit	5
Guinness	Guinness	Stout	4.2

That’s an average ABV of 6.2 percent, for what it’s worth.

When asking about a “desert island beer,” the question isn’t necessarily meant to be taken literally. Using “desert island” connotes images of crystal blue water and sun-bleached beaches and the responses to that question seem to play off that. However, the question is more focused on moving you down an avenue to get you thinking about a broader issue: if you only had one beer available to you for the rest of your life, what would it be?

So I asked that question.

Whether it was my hope or assumption, I figured responses would land somewhere between the two. I tried to phrase the question as broadly as possible so not to fully bias answers, but I imagine the context of asking “You can only drink one beer for the rest of your life. What would you choose?” makes it difficult.

Might people assume they’re binge drinking? Lighter beers in both alcohol content and body might be preferred. Maybe respondents will see it as a balance of a beer they love, but one that can be consumed at any and all occasions. You can see a full list here, but here were 20 top answers:

Beer Name	Brewer	Style	ABV
Jai Alai	Cigar City	IPA	7.5
Two Hearted	Bells	IPA	7
Fresh Squeezed	Deschutes	IPA	6.4
Resin	Sixpoint	DIPA	9.1
Dale’s Pale Ale	Oskar Blues	American Pale	6.5
Mosaic IPA	Community Beer Company	IPA	8.6
Extra Pale Ale	Summit	English Pale	5.3
Daisy Cutter	Half Acre	American Pale	5.2
Pale Ale	Sierra Nevada	American Pale	5.6
Torpedo	Sierra Nevada	IPA	7.2
All Day IPA	Founders	IPA	4.7
Guinness	Guinness	Stout	4.2
Grapefruit Sculpin	Ballast Point	IPA	7
PBR	Pabst	Pale Lager	4.7
Traditional Lager	Yuengling	Vienna Lager	4.4
Little Sumpin’ Sumpin	Lagunitas	IPA	7.5
Boston Lager	Sam Adams	Vienna Lager	4.9
Pilsner Urquell	Plzeňský Prazdroj	Czech Pilsner	4.4
60 Minute	Dogfish Head	IPA	6
Miller Lite	Miller Brewing	Pale Lager	4.2

Several fell into a category of beers people enjoyed drinking, but wanted to make sure they could drink a lot of – Miller Lite, Yuengling’s Traditional Lager, PBR, etc. Some answers were based around cost, a caveat that should have been offered in asking the question. If they were only buying one beer, people mentioned Summit’s Extra Pale Ale and Sierra Nevada’s beers because of a combination of cost and taste.

But half of this list was stylistically counted as IPA and American pale ales like Daisy Cutter or Dale’s Pale Ale aren’t far off from their hop-forward brethren. I found it telling that not a single imperial stout was included among top results. Founders Breakfast Stout was mentioned along the way, but perhaps Reddit’s beer community is just too focused on hops, just like everyone else.

Assuming comments on these questions are posted by American drinkers, it showcases a consistent theme among U.S. beer enthusiasts – our love and reliance on IPAs and big stouts, both of which beer enthusiasts regularly hold in regard as the best beers produced.

It also raises questions about how “best,” “perfect” and other adjectives may influence a response from drinkers when asking them about their preferred beer. It’s all about context. Even though these respondents consider a very select group of beers and beer styles to be “perfect,” most of the specific brand selections from the “10 out of 10” question still aren’t considered for every day consumption in my thread.

However, you can’t shake the need for IPAs whether its impressing people at a bottle share or being stuck on a desert island, you INSATIABLE ANIMALS.

A beer for every occasion, I suppose.

@BryanDRoth I could drink a good Pale Ale or Saison each and every day. Can’t say the same for Imperial Stouts!

— Raising the Barstool (@RTBarstool) October 27, 2015

Bryan Roth
“Don’t drink to get drunk. Drink to enjoy life.” — Jack Kerouac

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