Well, here we are again. And here you are. Let’s start with our ironclad methodology.

Per usual, the standard is “what we’ve done here is think about what our predilections would be on the day-of; which beers would we be most likely to drink, to wait in line for?” This takes into consideration a great number of things: the esteem in which we hold a brewery, our relative style preferences (slightly more on this below), our understanding of a given beer’s reputation, ABV, and availability (we’re not, by and large, going to Snallygaster to drink things we can typically get). Our power rankings are a rough approximation of our relative preference for the beers that will be available. Note that not all of us have had all of these beers. We make no claim to that effect (it would be extraordinary if we had).

How did we go about doing this? Each beer was ranked 1 to 4 according to each scorer’s personal preference and predilection for ordering. We averaged those scores, then we did a second round of scoring, also 1 to 4, within that point system, so that every beer that got a 2, for example, was then ranked against its peers. Why a second round? Because if the average score of a beer after one round is 1.5, we round it up to 2. If a beer scores 2.333333, it’s also a 2, so that second round allows us to differentiate between beers. Beer one might end up ranked 2.1, while beer two could end up ranked 2.4.

Obviously this is not scientific, so don’t come beating down our Twitter for putting your favorite IPA at 3.1 instead of 3.3. Make your own power rankings. Want to chat about what you think we got wrong or under- or over-ranked? Let us know on Twitter at @DCBeer! Let us know at Snally, we’ll be around. We’d love to hear from you.

A few last things before we finally get to it:

Sponsorship

  1. We’ve tried to be sensitive to last-minute changes to the beer list, but exceptions and mistakes will occur. If there’s something on here that doesn’t make it to Snallygaster, remember that it’s just beer, there are at least 400 other options, plus off-menu beers at the Beerscovery tent. Also remember that while there will be long lines for Cantillon, there probably won’t be for Tilquin. Tilquin is good, dammit! Drink that, too.
  2. No hard feelings, breweries. It’s not that we don’t like you or your beers (generally, at least), this is the nature of the power rankings, which tend to depress the scores of locally available year-round and seasonal beers, many of which are excellent.
  3. The list at Snallygaster really is an embarrassment of beer riches that we shouldn’t take for granted. Yeah, 83 of these beers have the word “hazy” in there somewhere, but there are also 50+ lagers. Kudos to Greg, Tim, Bruno, and the NRG team for putting this together.
  4. Want to join in the fun? Tickets are still available, but don’t count on them being sold at the gates. Also, proceeds go to a good cause.
  5. We are old. We care not for lactose in sours or IPAs, and barely tolerate it in pastry stouts. If you want that list, we got you. We do not “ISO” on Instagram, nor do we trade in Facebook groups or other fora. If you do, and are interested in writing, or drawing, about beer, we are interested in giving you a voice. Really. Let us know.

All that said, awaaaaaaaay we go! Have fun and be safe at Snally!

The top 15

To ensure a variety of breweries, only one beer per brewery in the top 15. Hope you like sours! (Brewery, Beer, Description, ABV, Location, Untappd, DCBeer Score)

More more more!

Ranked 3.1

Now we’ve got some locals popping up in the rankings, alphabetical order.

ranked 2.4

ranked 2.3

Sponsorship

You can keep reading if you want to, but our rankings are on a public spreadsheet.

ranked 2.2 to 2.1

In alphabetical order, going to stop using bold and such because doing that for 100+ beers is painful we made it happen. Besides, we’ve got a public spreadsheet for you.

ranked 1.4 to 1.3

Look, there are some really good beers here, dammit.

ranked 1.2 to 1.1

This is where you can find the frooted smoothie seltzer sours with lactose. Also, good beers that DC is blessed to be able to purchase at grocery stores.

If you read all the way down here maybe you deserve to drink a sour ale made with fruit puree, cookies, and ice cream. Also, open up the maps app on your phone, take a bong rip, head to the closest Cold Stone Creamery, and do your worst, we dare you.

Alright, see you on Pennsylvania Avenue tomorrow!

Sponsorship