On the day the Flyers' Stanley Cup bid came to an anti-climactic halt, Philly beer fans got a chance to sample the best beers in the country, including plenty that don’t distribute in Chicago. In yet another awesome Philly Beer Week event, University City’s City Tap House (3925 Chestnut Street) featured the Best of the Best, in which nine of the top ten craft breweries in the United States, as rated by our friends at Beer Advocate, offered their best of the season. Further proving Philadelphia’s dominance in the realm of beer, local favorites Troegs and Victory made the cut, along with Ommegang, Avery, Stone, Russian River, Great Divide, Great Lakes, and Sierra Nevada.

Tap House beer guru, Andy Farrell, stacked the selection. Pliny the Elder, while not quite as hyped as its Younger brother, was our first stop. From California’s Russian River, this hyper-hopped double IPA is dry and complex, citrusy and bitter, and a worthy start to one hell of a night.  New York’s Belgian specialist, Brewery Ommegang, represented with their funky and spicy limited release, Tripel Perfection.

We washed down our first round with a taste of Avery’s Mephistopheles, an Imperial Stout as serious as they get. Not for the faint of heart, this 15% abv wrecking ball packs as much flavor as it does potency. Also from Avery, out of Boulder, Colorado, came their Fifteen anniversary ale, a unique sour American Wild. California’s Stone Brewing offered Saison du Buff, a collaboration brew with Victory and Dogfish Head (whose exclusion from the top ten was borderline criminal negligence), which brought the many farmhouse flavors of the saison style to a new level.

Round three started with a quick taste of the richly decadent Chocolate Oak Aged Yeti imperial stout by Denver’s Great Divide. We followed this up with Charlie, Fred and Ken’s Ale, a thirtieth anniversary offering from Sierra Nevada, and a Dortmunder Gold lager from Ohio’s Great Lakes Brewing.

From Downingtown’s Victory, a freshly tapped firkin of Storm King imperial stout proved how different a character a beer takes on when warm and naturally carbonated. Already one of our favorites, Storm King tasted a lot smoother and a lot less hoppy than usual, and almost became another brilliant beer altogether.

And our final gem of the evening came from Harrisburg’s Troegs Brewery, who offered the Citra of Brotherly Love wine barrel aged IPA. Brewed specifically for Philly Beer Week, featuring the intensely grapefruit-toned Citra hops, which don’t just bring the acidity of citrus, but a refreshing mango-papaya sweetness as well. This beer represented the city well, and kept our thirst quenched well into overtime.

About Beer Geek Steve:
Steve spends as much time as his wife will let him tracking down rare beers and trying to analyze the intersection between quality beer, hype, and viral marketing. When he's not reviewing beer for Drink Philly, he writes about his adventures in chasing bottles and taps at his blog, Beer Geek Steve. You can also follow him on Twitter, where he tweets about happenings in the craft beer industry and often locates some of the best barrels in southeast PA.