Overrated breweries: A six-pack of hype for the Great American Beer Festival

I've tasted hundreds and hundreds of beers over the past twenty years, from Keystone Ice to Sam Adams to Odell to Dogfish Head, and I've loved almost every one.

I love the craft brews, especially, and thank God they're around -- in force. But sometimes the hype about a certain beer or brewery just isn't warranted, doesn't match the beer.

I'm not saying the following six-pack of breweries are bad. Not at all. And I'll try them again at the Great American Beer Festival. I'm just saying they're overrated.

Dogfish Head, Milton, Delaware
I know, I know, hit me over the head with a broken beer bottle if you want, but I have yet to find a Dogfish beer that didn't involve a grimace. Yes, they spend an amazing amount of time experimenting, designing recipes and crafting beers like no other. Still, they are so strong, so unusual, that I can't drink more than a couple of sips of any of them.

Russian River, Santa Rosa, California
Pliny the Elder is a great beer, but it's not any better than half a dozen other IPAs in Colorado alone, let alone California. Temptation and Supplication are good, as well, and I would drink one any time. I just wouldn't knock myself out to do it. Too much hype.

Brooklyn Brewery, Brooklyn, New York
I've tried the beers from this brewery two years in a row at GABF, and have yet to find one that was better than average. They have a great reputation, but maybe that's because New York has so many people and is starved for in-state craft breweries.