Men’s magazine Esquire has an obnoxiously paginated and ad-ridden slide-show of the Best new beers of 2012 (so far). The twenty-some beers highlighted are predictably all-over the map, but we are very happy to see that LA’s own Golden Road made the list with their Point the Way IPA! The only other California beers to get a mention were Green Flash’s Palate Wrecker, and the upcoming Stone/Iron Fist collaboration beer. Most of the listed beers won’t even see distribution in California; east coast bias strikes again! Check out the whole list after the jump.

Beers marked with a * should see distribution in Los Angeles/California. The other ones might be a bit more difficult to get your hands on.

The Hoppy Beers

• Flying Dog El Dorado
• Golden Road Point the Way*
• Harpoon Rich & Dan’s Rye IPA
• Westbrook Brewing Covert Hops
• He’Brew Hop Manna*
• Green Flash Palate Wrecker*
• Sixpoint Resin

Best Use of Beer Lemonade

• Shock-Top Lemon Shandy*

The Funky Beers

• Odell Shenanigans
• Stone/Iron Fist Pillow Mint at the Ritz*
• Cigar City Cucumber Saison
• Highland Razor Wit
• Sun King/Oskar Blues Chaka
• Dogfish Head Positive Contact*
• Deschutes Chainbreaker White IPA*

The Mellow Beers

• O’Fallon Kite Tail Summer Ale
• Samuel Adams Verloren*
• Tallgrass 8-Bit Pale Ale
• Terrapin Easy Rider
• Magic Hat Elder Betty*
• New Belgium Shift*

Gluten Free Beer That Doesn’t Suck

• Widmer Bros. Omission*

Gypsy Brewers to Watch

• Mikkeller*
• Pretty Things Beer and Ale Project*
• Stillwater Artisnal Ales

• Source: The Best Beers of 2012 (So Far)