Ok, so I'm new to the party here. Just read through all 11 pages of this thread.
Here's my beer take: (I'm in the Louisville market)
Against The Grain is one of the best around. Big fan of the Brown Note and had another ale there a couple of weeks ago but the name escapes me. Really good beer.
Goodwood is a spinoff of BBC. They have some decent offerings, but was never a BBC fan. I think they tried to get too big too fast, they were early players in the local craft brew business. I think they tried to be more of a restaurant at first.
Flat 12 Beirwerks is another I like, they originate out of Indy, but have a place in Jeffersonville.
I'm not a huge IPA fan, more of a darker, brown ales, sour ales, porters, Belgians, kinda guy, but I like trying most anything that isn't overly fruity or overly hoppy.
Austin...I have a lot of respect for your opinions on here after reading through this thread, however I take exception to anyone who buys the sampler packs. Just my two cents, but I think those are mostly comprised of beers the suppliers are trying to empty off their shelves. The ones that are on the verge of being past their prime. I don't think you get quite the quality of beer you would get by building your own sampler pack from singles.
Apocalypse brewing in Louisville sucks. I like the setup with the food trucks, but the beer is bad.
I try to find local breweries when I travel for work, so far some of my favorites have been Great Dane in Madison, Wisconsin. Springfield Brewing in Springfield Missouri, had a beer called "Del Fuego" brewed with chili peppers that was absolutely amazing. Had a good Bourbon Barrel Stout down in Titusville, Fl at a place Called Playalinda Brewing.
Right now I'm drinking a beer from 5 Rabbit called 5 Vulture that is an amber ale brewed with ancho chilies. Gives it a nice hint of heat, but nothing to overpower the taste. Great beer.