(DailyHerald) - Every February, the superlimited release of Russian River Brewing Company’s Pliny the Younger sends beer lovers swarming to bars like ants to crusts of bread. All of this hubbub because the beer currently holds the No. 1 ranking at the user-driven review site BeerAdvocate.com, making it the unofficial “best beer in the world.” Attempts to name a “best beer” may seem unenlightened, or even absurd, to some. After all, food and drink involve an element of personal taste — chacun à son goût, as the French say — and the greatest beer for you isn’t necessarily the greatest beer for me. But this critique misses an essential point about the political structure of the beer world.