Three weeks ago, Deschutes Brewery in Oregon finally started selling its award-winning beer in major Missouri cities such as Kansas City, Columbia and St. Louis.

That news was a pretty big deal to local beer fans because a) Deschutes is the No. 1 craft brewery in the Pacific Northwest and b) Deschutes’ beers have earned stellar reviews on beer sites such as beeradvocate.com.

Several Deschutes beers are currently available in 22-oz bottles and on top in Kansas City. In February, six-packs will become available and Deschutes will start distributing beer to the rest of Missouri. Then, in March, Deschutes plans to expand into Kansas.

Here’s a taste of five beers recommended by brewmaster Brian Faivre and digital marketing manager Jason Randles, the guy behind @DeschutesBeer on Twitter.

Black Butte Porter: Even if you think you don’t like dark beers, try this one, suggests Randles. The velvety-smooth brew balances roasty chocolate flavors with hop bitterness so well that it’s the best-selling craft porter in the United States.

Mirror Pond Pale Ale: This bright brew shows off the Pacific Northwest’s own Cascade hops and won a gold medal in the English Pale Ale category at the 2010 Great American Beer Festival. It also happens to be Deschutes’ top-selling beer.

The Abyss: Faivre’s top pick is an Imperial Stout that was released in November 2011. Deschutes saved some of the limited-edition beer for a couple months so beer drinkers here could get a taste. That’s pretty awesome considering The Abyss is one of the top-rated beers on beeradvocate.com. Sip this one slowly: The Abyss is 11 percent alcohol and it has huge flavor because it was brewed with licorice and molasses and aged in bourbon, pinot noir and oak barrels. Once it sells out, it’s gone till November.

Black Butte XXIII: This double porter is an experimental take on the Black Butte Porter, a beer Deschutes has been brewing for 23 years. Chocolate nibs, Sevilla oranges from Spain, and hot Pasilla Negra chiles spice up Black Butte XXIII, which brewers aged for six months in bourbon barrels. The limited-edition beer was first released in June, but like The Abyss, Deschutes saved some for us.

Hop Henge Experimental IPA: If you like hops, you’ll love Hop Henge, made with eight kinds of hops. Faivre says it’s bitter, but not too bitter: “It has a tremendous amount of balance. It’s a pretty easy-drinking Imperial IPA,” Faivre says. Fun fact: Deschutes employees used bales of whole flower hops to build their own Stonehenge on a grassy field outside the brewery. Their “Hop Henge” was the inspiration behind this beer’s label.

Still thirsty for Deschutes? Check out this romantic short film from the brewery’s website. It’s about love and nature and how beer makes both of those things even better. It’s also slightly NSFW, thanks to brief (but tasteful) nudity.