Anchor Steam out of necessity ale'd lagers, and it still lives today. Its a little to hoppy for me, given the body, but it has a good following.
I can't say I've had an outstanding beer that came from any brewery larger than a Micro. The beer from Micro's can vary considerably however.
One of my kin bought me a beer of the month, or something to that effect, which was 3 different beers a month, a pair of each. It was very interesting and while it was predominately ales, they all maintained a unique identity.