Sam Adams double bock

[RandomJoe]

I was actually gonna suggest that one, lol. One of my favorites. Very unique beer. I've had one or two that attempt to emulate it, but not nearly as well.

[Quixon]

I'll list a couple of my favorites here:

-Guinness
-St. Bernardus ABT 12
-Delirium Nocturnum

Bernardus is my favorite of the 3. Guinness is what I drink at parties. I will have to try that spaten optimator.

The place I frequent for dinner in New Paltz, NY has over 300 different types of beer. I love it there to say the least lol.

Bacchus of New Paltz

[Zoolander]

Guinness is what I drink at parties.

Thats pretty crazy. Most people think we are nuts at my house for having kegs of Killian's and Amberbock...I mean Guinness and parties just usually does not work well together. You actually plan on getting drunk and playing beer games with guinness? I hope not lol.

I see a lot of people listing the Delirium brews...I like the Tremens, the Nocturnum not so much. Anyone else around here actually been to that bar? My only full day in Brussels really was one of the best days ever, in large part because of that amazing bar.

[Auspice]

St. B 12 is fucking awesome. First Belgian I ever had. Talk about opening my eyes to some great beer styles.

[Quixon]

You actually plan on getting drunk and playing beer games with guinness? I hope not lol.

Well if we are playing beer pong or whatever, it's usually house beer.... which is bud or coor's light. As soon as I'm done playing it's back to the Guinness though. I can get fall down drunk off Guinness and be fine the next morning, it's really weird.

I also drink Guinness & Bass in a black and tan. Not sure if there is a better tan beer to use w/ Guinness, but my first black and tan had Bass... so that's what I stick with.

[Resin]

^ Bass is what I use for Black and Tans as well.

This is a great thread with a ton of good suggestions, but I think it would be awesome to have somewhere where people can say, "here's what I like, what are some recommendations that are similar?" or something like that. I find that I like quite a lot of different types of beers, but the sheer number of choices is kinda overwhelming. Would help to maybe have someone point in the right direction. This may or may not be the right place for something like this, but I, for one, would love it as a reference.

[archibaldcrane]

Since this was bumped anyway...

Saga, how'd you like the Optimator?

[OctavoGilgamesh]

I'm kind of curious, (and maybe we should just make a "BEER!" thread...) but do a lot of you guys that consider yourselves beer connoisseurs really like wheat beer?

Um, in my opinion, the widely available wheat beer (the shit that comes with fruit in it, bluemoon, etc) has it's place as a stepping stone for those Bud Light guys.

The only wheat I really enjoy is a beer brewed in Madison, WI called Capital Island Wheat. It is crisp, by no means fruity, and has a beautiful complex flavor that reminds me slightly of a local brewery's dunkel. It is really hard to explain. If it's available in your area and you are in the mood for a wheat, check it out.



To the OP. I'm a fan of only two Sam Adams. The original Boston Lager (45-50 degrees and in a rounded pint glass) and the seasonal White Ale. Their stout blows and I haven't seen the dopplebock you are referring to locally. I always have at least a few bottles of Boston Lager in the fridge!


Otherwise I love IPA's, Stouts, Porters, and some lesser ales. A local brewery in Green Bay makes a couple good ones that I'm partial to. Hinterland Pale Ale, and Hinterland Luna Stout. Their main brewery has a lounge only a couple blocks from my work .

[Norellicus]

Since this was bumped, I might as well inquire...what's worth trying for anyone new to the whole alcohol thing? I've been skittish about just trying things at random, mainly because I don't like wasting $6 on something I won't drink, especially when I'm really ok with just some tea or water >_>

But there's also the fact that I tend to gather that most beers (and/or liquors?) are predominantly of the bitter persuasion; I know for certain that I don't like coffee or sparkling water on account of its bitter flavor, and the two* alcoholic drinks that I've actually had (Sam Adams Light and champagne...I have no idea how good the champagne quality was, it was at a wedding reception ) were vile and set off similar reactions in my mouth to that of the coffee/sparkling water: an overpowering, straight up bitter or rancid taste. Should I just write it off now and assume that I'll get a similar response from most things alcohol or were those just bad examples? It's worth noting that I like dark chocolate, so it's not necessarily a straight up intolerance for all things bitter (but that may have more to do with dark chocolate still having a sugar component, I'm not sure).

I've never necessarily wanted alcohol but at this point it's more that I don't know what I'm missing or if it's even worth pursuing. I know just trying things is the most reliable way to find out what's good but like I said, don't like waste (both my money and the drink itself ). Plus the whole pesky needing to be able to drive home so can't drink more than one in a single outing.

*(While typing this I remembered that I actually had a mudslide recently that was quite tolerable, but it was more of a milkshake than a straight IBA mudslide so I'm sure the 'alcohol' property was different. I could taste something different but it wasn't like "Augh I need to scrape my tongue to get it to go away". So I don't know if that was a property of the ice cream nulling it or the liquor itself not having the same overwhelming properties as the previous attempts...insight there would probably be appreciated by someone who understands different liquors, maybe it would help me know what to shop for.)

[aru]

Have you tried Port, Sherry, Ice Wine or other fortified wines?

[Zanz L. Barre The 3rd]

I had some $22 bottle of Sam Adam's Double Bock (some large bottle promoted around the holidays). It definitely wasn't delicious like every other Sam Adam's I've had. Just tried Sam Adam's Octoberfest and Shocktop last night though, both of which were delicious.

[Correction]

If you are new to alcohol and want to get started with good tasting beverages, avoid beer altogether. Or if you have any beer, have a light ale WITH some greasy/salty food. Pairing the drinks with good food is what is going to mature your palate and eventually get you used to drinking it straight.

Of course you could always just binge drink yourself blind and senseless like most stupid teenagers, I heard that's another way to get used to the flavor, I dunno.

However you're lucky, you're entering the peak of the 'holy shit there's a lot of good beer out right now' season. Autumn seasonal beers are far and away the most drinkable and tasty. Duck the 'Imperial' brews since they're hit-or-miss due to the tendency of some overzealous brewers to overdo the alcohol content. Try the pumpkin ales available, you might like them.

If you opt the fuck-beer route go with mixed drinks with a vodka or rum base, those are the gentlest on the senses.

[toonces]

any tip that recommends light beer is fail

[Norellicus]

Have you tried Port, Sherry, Ice Wine or other fortified wines?

No, on all accounts. I'm dubious that I've ever tried any wine at all really...certainly not consciously/willingly. Though I would expect wine to have the same bitter problem, no? Fermented grapes and all...

If you are new to alcohol and want to get started with good tasting beverages, avoid beer altogether. Or if you have any beer, have a light ale WITH some greasy/salty food. Pairing the drinks with good food is what is going to mature your palate and eventually get you used to drinking it straight.

Of course you could always just binge drink yourself blind and senseless like most stupid teenagers, I heard that's another way to get used to the flavor, I dunno.

However you're lucky, you're entering the peak of the 'holy shit there's a lot of good beer out right now' season. Autumn seasonal beers are far and away the most drinkable and tasty. Duck the 'Imperial' brews since they're hit-or-miss due to the tendency of some overzealous brewers to overdo the alcohol content. Try the pumpkin ales available, you might like them.

If you opt the fuck-beer route go with mixed drinks with a vodka or rum base, those are the gentlest on the senses.

Yeah, I was never one of those 'stupid teenagers' and just didn't mess with any of it, heh. I saw no point in getting shitfaced, still don't really, just more curious at this point about the genre. Clearly people like the stuff, and I sincerely doubt it's just because they like getting stone drunk (minus a few exceptions).

When you say light ale, do you mean the label will actually say "light" like the sam adams one I had (or "bud light" et al) or is there some other definition there?

Moreover, you're saying beer is a bad alcohol litmus and I should go for cocktails/mixers? Any reason why?

[Zanz L. Barre The 3rd]

any tip that recommends light beer is fail

Trollin'

I prefer light beers as opposed to the "original" most the time; I'm particularly fond of the smoothness brought forth by Sam Adam's Light.

[Correction]

any tip that recommends light beer is fail

I didn't see anybody recommending light beer. Did you?

When you say light ale, do you mean the label will actually say "light" like the sam adams one I had (or "bud light" et al) or is there some other definition there?

Moreover, you're saying beer is a bad alcohol litmus and I should go for cocktails/mixers? Any reason why?

I meant light as in the flavor of the beer, ales typically falling under the most drinkable beers. Fat Tire Ales a good example here. Very mellow beer.

[Diamicles]

Right now I'm big on seasonal stuff, like Honey Moon and sunshine, but normally find myself drinking New Belgium Products or Dundee Honey Brown. Saw that Oktoberfest was on the shelves last week, so I'll grab a case of that this weekend probably. Sometimes though, I just want to drink good old beer, and I'll get something like Michelob or something macro-brewed. I just love drinking beer!

My buddy is big on trying as many beers as possible, there's a lot of good stuff out there if you're willing to try it.

[Flarega]

Personally into pale ales and IPAs right now. They have a bitter taste since you said that was what you liked, but are seriously tasty. I am lucky coming from California though because there are tons of small breweries around here that brew to my taste.

Another beer I had recently is Boont Amber Ale. That one is great, although a bit different from what I've been having lately.

Edit: Oh thought you meant you liked bitter stuff, my bad.

[Silviya]

One of the bottle shops around where I live started doing "build your own 6-pack" for $10. I love it. I've basically just been working my way across the shelves. I'm curious if any of the liquor stores where you guys live do anything like this?

Also, the next time I go I'll have to make a list based of the recommendations of this thread. Thanks!

[aru]

No, on all accounts. I'm dubious that I've ever tried any wine at all really...certainly not consciously/willingly. Though I would expect wine to have the same bitter problem, no? Fermented grapes and all...

No, they are very sweet wines, almost to the point of being candy-like. The one's that I listed can be served as a desert stand-alone they are so rich. Fortified wines are special in that, for most of them, they only undergo a partial or reduced fermentation duration. At a certain point in the fermentation process the wine maker adds in additional alcohol. Doing this kills off the yeasts that have been turning the grapes' sugars to alcohol. That allows for more of the sugar to remain present in the liquid when it otherwise would have been converted resulting in a much sweeter and higher ABV than would occur naturally.

Unfortunately, Ports and Ice Wines are fairly expensive. This is why I listed Sherry as it is a good deal cheaper, although it lacks complexity. Some people will tell you that it's only good for cooking but I disagree. I would suggest, though, that you try out a tawney 5-10 year Port (or Porto- Port wine made outside of Port, Portugal) as the flavor will have a substantial complexity over Sherry but the price is still cheap(ish). You'll get what you pay for. Just be careful when you pour yourself a glass, you probably don't want to get drunk on this stuff and it's very easy to. All I usually drink is about 1.5 inches up a desert wine glass and it warms me right up in the fall & winter. It'll go well with an orange, fruit salad or some pie if you want to have something to eat with it.

EDIT: You also might want to consider Limoncello. I've made this myself a few times and it's turned out great, although you can buy it in the store. When you can find it, it's priced close to that of a mid-grade vodka, unless you get it at a restaurant or bar then it can be 3-4x the price of a vodka shot. It is vodka based and is made by steeping lemon rinds for weeks in a vat of vodka. Later a sugar & water solution is added to sweeten it up. Usually drank as a shot or double-shot after being cooled to freezer level temperatures. If you like lemons, this is something you should try.