Preferred Beers and Beer Styles

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
There was a thread on this a few years back, but tastes, products and forum members have of course changed since then. What's your favourite beer? What styles do you enjoy? What have you tried recently? Do you have recommendations or warnings?



My favourite beer is a local brew, Propeller Pale Ale. I remember sharing a large bottle with a friend of mine, and we drank it as an accompaniment to some smoked mackerel. At that time, we had very little experience with beer - the extent of our experience at that time was comprised of cautious sipping of stuff like Fosters, Heineken, Labatt and Keith's - and had never tried any microbrewery products. Perhaps needless to say, we were bowled over by the taste. It was one of those great gastronomic revelations, where you realise, "This is how it should be!"



Since that time, I've found a few other favourites, but I always like to try something new. Recently, I tried Chimay Red Cap. Even after unsuccessful experiments with the Blue and some other highly-recommended strong Belgian beers, I decided to try the Red Cap, and I rather enjoyed it. It takes away some of the dark, spicy notes and alcohol of the Blue, while still being complex and flavourful.



Here are some old (and new) favourites of mine, which you may want to try if you get the chance: McEwans Scotch Ale, Liefmans Goudenband, Fuller's London Porter, Pilsner Urquell, Mort Subite Framboise, St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout, Guinness Extra Stout, Granite Brewery Peculiar, Newcastle Brown Ale, Propeller Extra Special Bitter.



I'll concede that there are likely better examples for every style represented here, but I'd still recommend any of them.



One warning: never buy or drink Madison, if it is in fact still available. I don't think it's sold around here. It's a French beer laced with Grand Marnier, and it is absolutely disgusting. Imagine crappy beer, made sickly sweet with that dark Grand Marnier orange essence. I had trouble drinking one bottle. It's not even good as a novelty.



The only general, strong dislike I've found so far doesn't have much to do with ingredients or styles, but with presentation. I can't stand nitrogen widgets. They suck the flavour out of beer and give it a bizarre feel. Whenever I mistakenly buy a widget can, I like to open it and let it go flat before I take a drink.



So, I'm spoken for. What say you?
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 69
    sdw2001sdw2001 Posts: 18,015member
    My beer tastes are pretty tame. My favorite is Pennsylvania's own Yuengling Lager. http://www.yuengling.com/



    I ocassionally enjoy something darker like a Sam Adams. Or, I go to the local Microbrewery "Iron Hill." I generally like a lager, not too dark. Ocassionally I'll get an Ale (they have their own names, of course). The mircobrew beer will fvck you up a little more quickly, but at $3.50-$4.00 a pint, it better.



    It's a little tough on the wallet. 3 or 4 pints, share some nachos and wings with a friend...and your in for $35 a piece. But, that's off topic.



    Favorite Overall: Yuengling Lager



    Favorite Light: Amstel



    Most fvcked up for the money: Natural Ice (plus, it seems to make chicks hook up w/each other. I don't know, it just does. I've accepted it on faith).



    Most water like: Natural Light (also REALLY bad)



    Favorite Medium/darker lager: Sam Adams



    Others I like: Molson, Labatts



    Worst: Too many to name.







    For some fun, try chugging Guiness.
  • Reply 2 of 69
    ipodandimacipodandimac Posts: 3,273member
    last night i tried a white russian and thought it was pretty good. oh wait, i'm not 21. nevermind.



    White Russian

    1 1/2 oz Vodka

    3/4 oz Kahlua

    3/4 oz Light Cream or Milk



    Directions/Comments: Mix the vodka and kahlua together then float the cream on top. Add ice if desired.
  • Reply 3 of 69
    andersanders Posts: 6,523member
    Favorite beer:







    From the bottle
  • Reply 4 of 69
    dmzdmz Posts: 5,775member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Anders

    Favorite beer:

    ....



    From the bottle




    You better keep that puppy in the freezer, Anders. I have fond memories of shots of cold stoli at a russian (hey! dinner takes four hours) resturant.



    My choice:



    IPA



    Pyramid Brewery does one that's good, and Deschutes Brewery does a GREAT one, Red Hook has fallen from grace, BTW. Also, any good stout will do in a pinch.
  • Reply 5 of 69
    Just taking a break from writing my killer app. Here's a bit of the code:



    Code:


    [self ask:@"God damn son of a bitch. What the hell?"];

    [people stopPostingAboutVodka];

    [Anders apologiesFrom:self];





    I fondly remember the summer of 2003, once a week, I would bike home from work, stopping at the Liquor Store to pick up a nice big bottle of Propeller and drink it warm when I got home.



    According to RateBeer, it's an English Pale Ale, so I guess I still haven't tried a real IPA. Keith's doesn't count.
  • Reply 6 of 69
    gene cleangene clean Posts: 3,481member
    My favorite is "Birrë e Pejës", a Kosovar brand produced in the wonderful city of Peja, in Kosovo [unavailable in USA and most of European countries]. My next favorite would be Amstel, but the one found in The Netherlands, not the junk they export outside.
  • Reply 7 of 69
    shawnjshawnj Posts: 6,656member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by SDW2001

    My favorite is Pennsylvania's own Yuengling Lager. http://www.yuengling.com/





    Same here.
  • Reply 8 of 69
    midwintermidwinter Posts: 10,060member
    I like Mackison's Triple Stout, which I cannot get in Utah, apparently. So I settle for a local micro-brew: Rooster's Chocolate Stout. (Rooster's is a local restaurant and brewery)
  • Reply 9 of 69
    talksense101talksense101 Posts: 1,738member
    Corona with lime... yummy!
  • Reply 10 of 69
    i like good beers, what ever that means. my tastes wander all over the place depending on the time of the year, day of the week, hour of the day, or what mood i'm in and what color undies i'm wearing. however, here are some of the truths that have remained constant for me in regards to beer.



    1) it's never too early to drink beer.



    2) guinness is good year round, but better in the winter.



    3) hoegaarden is good year round, but better in the summer.



    4) light beers and other mass produced american beers for the most part suck ass, unless, it's a hot day and you're slowly rafting down a river with 5 or more of your buddies. then, and only then, are they acceptable to drink in mass quantities. hopefully getting you sick just to remind yourself how shitty they really are.



    5) europeans make good beers, especially the brits, scots, irish, krauts, chechs, and the adorable waffle people.



    6) although american, sierra nevada, and boulevard make really tasty pale ales.



    7) remember, there's a good reason you drink mexican beers with lime.
  • Reply 11 of 69
    groveratgroverat Posts: 10,872member
    If these guys make it, I drink it.
  • Reply 12 of 69
    Quote:

    Originally posted by groverat

    If these guys make it, I drink it.





    i used dig on the shiner product until i started doing design work for them. as far as clients go, they were one of the biggest pains in the ass. didn't help that my boss didn't know how to manage the client. after round and round of concepts based on their ever changing in the wind creative direction, ultimately they would end up with some watered down (no pun intended) frankenstein monstrosity. kind of left a bad taste in my mouth. if someone passes me one, i'll gladly drink it, but i'll be damned if i support their sorry asses anymore with my dollars.
  • Reply 13 of 69
    splinemodelsplinemodel Posts: 7,311member
    Grove:

    I had some shinerbock a few weeks ago. I was surprised. not that it was good, but in the way it tastes. It wasn't another pretentious microbrew that tries to be cool by mixing in all sorts of crap that doesn't belong in beer, or for that matter a pale-ale-ish beer, of which there seem to be so damn many these days. It was just a good, albeit heavy, honest beer.



    With that said, my favorite beer is Jever. That's hard to find, so my fridge is usually stocked with Grolsh, Becks, and Budweiser (the American version). I also like a super-cold Moosehead, Fosters, or an Anheiser Select from time to time when it's really hot outside. I also must mention DeGroens, which is a mean Pilsner brewed in Baltimore, and in a fresh keg it's hard to beat this side of the Atlantic.



    I hate sweet beers like Corona on the light side, and Newcastle on the dark side. Hate em. When I'm feeling Mexican I'd rather have a Dos Equis or even a Pacifico, and when British I'd rather have a Boddington's or a Carling.



    Sorry Irishmen, but I find Guinness and Smithwicks to be a little too mild. They're not bad though.



    Anyway, if you're in DC, I highly recommend regular trips to The Brickskeller (somewhere near Dupont Circle) if you're in the pub mood or Chevy Chase Liquors (5544 Conn. Ave) If you're in the mood for some Six Packs.
  • Reply 14 of 69
    sdw2001sdw2001 Posts: 18,015member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by ShawnJ

    Same here.



    Yes,



    Most underrated beer in my opinion.
  • Reply 15 of 69
    k squaredk squared Posts: 608member
    I'm a Rogue fan. Dead Guy Ale and Shakespeare Stout are two my favorites. When I'm on a budget, Bud's not that bad.
  • Reply 16 of 69
    groveratgroverat Posts: 10,872member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Splinemodel

    It wasn't another pretentious microbrew that tries to be cool by mixing in all sorts of crap that doesn't belong in beer, or for that matter a pale-ale-ish beer, of which there seem to be so damn many these days. It was just a good, albeit heavy, honest beer.



    That is exactly what I like about it.



    I can drink like 90 of those tasteless light/fancy beers without even noticing. It takes some doing to get through 4 Shiners.



    I'll buy Bass, too, occasionally. Usually it's just Shiner or Ziegenbock; those are the fridge mainstays.
  • Reply 17 of 69
    amoryaamorya Posts: 1,103member
    I like real ales. Which I drink depends on what's on (I only drink beer in the pub - don't get any in cans or bottles, that'd be sacrilege!) A favourite at the moment is Landlord, but it's rarely available round these parts. Hook Norton is a (fairly) local brewery which do a nice pint -- Old Hooky can be found in most of the bars on campus.



    BTW, to those of you complaining about paying $3.50 a pint... I pay on average £2.20 ($4.40). It's not too bad if you don't go out drinking too often. Three pints once or twice a week doesn't break the bank.



    Amorya
  • Reply 18 of 69
    splinemodelsplinemodel Posts: 7,311member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Amorya

    BTW, to those of you complaining about paying $3.50 a pint...



    It's only an annoyance when stella is $3.50 a pint. On this side of the pond it's marketed as a top-shelf beer. Funny thing is that you're hard pressed to find a pint cheaper than $2.50, or more expensive than $3.50. Unless of course you're drinking dollar-drafts of Bud Ice.



    Which reminds me, I did notice that Budweiser is the official beer of the FA.
  • Reply 19 of 69
    rhumgodrhumgod Posts: 1,289member
    Favorites? Oh there are SO many in the mass-produced arena:



    Becks

    Leinenkugels

    Samuel Adams

    Hacker Pschorr

    St Pauli Girl



    Of the local brews....

    most all have fairly decent flavor, head, aftertaste and kick, but my favorite is Titletown Brewing Piper Down Scottish Ale.



    My mouth is watering...and yes, on-tap in the pub is the only way to go!
  • Reply 20 of 69
    from november to the end of march is Linenkugel Big Butt season.

    it's my favorite.
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