The Beer Thread: 2009 – 2012

[Invader3K]

So is there any beer that isnt bitter? I've tried Budweiser, Miller Lite, Bud Lite, Guinness and they all have an unappealing bitter taste to them.

Really? You find those beers "bitter?" Stay away from IPAs. Maybe you should try something sweeter like Honeyweis or something. Otherwise maybe you're just not a beer drinker.

[adamb100]

Well Miller is bitter from what I remember (havent drank it in ages), guinness has a bitter aftertaste, bud light has a slight bitterness and budweiser has a slightly stronger bitterness than bud light. Maybe I'm not a beer drinker, or that I havent had the taste fully grow on me yet.

[GoudaBrew]

Well Miller is bitter from what I remember (havent drank it in ages), guinness has a bitter aftertaste, bud light has a slight bitterness and budweiser has a slightly stronger bitterness than bud light. Maybe I'm not a beer drinker, or that I havent had the taste fully grow on me yet.

You must have a refined palate if you can tell the difference between those macro brews (they all taste like carbonated water to me http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif). Sounds like your just giving beer a try. It's an acquired taste. Try something completely out of your comfort zone. I recommend New Belgium's Ranger. It's a IPA which will probably scare you at first. It is quite hoppy, but I think it's one of the more drinkable IPAs I've had. I think you'll find that there is such a thing as good bitter when it comes to beer. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

 

edit: But if hops do scare you, maybe try an amber or a brown ale. In college, when I was just "learning" to enjoy the taste of beer I really enjoyed Point Amber and New Castle Brown Ale

[TooLiveBrew]

Yeah, FIB4, I'm trying to think of a good 'starter' craft brew...

 

Honestly New Glarus's Spotted Cow comes to mind. Has a little bit of sweetness to it, kind of creamy (it's a cream ale), pretty neutral. Adam, do you know whether you'd be looking for a sweeter (aka maltier) brew, or something drier or less sweet (like the excellent Ranger IPA FIB4 mentioned)?

 

Wherever you're located, Adam, try going to a nearby craft brewpub. They usually do sampler trays of most or all the beers they brew. Are you in Milwaukee? There are several good choices there. Heck, if you explained that you're just starting to explore beer, I'd bet any good bartender would let you sample just about anything he/she had on tap, brewpub or not. Since beer is such a matter of personal taste, you really have to just dive in & try lots of different kinds.

 

Even though this thread is a bit of a monster at this point, there have been a lot of good discussions about specific brews in here. Beeradvocate is a pretty cool resource; membership to the site is completely free. Here's the Spotted Cow page. Honestly most of the reviews using technical terminologies are way over my head, but you can get a pretty good idea of whether or not a beer is worth trying based on the letter grades. Anything in the B range or better is usually pretty good.

[logan82]

I would start with a hefeweisse. Those are not very bitter at all. Hacker Pschorrwould be a good one to start with. Dancing Man wheat is one of the best but it is a seasonal by New Glarus.

 

If you like fruity try either Wisconsin Belgian Red or Raspberry Tart by New Glarus.

 

Beer can be drastically different based on styles. Like TLB said everybody has different preferences. If you thought the light beers were bitter I would recommend staying away from anything that says IPA, including Ranger which was recommended.

[Funketown]

^ I remember back in high school I mooched a bottle of Goose Island's Christmas Ale from my friend's parents. My comments? "It tastes like an ash tray!".

 

I think an IPA would be worth trying, just to see. One of my first craft beer revelations was drinking Goose Island's IPA as a freshman in college. I wasn't in love with the level of bitterness, but it taught me that beer could be so fresh, so aromatic, so awesome. One thing on IPA's, and beer in general, is to make sure you're drinking it out of a glass. Beer is so much about aroma, and a fresh IPA can smell pretty darn delicious.

 

Dancing Man Wheat and Weihenstephaner's Hefeweizen are excellent German wheats. Neither are overly bitter. I also really enjoyed Hoegaarden, which is a Belgian style wheat, although I usually don't care for Belgians wheats. Another good one might be Ayinger's Ur-Weisse, a darker wheat with some nice burnt sugar and banana flavors.

 

Again, the beer spectrum is incredibly vast; so just try out some different things. You'll find some horrendously disgusting at first, but you'll probably enjoy quite a few as well.

 

On another note, I spent this weekend in East Lansing, and man is the Michigan beer scene great. East Lansing is probably the worst larger city for beer (outside of Flint), but I grabbed about a dozen Michigan singles, along with some Stone that I've been missing since it's no longer being distributed in Madison. Bells, Founders, Dark Horse, New Holland, Jolly Pumpkin, Kuhnnenn, Shorts, ... Oh boy. Also, I stopped at FFF for dinner on Thursday. Fun place. Lots of ink, piercings, and beer. Food is good, not great. The beer is spectacular (although I wasn't wild about their Saison, Rabbid Rabbit, which seemed a bit...typical; never thought I'd say that about an FFF beer!).

[chuckiehacks]

If we're talking wheats, I'll throw out Upland Wheat. I first had it years ago, and you can occasionally find it in the Milwaukee area. But now it's on tap at Stubby's (my neighborhood bar, which we covered earlier in this thread). We drank many of them on Friday night.

[Funketown]

Well, I'm two beers into my Hawaii trip so far and I'm actually a bit disappointed. I had Kona's Koko Brown, a brown ale with coconut the other night, and it was just okay, but it had a bit of a sicky sweet coconut domination going on. The one beer I was really excited to try due to the rave reviews it had gotten is Maui's Coconut Porter. The flavors were quite nice, but it was overcarbonated to such a level that it was a bit difficult to enjoy.

 

I have very high hopes for their Big Swell IPA and their basic lager as well. I'm not a big drinker of lighter lagers (who is these days?) but sitting out on the beach I figure it might be pretty darn tasty.

[brettac1]

I would start with a hefeweisse. Those are not very bitter at all. Hacker Pschorrwould be a good one to start with. Dancing Man wheat is one of the best but it is a seasonal by New Glarus.

 

If you like fruity try either Wisconsin Belgian Red or Raspberry Tart by New Glarus.

 

Beer can be drastically different based on styles. Like TLB said everybody has different preferences. If you thought the light beers were bitter I would recommend staying away from anything that says IPA, including Ranger which was recommended.

Dancing Man is one of my very favorite beers of all-time. Absolutely love it.

[gypcasino]

This is the best beer I've had in awhile

Left Hand Brewing's Fade to Black 2

[Getpaddled]

My brother in law went to alaska and brought me a beer back called Alaskan Smoked Porter.... IT was sooooooo good...

http://www.alaskanbeer.co...ition/smoked-porter.html

When I brew this summer I am going to try an all grain smoked porter with a few minor changes....

ALSO I have 14 hop plants (7 diff) I planted 3 years ago.... I have more then enough hops if any home brewers need any... $.75 a heavy oz, plus postage... Just cause it does take time to pick them all.... Or come over and pick them off the vine for $.25 an ounce as long as I am home, I may force you to drink one of my home brews http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

I have

Centennial (Flowers & citrus most evident. A medium aroma with mid to high bittering value makes it a dual purpose choice.) ACID RANGE (ALPHA) 8-11%

Sterlings (Herbs and spices dominate, flowers and citrus around the fringes. Moderate bittering values with a mix of Saaz and Mt. Hood properties.) 6-9%

Cascade (Flowers, citrus and spice with grapefruit imparts a noticeable fragrance quite often. Very popular hop among craft brewers.) 4-7%

Northern Brewer ( plucky American filly found herself an affable English suitor and the happy union was this well-adapted hop with its neutral, clean aroma and slightly higher-than-average bittering value. Dual purpose.) 7-9%

Nugget (Strong herbal/slight spice aroma and high bittering value (along with desirable growing traits) has brought this hop variety to the forefront of the industry.) 11-14%

Mt. Hood (Hybrid of Hallertau with similar mild flower/spice aroma characteristics with a hint more of the forest. "Clean" commonly describes it.) 4-5%

Kent Goldings

Im also up for trade I am looking for Amarillo and Willamette this summer...

 

[brettac1]

Damn, GP, where do you live? I'm down for some home brews.

[Getpaddled]

I am in, and will be in, Marshfield for at least another 3 years.....

Does anyone out there live here (Marshfield) or near the area??

[logan82]

Do you also dry your hops? Wholesale Hops still has Amarillo. I think AHS does as well. $2/oz at AHS though. I heard there was going to be a hop and grain shortage this year so I bought a pound of Amarillo pellets. Just used 4.5oz last week in a Gumballhead like American wheat. I plan on putting in about 1oz to dryhop for a week.

 

I have to be hones that I am not a big fan of smoked beers. I have had a few and have not liked any of them.

 

Oberon Ale comes out very soon.

[brettac1]

I am in, and will be in, Marshfield for at least another 3 years.....

Does anyone out there live here (Marshfield) or near the area??

Sort of. I'm in Wausau.

[Getpaddled]

I prefer to dry hop for myself, but If I brew for my old man and/or friends I don't...

[Getpaddled]

Im in Wausau a lot.....Some of my best friends live on East Bridge street..... You hang out at any bars up there? Or recommend any?

[brettac1]

I'm not a big fan of many Wausau bars. Maybe the Domino on Washington St.? There are some pretty decent hole in the wall places... Treu's Tic-Toc, is alright, on Thomas St. Otherwise, if I'm going for a night on the town in the tavern, I like going to some of the small ones in the outlying towns. I'm a dive bar guy.

[adamb100]

So I'm trying Point Special Lager and I think it's the first beer I actually enjoy. Not really bitter at all and easy to drink.

[TooLiveBrew]

Nice! Glad to hear you've started off on your path... http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[gypcasino]

So I'm trying Point Special Lager and I think it's the first beer I actually enjoy. Not really bitter at all and easy to drink.

Slightly more drinkable than Bud or Miller. You've got nowhere to go but up.http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[Beerambassador]

Another one to try might be New Glarus Two Women. I had high hopes for this one after picking up an R&D bottle of it at the brewery last summer. It WAS a nice, light and crisp German Pilsner with nice hop aroma/flavor. The beer they actually put out now is not the same beer. It's still a nice beer, but it's got more of a malt emphasis and is a tad darker than the R&D. Nice and smooth with very little hop bite or aroma to it. Not really up my alley, but it makes a great intro to beer, IMO.

 

Oh yeah, this isn't a "newbie" beer, but Lakefront's Black IPA is pretty darn good. I haven't cared for other black IPAs I've had, but this one was very well done and exactly like I thought one should be like. The aroma was all hops. If you'd smell it blind, you'd swear it's a normal IPA. The taste was mostly hops, but with a nice dryness from the darker malts. Fantastic! And I'm generally not big on Lakefront beer.

 

One more thing. The Malt House in Madison is one of the most fantastic bars I've ever been in. Wow. Can't believe it took me that long to finally go there, but I loved it! Beer geek heaven.

[Hammer]

Tried the Vierling Micro-Brew Pale Ale over dinner last night (Marquette, MI micro-brew) and was impressed as heck. Great first taste, minimal aftertaste and packs a punch w/out being overpowering. I will most definitely be back at this Brew-pub the next time that I am in Marquette.

[Robideaux]

Haven't had the opportunity to read the whole thread (maybe some day when I have a spare 3 hours...), but I'm currently in love with just about everything made by Three Floyds, based out of Munster, Indiana. I moved to Indiana from Milwaukee a few years ago and they have it on tap in a number of the local establishments.

 

My current favorite is Robert the Bruce,a deep reddish Scottish ale. Its been hard to find recently, though I'm not really sure why. The Alpha King is a pretty decent pale ale, well balanced, though not particularly memorable. I was mildly cognizant of Gumball Head, their wheat beer, prior to moving--it is one of the few wheat beers I will give the time of day to. I also had the opportunity to try Dark Lord, which is only available one day a year. Fantastically tasty, but not worth the hype (though what really is).

[brettac1]

For some reason I drank Summer Shandy the last two nights... I think it's because I didn't buy it. It tastes like someone made lemonade flavored Kool-Aid and only used half of the packet.