First Beer.... any suggestions?

[ValkyrieofHouston]

Originally posted by: darthsidious
So I just turned 21 recently, and one of my friends is offering to take me out to a nice beer bar. I've never had beer, but I like wine, except for super tannic reds. Any suggestions on what to drink? I've heard that one should avoid american beers. Are there any german/european beers that anyone would recommend I try?

Thanks

Well, if you are just developing your taste buds for beers you might like a good smooth ale. I would recommend an ale that you could buy at a Local Specs store or specialty Liquor store nearby. It has no bitter after taste, goes down smooth and is really good. It is Chimay Ale, by Peres Trappisttes. It has a very high alcohol content to it compared to other beers... so I wouldn't chug this beer down like most do with American beers. You will get light headed on just one! LOL

The beer connoisseurs will tell you that this beer is usually served in a wine glass slightly chilled believe it or not vs a mug. No, its not a sweet type of beer nor does it have an overwhelming strong taste that will turn you off. But you will get hooked once you drink one of these Chimay's. :thumbsup:

 

[Excelsior]

Originally posted by: UNCjigga
Yuengling is pretty good, and you can't beat $8.99 for a 12-pack at the Hess station downstairs.

Agreed. At my local wine+beer dicsount store, you can get a 16 pack for 10.99 I think. It is completely worth it.

 

[CraigRT]

Originally posted by: ElvishFrost
Alot of people bust my balls for it, but I like Corona w/ Lime..and I like the beer with the MLG on the cap (I don't remember which one it is, someone help me out) Those are lighter beers for my taste. Not a fan of the dark stuff personally. I don't like beer with alot of aftertaste. Also, not that this is of much help... I had a cider beer a few times when I was working in NY..but I have no friggen clue what it was called, and no it isn't cider jack or anything like that, it was a beer on tap.

EDIT** Would help if I finished the thought. LOVED THE CIDER BEER...lol

Corona with a lime is fantastic.. one of the best all time summer beers.. I always drink Corona on patio nights.

 

[ValkyrieofHouston]

Originally posted by: CraigRT

Originally posted by: ElvishFrost
Alot of people bust my balls for it, but I like Corona w/ Lime..and I like the beer with the MLG on the cap (I don't remember which one it is, someone help me out) Those are lighter beers for my taste. Not a fan of the dark stuff personally. I don't like beer with alot of aftertaste. Also, not that this is of much help... I had a cider beer a few times when I was working in NY..but I have no friggen clue what it was called, and no it isn't cider jack or anything like that, it was a beer on tap.

EDIT** Would help if I finished the thought. LOVED THE CIDER BEER...lol

Corona with a lime is fantastic.. one of the best all time summer beers.. I always drink Corona on patio nights.

I love Corona too.... I own a Corona bathingsuit, and hat... but I love diversity in my beers and go for some of the really high end ales.

When it comes to my drinking, I can do house Sake, or the fine expensive sipping Sake.

Or house wine, or the expensive Opus wines. Same thing with my Scotches.. or Gins. LOL

I'm a lush, I admit it.. hiccup..! :beer:

 

[Red Dawn]

Yeah cheap beer. At least when you end up looking like Barney Rubble from drinking beer all your life it won't costing you an arm and a leg.

 

[YetioDoom]

Originally posted by: Soccerman06

Originally posted by: Heisenberg
You should avoid the cheap American beers. There are plenty of good American beers but they aren't $12.99 for a 30-pack.

Who makes a $13 30 pack? I know of Milwakee's Best at $8 a 24, but no 30-$13

Cheap Beer

 

[pontifex]

i'm not really a beer fan but i haven'ty tried many, maybe 3 brands. Labatt Blue, Sam Adams and I think Coors or Miller. I only drink like once or twice a year too and i only drink 2 or 3. Guess I should try a few out next time i go.

 

[broon]

Start with a hefeweizen. Ayenger or Erdinger if you can find it. If you want American, start with Anchor or Sierra Nevada Wheat. Another good start would be Hooegarrden which is a Belgian Wit (white).

Not all dark beers are the same, you have to go by style. You can get a dark wheat that is much lighter and less flavorful than a pale ale. An English bitter can also be darker but is usually not as bitter as a pale ale. Boddington's Bitter in the can with the nitrogen is a good light bitter to try. But don't worry, it's not very bitter.

If you want to be "bold", try Guinness in a can or in the draft bottles. The extra stout in the short bottles will have a significantly more "bitter" taste due to more hops and more roasted malt.

Let us know what you try.

 

[krunchykrome]

Natty Bohs FTW

 

[Hannover]

Originally posted by: Heisenberg

Originally posted by: Soccerman06

Originally posted by: Heisenberg
You should avoid the cheap American beers. There are plenty of good American beers but they aren't $12.99 for a 30-pack.

Who makes a $13 30 pack? I know of Milwakee's Best at $8 a 24, but no 30-$13

I might've exaggerated a bit, but I'm pretty sure I've seen Natty Light or Keystone on sale for something close to that.

I've found Keystone Ice (5.9%) @ $11.99 for a 30 pack.
Thats a lot of drunk for the money. After the first six-pack, they don't taste so bad.

 

[DavemanUT]

Newcastle
Amstel Light
Guinness later down the road

 

[davestar]

Originally posted by: darthsidious

So do hops make beer taste "bitter", and add some flavour ? If so, that sounds interesting. I'm typically a fan of very bitter things, like chocolate bars with 100% cocoa mass, no sugar. How would the bitterness of an ale compare to that (I dunno if any of you have eaten such chocolate - I guess a good approximation would be baker's chocolate)

it's certainly a different type of bitter, but you'd probably enjoy a bitter brew. i'd suggest easing yourself into Pale Ale and IPA's with some well-balanced beers like Sierra Nevada PA or Harpoon IPA. If you like those, jump into the deep end with a Stone IPA or Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA.

 

[Sunner]

Depends on the occasion imo.
For having to a good dinner/bbq, I prefer pilsner, say Staropramen, Urquell, Litovel, etc, or equivalent from whatever country you prefer(can't name any Americans here though, I tasted a very good one from a small brewery once, but I can't recall the name, and I generally suck at american beers).

For general "social drinking"(aka, getting wasted) I'd take anything light that tastes decent but is still cheap, though in this category I only know Swedish beers, since they, for obvious reasons, are cheaper than foreign beers.

For "fancy drinking", as in if you wanna taste something that's truly memorable but generally costs a fair bit, I prefer the Belgians.
Westmalle Triple, other good choices are Rochefort, Chimay, Duvel, and Orval.
They're generally strong enough, both taste and alcohol wise, that you won't be drinking more than one or two of them.
The taste is the problem for drinking them while eating, they tend to taste more than the food does, I guess that could be an advantage if your food sucks.

And finally, ales, kinda different, I love a good ale, and I find them suitable for some food, most notably a big beef/burger, but they're excellent for "volume drinking" as well, though I do tend to get tired of them after something like 6-10 bottles, falling back to the usual lagers.

Then there's guinness and such, I don't care for those, so no comment really.
And whatever you do, don't buy any Lambic's.

 

[DaShen]

Originally posted by: RCN
Don't avoid any beer.....keep trying till you find one you like. Then drink the one you like and can afford. Just like wine......

Exactly. Just drink whatever and figure out what you like.

 

[Mo0o]

Dont avoid anything, try them all out but since you're new to beer something lighter will be better. I would try Mac and Jack's or Amstel Light.

 

[CarlKillerMiller]

I enjoyed leinenkugel's red (sp?), guinness, and Beck's.


I'd suggest Beck's for a new beer drinker.

 

[y2kc]

ignore all posts that are suggesting a light beer for your first.

get the bartender to make you a "black and tan"... nothing like a good black and tan



sigh...makes me wish i drank again.

 

[ggnl]

I'd just stick with cheap American beers until you develop a taste for it. You're probably going to think it all tastes like piss until you learn to appreciate the subleties of it, so you might as well save money.

If you have an appreciation for wines already then you'll probably pick it up pretty fast.

 

[jmdeathsquad]

just by keg of cheap american beer and drink until it tastes good

 

[BurnItDwn]

Originally posted by: kogase
Get one of those Belgian monk beers they sell in wine bottles.

This is good advice.
Belgian Monk Beers > *

 

[GrassR00t]

Try chimay

 

[IMaN00BieGF]

My bf says miller light.. I don't drink beer. I don't like the taste.

 

[Quasmo]

I'd suggest a good cider beer to break you in. It tastes sweet, but still a bit "hoppy"

 

[BurnItDwn]

Originally posted by: GrassR00t
Try chimay

mmmmmmmmmmmm
Chimay Grand Reserve .... that's goooood stuff!

 

[Kev]

Blue Moon, very summery