I’m also not a beer drinker at all, but I’ve taken a mild liking to Sam Adams. (there are several different flavors of Sam. I like the original)
Just a slip of the tongue. I know the difference, having lived there before.
Thanks for the recommendations everyone. I will go forth and conquer some beers!
(And I do like Corona too. 
)
The widgeted one is the Draught. As much as the FES is good drinks, it’s not something you can pound back like the Draught. I hate to say it, but I prefer regular ol’ Guinness to the stronger stuff. If I want something truly strong, then I’ll go the imperial stout route (see: Dark Lord by Three Floyd’s).
Sam Adams Boston Lager, Boston Ale, and Honey Porter are what got me into drinking good beer in the early to mid- 90s. While they may be somewhat milder than their truly microbrewed brethren, if I’m going to drink a lager, Sam Adam’s Boston Lager is my stand by. However, Samuel Adams does produce some truly exception and interesting beer. They have a rather odd sampler out right now that contains four beers emulating the styles of the original American brews. There’s a root beer beer, a ginger honey ale, a smoky porter of some sort, and a dark wheat ale. It’s … an interesting step back in brewing history. I don’t think I’d drink any of them regularly (except possibly the dark wheat), but it’s worth a taste.
Also, they have an Imperial Pilsner which is rather highly regarded, although I think it’s a bit too extreme to call a pilsener.
I recently had some Dirty Helen’s from Barley Island. I recommend it highly.
Silenus mentioned Sierra Nevada, where the achingly wonderful Sierra Nevada Porter is made.
I’ve just opened a bottle of Full Sail Pale Ale, one of my favorites. After that, maybe a Gordon Biersch Blonde Bock.
It’s good to be on vacation… 
I see that you are a person of refined taste and distinction and therefore I will not quibble with you about Guinness.
Not only do I have 3 bottles of the 2006 left, but I have a bottle of the 2005 stowed away, as well. Unfortunately, I never picked up the 2004, although I heard that it was very sludgy/sedimenty–something that wasn’t evident in their 2005 and 2006 brews. Man, that beer is crazy–I’ve already had three this year. I think that’s about my limit.
I’ve been drinking Japanese beer as of late, or actually Japanese style beer; the ones available around here are actually brewed in North America (man, I wish I couldn’t read!). If you like Red Stripe, give Sapporo or Kirin Ichiban a try.
It’s 6:30 on Friday afternoon. I’ve decided the best beer is the one I’m going to have next, regardless of variety. Or maybe the one after that. Enjoy your weekends!
Word.
Please don’t make the n00b mistake of assuming that all stouts and porters are “heavy” or “too strong tasting.” Dark beers are just made from different versions of the same ingredients and to my mind are the pinnacle of what beer should be. I just get no love from light, see-through, bubbly, pee pee tasting lagers and pilsners. The rich, creamy taste and dense foamy head of a well pulled pint of porter served at cellar temp and preferably cask conditioned and served from a gravity bung is the epitome of the beer experience.
The above mentioned Sierra Nevada Porter is a fine, fine thing, as is Anchor Steam’s version. My favorite readily available all ‘round drinkin’ beer is Deschutes Black Butte Porter. This having been said, dark beers taste best when not in a bottle, so go find some hole in the wall microbrewery and eschew the fluffy little items that come with a lemon slice–or better yet, order two pints, one of something light and cold and one good stout or porter. Then let the dark sit to get to the right temperature while you pound down the watery stuff. Then enjoy the contrast.
Rogue Shakespeare Stout and Hazelnut Brown are also wonderful, especially if you can find them on tap…
Dammit, now I’m thirsty! 
Oh come on Bass is a fine Ale and well worth trying. We cannot all be experts like you and Bass has an excellent flavor and drinks well both Cold and Warm.
wm–: Try many different Beers and find the ones you like.
Jim
I wish I still had a few bottles of a homebrew we made a few years ago called Leviathan. It was a real dog’s breakfast of ingredients. We basically brewed with whatever was around the back room of the brew store…leftover grains, malt extract cans with the labels off, random bags of white powder, all of the old hops from the freezer. It turned into an 8 gallon batch with a starting gravity of somewhere on the far side of 2. something. The hydrometer wouldn’t register that high. We fermented it with a metric buttload of champagne yeast. It finished at 1.62!!! One of the best barleywines I’ve ever made. I think I know where Koch got his idea for Ultrium. 
Pistols at dawn, good sir!
If you’re new to beer, which you are, Magic Hat Brewery makes great beers for those just starting to wade into the beer pool, as it were. Thie #9 has a sweet taste to it in addition to a pale ale’s bitterness (it’s from apricots.) But I don’t know if you can get them out where you are. I think they mostly stay in the northeast.
Bass is OK, but there are so many more ales out there with character! I put Bass in the same group as I do Newcastle…bland but not poisonous.
The only time tastes in beer get ugly is when there is only one keg at the party. Then, you might have to bring a growler of good stuff yourself.
From another board:
Gee, I wonder why. 
Seriously though, you just have to look a little for the microbrews. Quite a few St. Louis bars and restaurants offer them now. I highly recommend Schlafly, a local product. (The Oatmeal Stout is most excellent.) In fact, if you get the time during your next visit, head to Cicero’s on Delmar in the University City Loop. I believe it just reopened (it caught fire and burned down last year). They offer something like 32 beers on tap and over 100 bottled varieties. Other good places are Brandt’s and Blueberry Hill, just down the street from Cicero’s. Also, there is the Morgan Street Brewery on Laclede’s Landing, where they actually make their own beer (or several beers…I don’t remember).
Go forth, wm–, and imbibe!
I was going to say that, but then I remembered hearing that in Ireland, it’s dismissed as British. I know it’s not supposed to be, but are there some ownership details or anything we’re missing? Or is it too mainstream for real Irishmen? (of course, if they were REALLY real, they wouldn’t know what mainstream was, never leaving their village.)
Anyway, I guess I’ll know by March 17th, as I’m planning a trip.
Several good brews come in clear bottles, including Samuel Smith’s products. Overall, I understand the point–but it is a little over the top.
Here is the list of top available beers in Missouri as provided by Ratebeer.com:
Name Brewer
1 Bells Expedition Stout Bells Brewery, Inc.
2 Abbaye des Rocs Brune Brasserie de lAbbaye des Rocs 52
3 Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock Brauerei Aying
4 North Coast Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout North Coast Brewing Company
5 St. Bernardus Abt 12 St. Bernardus Brouwerij
6 Rochefort Trappistes 8 Brasserie Rochefort
7 Abbaye des Rocs Grand Cru Brasserie de lAbbaye des Rocs
8 Bells Kalamazoo Stout Bells Brewery, Inc.
9 Fullers London Porter Fullers
10 Bells Batch 7000 Ale Bells Brewery, Inc.
11 Third Coast Old Ale Bells Brewery, Inc.
12 3 Fonteinen Oude Geuze 3 Fonteinen
13 3 Fonteinen Schaerbeekse Kriek 3 Fonteinen
14 Chimay Bleue (Blue) Chimay
15 Unibroue Trois Pistoles Unibroue (Sleeman)
16 Schneider Aventinus Weissbierbrauerei G. Schneider & Sohn
17 Gouden Carolus Cuvee Van De Keizer Brouwerij Het Anker
18 New Belgium La Folie New Belgium Brewing Company
19 Two Hearted Ale Bells Brewery, Inc.
20 Abbaye des Rocs Triple Impériale Brasserie de lAbbaye des Rocs
21 Traquair Jacobite Ale Traquair
22 Rogue Imperial Stout Rogue Ales
23 Samuel Smiths Imperial Stout Samuel Smith
24 Samuel Smiths Oatmeal Stout Samuel Smith
25 Koff Porter Sinebrychoff (Carlsberg)
My favorites are, in no particular order:
Rogue Dead Guy
Magic Hat #9 (as Bouv mentioned)
Saranac Mountain Ale
Bells Oberon
Guiness (of course)
and some of the best times of my life have happened under the influence of Pabst Blue Ribbon