Beer for a non-beer drinker

[MPB_in_Salt_Lake]

@pulykamell

They have Ace cider around where I’m at. They’re worth a shot to see if it’s something you like, but their perry is not made from pears (although you did say “with pears” so maybe you know this.) The base is still Ace cider from apples, and some pear essence is added at the end.

That’s a good point, and something I didn’t know until fairly recently, even though I have been drinking Ace for several years.

I still think it’s one of the most enjoyable, utterly quaffable alcoholic beverages in the entire world. (I also really like cheap Spanish Cava, with a bit of sweetness to it)

Overall, I am typically a pilsner/lager person, and when here at home in Salt Lake, I often am content with American macro-brews like Pabst or Bud, but when I am traveling, I like to treat myself to the quality stuff, with Spaten Pils, Staropramen or De Koninck leading the charge…

[MPB_in_Salt_Lake]

@pulykamell

I absolutely agree. That’s one beer that really does not travel well at all. I was always a little dubious about claims that certain beers taste very different at their source, but PU is almost a different beer over there vs. what it is here.

I once spent a weekend bumming (meaning I stopped in at least 20 different bars over the course of 3 or 4 days; I wasn’t there to check out the architecture or museums) around Plzen, and took a brewery tour that was a great way to kill a couple of hours.

The draught Pilsner Urquell that they serve at the end of the tour was pretty tasty, as I recall…

[lindsaybluth]

@kayaker

Framboise means raspberry.

Thanks for taking the non-sanctimonious high road :rolleyes:. I meant to say "For some reason that Lindeman’s link…

@pulykamell

When it comes to the lambics, you can’t go wrong with anything by Cantillon or 3 Fonteinen. Lindemann’s has a decent and widely available range of lambics and I like it fine, but aficionados will take issue with some of their brewing methods (like I discovered here on the Dope that their framboise actually has artificial sweeteners added to it). If you venture outside the fruit lambics, the two most common styles you’ll find are “gueuze” or “geuze,” which is a mix of unflavored old (2-3 years+) and new (1 year) lambics and “faro,” which is more-or-less a sweetened version of gueuze. You might be able to find just straight “lambic,” but that’s generally hard to get outside of Belgium.

Now this was hugely helpful. I never knew where to branch out from Lindemann’s. Thank you!

@gaffa

Exactly. The beer drinkers like the taste of beer, and thus can’t really get what those of us who don’t object to. <snip>

Sounds great, but most of the bars I’ve been to don’t sell enough cider to make it worth having on tap.

Note: I checked Woodchuck’s site, and apparently they use champagne yeast.

Agreed. The bitter flavor is just plain bitter to me. I love whiskeys because they have complex flavors but no matter what kind of standard beer I taste (except lambics) all I taste is bitter.

No big deal; Strongbow and Woodchuck are still good from the bottle. Woodchuck has a slight bitter taste but nowhere near the kind you’d find in most other beers. FWIW, Lindeman’s peach and pear taste terribly dry to me.

Also, we should warn you - Lindemann’s at a bar is a solid $10-12. Cheaper at your local mix n’ match six pack shop, but I don’t want you to get blindsided. I’ve had five in one night at a friend’s house, thrilled to discover that I liked a beer.

Slipped him some cash when I went shopping for some of my own weeks later and realized how expensive they were :smack:.

Scubaqueen, what is “indy blonde”?

[bump]

@lindsaybluth

Agreed. The bitter flavor is just plain bitter to me. I love whiskeys because they have complex flavors but no matter what kind of standard beer I taste (except lambics) all I taste is bitter.

I’m guessing you’re either really sensitive to bitter hop compounds in particular, or bitter tastes in general.

How do you feel about say… tonic water? Unbearably bitter, or citrusy with some bitterness?

[Munch]

Back to the OP…

Things have gotten kind of complicated in here. I really recommend avoiding most of the specific beers mentioned. Keep this simple. There are a ton of types of beers, many of them subcategories of the main groupings. But the best way to do this would be to go to a local brew pub (do you have a Rock Bottom or RAM Brewery nearby?) and try a flight (small sampling of 4-5 beers). If not, find ONE label that makes a variety of beer - this way you’re comparing apples to apples (I may think This Guy’s porter is better than That Guy’s stout, but it’s better to compare This Guy’s porter to This Guy’s stout to just get a sense of what a stout or porter IS).

To that end, Sierra Nevada or Samuel Adams should have a variety pack on sale at your local liquor store. They’re good quality beers, and will give you a very good sense of what each type of beer offers. Invite a few friends over, split each beer into small glasses, sample them, and figure out which you like. Feel free to add in a cider and/or lambic - neither Sam Adams or SN offer those.

[lindsaybluth]

@bump

How do you feel about say… tonic water? Unbearably bitter, or citrusy with some bitterness?

Strongly mixed with gin (like, a 50/50 ratio) it’s an acceptable delivery system for the gin. But on its own or just a regular g&t it tastes just awful.

The strangest thing is that while I have a good palate (the ability to discern nearly every ingredient in a dish) and I do enjoy a wide variety of extremely flavorful, spicy and hot foods, bitter is just overwhelming.

[kayaker]

@lindsaybluth

Thanks for taking the non-sanctimonious high road :rolleyes:. I meant to say "For some reason that Lindeman’s link…

meh. Thought I was “fighting ignorance”.

[bump]

@lindsaybluth

Strongly mixed with gin (like, a 50/50 ratio) it’s an acceptable delivery system for the gin. But on its own or just a regular g&t it tastes just awful.

The strangest thing is that while I have a good palate (the ability to discern nearly every ingredient in a dish) and I do enjoy a wide variety of extremely flavorful, spicy and hot foods, bitter is just overwhelming.

Some styles are more bitter than others, but very, very few commercial beers these days don’t use hops or some other form of bittering to balance out the malt flavors, and if something like Budweiser/Bud Light are still overwhelmingly bitter, you’re facing an uphill battle with beer, because the light American lagers that they’re representative are pretty low in bitterness, relatively speaking (15-20 IBU).