# My Beer Initiation...am I insane? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 13, 2003, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-beer-initiation-am-i-insane/195035 "2003-08-13T23:43:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Aro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b3f665/32.png) [@Aro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aro)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-beer-initiation-am-i-insane/195035/21 "2003-08-14T15:41:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by js\_africanus \* > **Is it the sort of Irish pub where they make a little 4-leaf clover in the foam with the dribble from the tap and then set it on the counter so and make you wait for it to warm up?** Warm up? What are you guys, English? 🙂 It is left to allow it to settle, not to get it warm. Remember: with [Guinness](http://www.btinternet.com/~jen.rowley/jenski/mainpages/drinking/Guinness/pouring.htm), it is recommended you take a gulp or a large mouthful when drinking. Don’t sip it like you might a lager. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-beer-initiation-am-i-insane/195035/22 "2003-08-14T15:55:35Z")
Before drinking, one should recite this ditty: Sing a song of Guinness, A bottle full of good. For it is for goodness That Guinness always stood. When the bottle’s opened We all begin to shout: “There’s nothing like a Guinness When you feel! Tired! Out!” P.S. It’s a shamrock, not a 4-leaf clover. ---
**Author:** ![Indygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@Indygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indygrrl)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-beer-initiation-am-i-insane/195035/23 "2003-08-14T16:00:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by fnord1966 \* > \*\* > People who poo-poo Guinness are probably the same people who will sit back scratch their crotch and pound a twelver of keystone ice. \*\* Lol. True. I enjoy McEwan’s on tap. Mmm, haven’t had one of those in a while. ---
**Author:** ![BottledBlondJeanie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/0ea827/32.png) [@BottledBlondJeanie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BottledBlondJeanie)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-beer-initiation-am-i-insane/195035/24 "2003-08-14T16:06:46Z")
Hey **Kittenblue** wait, it won’t be long till you’re sucked in the way-of-life of the beer drinker. It took me till after college to like beer, but now I really enjoy it, then again I was in OK where unless you go to a liquor store, you can only buy 3.2 beer–and when you do buy the good stuff you can’t buy it cold… I 2nd **Ringo’s** black and tan suggestion… But I have to add my own…Pyramid make an Apricot Ale which is just a bit fruity and sooooo good, not at all wine cooler-ish Also, Oregon Honey Beer, beer but just a bit of honey (hee, I almost typed “horney” hmmm) ---
**Author:** ![Aro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b3f665/32.png) [@Aro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aro)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-beer-initiation-am-i-insane/195035/25 "2003-08-14T16:13:09Z")
Something esle to consider: If you find you don’t like the bitterness of the Guinness, I have seen many people get a dash of blackcurrant added to help sweeten it up. I find this quite vile, but a lot of people seem to like it, so could be a good compromise. More suggestions for mixing Guinness [here](http://www.guinntiques.com/blacklist/). ---
**Author:** ![Flymaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c4cdca/32.png) [@Flymaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flymaster)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-beer-initiation-am-i-insane/195035/26 "2003-08-14T16:28:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tygr \* > \*\ ***dead0man** , in these lean economic times, I’ve discovered Yeungling. It’s fairly new on the scene, but I believe it’s available nationwide. Tastes better than Rolling Rock, and only slightly more expensive. \*\* Just to save you the wrath of the Pennsylvania dopers, who tend to worship this stuff as if it was God’s Own Beer (I think it’s ok, but come on…there’s far, far better out there, even in the American Lager category), but Yeungling is America’s oldest continually operating (except for that little hiatus in the 20s) brewery. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-beer-initiation-am-i-insane/195035/27 "2003-08-14T17:39:39Z")
Going from Rolling Rock to Guiness is a huge leap. My first Guiness was like drinking roof tar, but I’ve come to like the stuff. ---
**Author:** ![fnord1966](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ad7895/32.png) [@fnord1966](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fnord1966)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-beer-initiation-am-i-insane/195035/28 "2003-08-14T17:47:47Z")
The draught Guinness is far easier to get into than the stout. My younger sister introduced me to a vile concoction, its called a car bomb. Similar to the depth charge, but using Guinness and baileys irish cream. On the plus side, sweet baileys kills the bitter factor, but also the taste or everything else. Plus its a quick way to get buzzed. Side note: This comes from the same sister that when in Paris mixed Coca Cola with red table wine. Her excuse? Well, the coke was too warm, and the wine tasted bad. Can you say nasty hangover? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-beer-initiation-am-i-insane/195035/29 "2003-08-14T18:14:34Z")
Oh, sweet God, AVOID THE CAR BOMBS! Worst hangover of my life, those things gave me. Not to mention the half-remembered humiliating things I ended up doing. Yuengling may be old in Pennsylvania, but I think it’s just started being distributed nationally – I’ve picked it up in NC a couple times recently. It’s not great, but it’s pretty fantastic for the price, and is replacing Corona for what I buy when I want cheap beer. If Widmere’s Hefeweizen is available, **drink it**! That stuff is nectar, and it’s how I learned to love beer. I’ve never found another Hefeweizen that I can stand, and Widmere’s isn’t available in the South (as near as I can tell), but oh, the fond memories. . . . In Washington and Oregon, it’s everywhere. My new favorite beer is Sweetwater’s IPA: fresh-tasting, floral, clean, delicious. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![lightingtool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/57b2e6/32.png) [@lightingtool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lightingtool)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-beer-initiation-am-i-insane/195035/30 "2003-08-14T18:15:26Z")
Car bomb = vile concoction??? How dare you. This is actually a great way to get introduced to Guinness. Also, a true car bomb has a _layered_ shot of Irish cream and whiskey. A friend used to make them with a splash of Kahlua as well. Not too bad. Back on topic… If you can find some of the fruity Belgian beers, you might like them a lot. Many of them have an almost champagne-like quality. Of course, I’ma big doofus and can’t remember any good brands to recommend, but hopefully some one else will. Good luck ---
**Author:** ![unclviny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e274bd/32.png) [@unclviny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unclviny)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-beer-initiation-am-i-insane/195035/31 "2003-08-14T23:07:17Z")
Dead0man, My new beer is Schneider Weisse “original” (with the gold label), it is a hefe-weizen (wheat beer) and it is too good for words, I have almost stopped buying other beers. far and away the best cheap american beer is Carlings black label. Unclviny ---
**Author:** ![dewizeowl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@dewizeowl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dewizeowl)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-beer-initiation-am-i-insane/195035/32 "2003-08-14T23:59:36Z")
How about Blue Moon? Yeah I know it is actually a Coors brewery, but I like it, it is on draft (at least here) and has a belgium-like flavor ---
**Author:** ![Incubus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-beer-initiation-am-i-insane/195035/33 "2003-08-15T00:33:44Z")
Is Guiness an acquired taste? Because when I turned 21, I bought a pint (widget an all) and blechhh, tasted terrible (to me, anyway). However my friend has loved it from his first pint onward. If I drink enough, would I eventually like it? I’ll admit I’ve only had one, but the TV commercial they had for it was SO DECEPTIVE (they make it look like its the best tasting drink in the universe, they MANIPULATED me into thinking that one sip and I’d like Guiness more than any other beverage I ever tasted…they LIED to me! :mad: ) Then again any alcohol tastes pretty good if you’re drunk enough… ---
**Author:** ![js\_africanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-beer-initiation-am-i-insane/195035/34 "2003-08-15T02:30:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Incubus \* > \*\*Is Guiness an acquired taste? \*\* For me it was. I can’t vouch for your friend. ---
**Author:** ![Larz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Larz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larz)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-beer-initiation-am-i-insane/195035/35 "2003-08-15T03:31:48Z")
You wanna be cheap, drink 211, 2 bucks gets you a 40 of it! ---
**Author:** ![emmaliminal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@emmaliminal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emmaliminal)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-beer-initiation-am-i-insane/195035/36 "2003-08-15T04:08:40Z")
Hey, **kittenblue** , welcome back to beer! I didn’t start drinking beer until I was about 25 and I got a job with a bunch of beer-loving software folks in Seattle. They would have an office party every Friday afternoon at five, and as the “office manager”, I got to go with whoever else was elected to go get the beer 'cause I had the petty cash. There is a hell of a lot of different beer available in downtown Seattle. We got different stuff every time. A couple of times we even went to brewpubs. When I first started liking beer, I liked hefeweizens because they’re less bitter (less hoppy, I think is the explanation) than others. Then I liked porters and stouts (in small quantities) because they’re relatively sweet, but kind of interesting, with lots of flavors in there, like good wines have. Now I mostly like medium ales and darker lagers. Boddingtons is my all-time favorite (hi **5-HT**!). It’s creamy and just the right balance between sweet and bitter, with a head of dense foam on it like a world-class latte. It might be fun to browse some beer terminology, so you know a little about why the beers taste different (so you can remember which general kind it was you liked, when you find one). [http://www.webtender.com/handbook/beer.html](http://www.webtender.com/handbook/beer.html) [http://www.thirstbusters.com/glossary.html](http://www.thirstbusters.com/glossary.html) [http://www.foamrangers.com/styles/index.html](http://www.foamrangers.com/styles/index.html) [http://www.samadams.com/beer/about/worldstyles.html](http://www.samadams.com/beer/about/worldstyles.html) I think Guiness is pretty good – I’m not one of those who love it or hate it, but I do think I like it better now than the first time I tried it. But in your Irish pub of all places the opinions are sure to be strong! Guiness is one of Those Things. I suspect the decades of brilliant marketing. ---
**Author:** ![eeclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/49beb7/32.png) [@eeclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eeclem)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-beer-initiation-am-i-insane/195035/37 "2003-08-15T13:03:48Z")
i second blue moon, especially with a slice of orange. if you do like light and fruity, try to find sam addams cherry wheat, or any other berry flavored wheat ale. i love one called purple haze but can barely ever find it. ---
**Author:** ![My\_Darn\_Snake\_Legs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f14d63/32.png) [@My\_Darn\_Snake\_Legs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/My_Darn_Snake_Legs)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-beer-initiation-am-i-insane/195035/38 "2003-08-15T14:00:45Z")
Ha! This brings back memories! The first time a friend of mine tried Guinness (after seeing me tote a 4-pint around every party) he choked and yelled: “Oh God! This must be what Evil tastes like!” I almost passed out I was laughing so hard! Whew… Anyway, **Ringo** mentioned the Black & Tan so I’ll give you another mixed beer to think about. It’s called a Snakebite. My favorite way to drink beer. It’s half Draft Cider and half Guinness with the guinness layered on top. Most places use the Pyramid that was mentioned earlier. If you want to go for a straight draft cider, you need to try Hornsby’s Draft Cider. My girlfriend can’t get enough of it and I love it too. the alcohol content is about 6%, so don’t over do it. Enjoy, –==Mike==– ---
**Author:** ![Gotterfunken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/58956e/32.png) [@Gotterfunken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gotterfunken)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-beer-initiation-am-i-insane/195035/39 "2003-08-15T15:15:51Z")
**kittenblue** , I say “good choice” in going for the Guinness. For some people, it’s an acquired taste, but for me, it was love at first taste. Before I ever had a Guinness, the only kind of beer I was familiar with was water-downed American lager (the Budweiser kind). I thought I _hated_ beer. And then my brother introduced me to Guinness. Now, beer is my favorite alcoholic drink. In retrospect, I know that I responded so positively to Guinness because I have a innate preference for darker, heavier beers–more an the ale side of the spectrum. But I have since revisited lagers, and now I can drink them with pleasure–though if it’s a dark lager along the lines of an AmberBock, I’ll enjoy it more. So in my experience, Guinness saved beer for me. If your beer instinct is similar to mine, then it could do the same for you. But YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![js\_africanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-beer-initiation-am-i-insane/195035/40 "2003-08-15T15:46:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Skopo \* > \*\*Before I ever had a Guinness, the only kind of beer I was familiar with was water-downed American lager (the Budweiser kind). \*\* Um, aren’t most American macro-brews pilsners? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-beer-initiation-am-i-insane/195035.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-beer-initiation-am-i-insane/195035.md?page=3)