# Recommend a beer for a non-beer drinker **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** beer\ **Created:** [June 24, 2005, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-beer-for-a-non-beer-drinker/309673 "2005-06-24T15:22:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2005, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-beer-for-a-non-beer-drinker/309673/41 "2005-06-24T18:42:18Z")
\*\*Danalan \*\*, I’ve heard the cider black and tan sometimes referred to as a snakebite…I think. Anyways, I would so go for a Magic Hat #9. Not always easy to find outside of the Northeast US (and possibly parts of Canada,) cause it’s made in a small microbrewery in VT, but it’s damn good. I also recomend Bass. Those two are my two favs in the world of beer, and they ahve never done me wrong (though if you can, try to get them on tap, no in a bottle. While still good from a bottle, they are even better on tap, especially Bass.) ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2005, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-beer-for-a-non-beer-drinker/309673/42 "2005-06-24T19:12:59Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > \*\*Danalan \*\*, I’ve heard the cider black and tan sometimes referred to as a “Snakebite” … Yes – that’s a common name for cider + Guiness here in this neck of the woods. … **Pulykamell** gave loads of good advice. Hoegaarden is a wonderful Belgian witbier. There’s at least one American version of witbier being brewed – that would be Blue Moon (available throughout much of the U.S.). Blue Moon’s not on a par with Hoegaarden, but it’s in the ballpark. There was also a damn good witbier brewed in a Texas brewery named Celis during the early-to-mid 1990s. The brewery closed down at one time, then it either re-opened or it was supposed to re-open and never did. If you ever run across a bottle of Celis, grab it. If not, Blue Moon will do just fine. A German weizen that I find very accessible is Spaten’s Franziskaner (either the gold or red label). It’s not hard to find in Lousiana, even being sold at some grocery stored. Perhaps it can be found in Tennessee. Another type of beer to try would be the bocks. One variety called _doppelbock_ (“double bock”) is pretty common to find in beers-of-the-world pubs. German brews with names ending in “-ator” are doppelbocks – Paulaner’s Salvator, Spaten’s Optimator, Celebrator, etc. They are much sweeter than ordinary lagers, and have much less of the bitter hops flavor that you’d get in a lager. Other kinds of bocks go down smooth, too – seek out Bock im Stein (sold in faux-earthenware tan bottles) and Ayinger’s Maibock (light green label). Samuel Adams used to make a very nice Double Bock, but I haven’t it seen it down here in years. Abita Brewing here in Louisiana makes a Bock … it’s inferior to the classic German bocks, but it wipes the floor with the Coors Light ilk. My last suggestion would be to seek out what are known as “barley wines”. If you’re in one of those kinds of bars that serves 300 kinds of beer, ask for an Old Nick. It’s worlds apart from plain lagers … also a sweetish flavor without the overpowering hops taste. ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2005, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-beer-for-a-non-beer-drinker/309673/43 "2005-06-24T19:19:49Z")
I absolutely hated beer until I had an ice-cold (as in had been in the freezer for over 24 hours) Corona on a hot summer’s day. Give that whirl. It’s the beer-haters beer beer-haters drink without having to resort to an American macro-brew… ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2005, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-beer-for-a-non-beer-drinker/309673/44 "2005-06-24T19:47:03Z")
> [@watsonwil](#): > > I gotta agree with LB here. If a person doesn’t really like beer but wants to develop a taste, you can’t send them to the heavy stuff first. > > It’s gotta be gradual. When you are learning to play guitar, they start you out with “Frere Jacques” not “Sweet Child O’Mine”! > > … > > But some of the heavier beers are WAY to strong for a newbie. I kind of disagree about this. It really depends on whatever flavor in the beer the drinker especially disfavors. What a lot of people don’t like about beer is the bitter taste of hops. Some of what you call “heavier beer” minimizes the taste of hops. Still other “heavier beers” minimize the hops bitterness _and_, at the same time, taste especially sweet. ---
**Author:** ![badbadrubberpiggy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/57b2e6/32.png) [@badbadrubberpiggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badbadrubberpiggy)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2005, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-beer-for-a-non-beer-drinker/309673/45 "2005-06-24T19:47:07Z")
> [@Larry Borgia](#): > > **August West** already mentioned Lindemanns, but I’ll second that recommendation. The lambic Frambois (sp?) is fantastic, and doesn’t taste like beer at all. It’s like a very tasty fruit soda, but more complex than sodas. It is much better than those horrible flavored “malt beverages.” > > Really, you should give it a try. I love the Lindeman’s Peche - there is a restaurant around here that does “beer tours” where you get 5(?) different types of beers from the same region of the world in small glasses. My favorite is the Belgian tour, which always includes some type of Lindeman’s. It’s a bit more expensive than your average beer, but it also has a higher alcohol content, IIRC. I think the price is worth the taste, though. They’re sweet, but doesn’t have that syrupy sweetness malt beverages (blech!) do, because they also have a tartness to them as well. If you liked the Woodchuck Cider, try the Woodchuck pear cider, it’s pretty tasty as well, and they also have a granny smith apple cider as well. Magner’s is my favorite cider (known as Boomer’s in Ireland, IIRC). It’s very easy to drink, so be warned! 😃 I learned to appreciate dark beers like Guinness by starting with Murphy’s. I think it’s a little milder if you’re not used to stouts, and was indeed the only dark beer I drank for quite a long time. Now I like Guinness quite a bit, though it’s not my favorite (still prefer Murphy’s!). ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2005, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-beer-for-a-non-beer-drinker/309673/46 "2005-06-24T20:01:21Z")
It taste good Ice cold, cold or warm. It’s usually easy to find. If it taste heavy to you, find Saranac Pale Ale. Always good and not so much flavor but way better than a Bud or Coors. Can’t go to wrong with Sam Adams but I would go with Bass & Saranac Pale Ale ---
**Author:** ![cckerberos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@cckerberos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cckerberos)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2005, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-beer-for-a-non-beer-drinker/309673/47 "2005-06-24T20:05:31Z")
I’m going to go along with a number of other posters and recommend that you try a Hefeweizen. I have a non-beer drinking friend who loves having a Hefeweizen with lemon. Won’t drink anything else. I’m not sure how universally available they are, though… neither I (from Boston) nor my friend (from NYC) had ever heard of them before coming to Seattle where they’re wicked popular. Though I noticed the other day that Sam Adams has one now, so maybe it was just something I overlooked. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2005, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-beer-for-a-non-beer-drinker/309673/48 "2005-06-24T20:07:57Z")
A few folks have recommended Bass and Newcastle Brown Ale. Definitely try those … experimentation is definitely the key. However, a caveat about those brews – if it’s the hops bitterness you dislike, then Bass and Newcastle won’t cut it. They do a better job with their malt flavoring than American macro-brews, but the hops flavor is not particularly subdued. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2005, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-beer-for-a-non-beer-drinker/309673/49 "2005-06-24T20:15:19Z")
> [@Shirley Ujest](#): > > Cause I was young, naive and broke. (Woooo a trifecta!) That’s not so much a trifecta as it is a matched set. - Shibb, who also once bought a case of Old Milwaukee, while a freshman in college. About the same cost as other cheap beers but it was the only one with refundable bottles. It did the job that was required of it at the time. ---
**Author:** ![sewalk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@sewalk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sewalk)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2005, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-beer-for-a-non-beer-drinker/309673/50 "2005-06-24T20:30:04Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > Samuel Adams used to make a very nice Double Bock, but I haven’t it seen it down here in years. Do you mean SA Winter Lager? It is a nicely spiced American duppel. I buy five or six cases for myself every Christmas (it’s easy enough to find in OKC, at least around late November) and keep it in Grandad’s root cellar until needed. I’m down to one case already this year. I’ll probably start buying ten cases this year and be less stingy with it. After all, good beer is meant to be shared with good friends. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2005, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-beer-for-a-non-beer-drinker/309673/51 "2005-06-24T20:45:11Z")
> [@sewalk](#): > > Do you mean SA Winter Lager? It is a nicely spiced American duppel. I buy five or six cases for myself every Christmas (it’s easy enough to find in OKC, at least around late November) and keep it in Grandad’s root cellar until needed. I’m down to one case already this year. I’ll probably start buying ten cases this year and be less stingy with it. After all, good beer is meant to be shared with good friends. No, what I’m referring to is different – [here’s a picture of the bottle](http://www.mylifeisbeer.com/beer/bottles/bottledetail/62/). Apparently, they still make it (or did as of 2002) … but I haven’t seen it sold here in ages. I need to be on the lookout for the Winter Lager this fall. Sounds pretty good … never seen it before, though. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2005, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-beer-for-a-non-beer-drinker/309673/52 "2005-06-24T20:47:17Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > I need to be on the lookout for the Winter Lager this fall. Sounds pretty good … never seen it before, though. Does the Winter Lager bottle still look like [this](http://www.mylifeisbeer.com/beer/bottles/bottledetail/770/)? ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2005, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-beer-for-a-non-beer-drinker/309673/53 "2005-06-24T21:17:04Z")
> [@cckerberos](#): > > …neither I (from Boston) nor my friend (from NYC) had ever heard of them before coming to Seattle where they’re wicked popular. Wow, that’s surprising. I understand it being big in Seattle, as [one of the most popular](http://www.pyramidbrew.com/beer/beerguide/hefeweizen.php) is brewed there. But I’d say hefeweisen is available in about 85% of bars in SF; usually the aforementioned Pyramid, or Widmers. Sometimes they have [Paulander](http://starbrandimports.com/brands.php?b=1&c=1&p=2) or [Franziskaner](http://www.franziskaner.com/3_products/3_1_product_spectrum/index.htm) (which has a nice tart to it). Also- to the OP. Any bar that specializes in beer (say, 25+ on tap) should have a bartender or barfly who would be willing to help you out a bit. ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2005, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-beer-for-a-non-beer-drinker/309673/54 "2005-06-24T21:28:43Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > . > > There was also a damn good witbier brewed in a Texas brewery named Celis during the early-to-mid 1990s. The brewery closed down at one time, then it either re-opened or it was supposed to re-open and never did. If you ever run across a bottle of Celis, grab it. If not, Blue Moon will do just fine. Celis was owned by Pierre Celis, the man that brought Belgian Witbier back from the dead when he revived Hoegaarden in his native Belgium. He made Celis White here in the States. Miller Brewing Co. bought his brewery and somehow ran it into the ground. Fast forward to a few years ago, little Michigan Brewing Company in Webberville MI buys the old Celis brewery equipment, with no intentions of making a witbier, they just wanted the equipment. But they were overwhelmed by people across the country asking if they were going to revive the brand. So they bought the name and the recipe from Miller and they now make Celis White, with the occasional assistance of Pierre himself. So it is still out there. ---
**Author:** ![sewalk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@sewalk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sewalk)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2005, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-beer-for-a-non-beer-drinker/309673/55 "2005-06-24T21:48:10Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > Does the Winter Lager bottle still look like [this](http://www.mylifeisbeer.com/beer/bottles/bottledetail/770/)? Yes. I’ve never seen the Double Bock, but I’ll ask at my corner store. The owner is always willing to get whatever I ask for, if it’s at all available. He says he respects my taste in beer 🆒 (SA Lagers, Bit, and Warsteiner are my top 3 choices). ---
**Author:** ![borschevsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/97f17d/32.png) [@borschevsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/borschevsky)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2005, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-beer-for-a-non-beer-drinker/309673/56 "2005-06-24T22:17:18Z")
Also it’s important not to be fooled by the name of the beer. For example, when I ordered a Santa Claus beer ([Samichlaus; 5th on the page](http://www.beersofeurope.co.uk/acatalog/Beers_of_Europe__Austrian_Beer_99.html)), I wasn’t expecting quite what I got. I had never realized Santa was so hard core. ---
**Author:** ![Dancer\_Flight](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dancer_flight/32/7601_2.png) [@Dancer\_Flight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dancer_Flight)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2005, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-beer-for-a-non-beer-drinker/309673/57 "2005-06-24T23:40:54Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > \*\*Danalan \*\*, I’ve heard the cider black and tan sometimes referred to as a snakebite…I think. Up here it is known as a Black Velvet (Strongbow Cider / Guiness). Nummy, but either by themselves is also good. In my intemperate youth I was, one afternoon, intemperate with much cheap Canadian beer (Labatt’s Blue, Kokanee) and that put me off any beer for about a couple of years. I found that I didn’t care much for lagers, or pale ales for that matter, but anything more robust in flavour was right up my alley. I didn’t much care for Guiness the first time I tried it. The second time I found my new love. I still prefer darker beers over lighter. If all else fails, go with cider. I’ve tried a few of those, and I’m still loyal to Strongbow (they make it with apple concentrate so you can still taste apples, unlike Magnars, for example). -DF ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2005, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-beer-for-a-non-beer-drinker/309673/58 "2005-06-25T00:44:09Z")
> [@August West](#): > > Anyone who says flat out that they don’t like beer is being very close minded. No, I’d be closed minded only if I refused to try beer. That I don’t like it after I’ve tried it is another thing altogether. Don’t really like hard cider either. The vaguely apply flavor doesn’t mask the, to me, underlying nastiness. But, more beer for the rest of you! ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2005, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-beer-for-a-non-beer-drinker/309673/59 "2005-06-25T03:26:24Z")
Let’s try to define this and make it sound like a good definition. Urtyp: indigenous type, sort of, literally. More idiomatically, I’d just say that it means a traditional kind of beer, but YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Electronic\_Chaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Electronic\_Chaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electronic_Chaos)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2005, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-beer-for-a-non-beer-drinker/309673/60 "2005-06-25T03:35:32Z")
Update: Went and bought a Hefeweizen today, and didn’t enjoy it much…even tried it with a slice of lemon. Perhaps I’ll try it again some other time after a few drinks and see how that goes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-beer-for-a-non-beer-drinker/309673.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-beer-for-a-non-beer-drinker/309673.md?page=4)