Here I am again (ovbiously, I spend way too much time thinking about beer 
)
I just happened to remember: if you live in the Tampa Bay area benlormat, you could make a visit to World of Beer in Clearwater. They should definitely be able to put you on the right track 
Eh, if you’re drinking quickly enough for the carbonation to be a problem, good beer is wasted on you. Actually, that holds for just about anything–there’s no point in getting the good stuff if you’re going to gulp it down too quickly to enjoy it. IMO, YMMV, etc.
The beers I’d suggest for people who don’t like beer:
Anything by Abita, but especially Purple Haze
Blue Moon with a wedge of orange
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (and at Christmas, the Celebration Ale if you can find it–some places don’t sell it because it’s got a higher alcohol content)
Pete’s Strawberry Blonde
King Cotton (?) Pumpkin Ale, especially tasty with warm Dreamsicle cookies
Oh, and if you ever wind up in the Greensboro region of North Carolina, you really need to have Red Oak or three. Their Battleground Black is pretty tasty, too, even if you don’t especially like dark beers.
It is now on on my “must visit” list.
I think that the two best lagers available are either ‘Staropramen’ (Czech lager) or ‘Castle’ (South Africa I think). These have absolutley every quality that a lager should excel in IMHO. The aforementioned ‘Hoegaarden’ is excellent as well if you like wheat beers (try it chilled with a slice of lemon in the glass) ‘Hoegaarden Premiere Cruz’ is good but is very strong (7% I think). I recentley discovered a lager called ‘Crocodile’ that comes from Sweden and is very decent. I think that the trick with beers is to find a shop that sells a wide selection and to just try as many as possible (over time obviousley!). Good luck!
Another vote for Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. And the Summerfest and Celebration Ales are great as well.
Fat Tire is pretty good.
I don’t know if it’s readily available outside of the Bay Area, but
Eye of the Hawk is one of my favorites. With an 8% alc. content, it packs a nice little punch.
And I’m really in love with our local brewery’s belgian ale, Damnation by Russian River Brewing Co.
New Belgium has been my choice lately. Their 1554 black ale beats Guiness for me. They also are making a golden ale called Loft, really refreshing, not heavy at all. You can’t go wrong with Paulaner - the current Oktoberfest Marzen is another ale worth trying out.
Pilsner Urquell whe I’m feeling flush - it’s a little pricey around here, but worth it.
-mdf
Don’t know if you can get it in Florida, but my favorite is Widmer Hefeweisen from Portland, Oregon. IMO (and with all due respect to RICO), way] better than Pyramid. I also second (or third) the votes for Fat Tire. Basically, you can have a lot of fun checking out the zillions of microbrews in the States now. For general bottled beer, I like Heineken, Pilsner Urqell, and Corona. (Not a Corona Lite, but then all “lite” beer is the work of the devil.) Stay away from “beerwater,” which covers virtually all name-brand beers, Bud, Miller, Coors, etc. I’d rather drink water than drink that crap, unless I’m at a ball game and that’s all there is which fortunately is no longer the case for ball games in Seattle.
Enjoy learning about beer and please, please do not become a Pretentious Beer Snot.
Thanks for the suggestion, Jodi! I’m always interested in finding new and better beers - and thanks for the due respect. Maybe you could teach a few things to my wife about that… :rolleyes: 
And re: being a Pretentious Beer Snot? You say that as if there’s something wrong with it…
Hmmmmm…trust not Jodi too much. Corona? That’s how you say Coors in Spanish.
On behalf of all us Pretentious Beer Snots - pfpfpfpfpfpfpfpfpfpft!!!
Hey, I didn’t say anyone here was being a PBS. Y’all are safe until such time as we’re sitting around tossing them back and someone starts sniffing their glass and talking about how this batch is too hoppy and insufficiently caramel in color and notice how that cretin bartender tilted the glass to avoid putting too large a head on it, as if he doesn’t know beer needs to aerate a bit, and the beer is too cold anyway which as we all know inhibits full flavor. . . Then you’re fair game. Do try the Widmer, RICO, it’s fab. And yes, Corona is basically crap, but it’s not bad crap if crap is all you can get.
I only do stuff like that when I’m judging homebrew, or really trying to piss off the Budweiser rep.
If you are drinking Mexican, then dump the Corona and go for Modelo, Bohemia, or in a pinch Dos Equis. Living in Southern California does have its advantages when it comes to Mexican beer.
I’m split between the Widmer and the Pyramid. Both are good, but neither really stands out over the other to me. What are your thoughts on the line from Full Sail? I really like them, myself, and they are distriduted nationally.
But if I’m drinking Corona, I’m not drinking “Mexican,” I’m drinking “crappy beer,” of which Corona is likely to be the best choice. IOW, if I’m in a dive where the best beer avaiable is the bottle of Corona, they’re not going to offer me Dos Equis, much less Modelo or Bohemia. If I’m in a pub that actually carries Modelo, it’s going to have a bunch of better stuff too. See what I’m saying? Corona is my first choice if the other choices are draft or bottled Major American Beer. And I really like Full Sail. Their pale ale is first-rate, though if you’re not a pale drinker you’ll find it a little wimpy but hey, no more than any other pale. It’s a good brand IMO.
If you like the Yuelngling B&T I reccomend a Red Hook Nut Brown or a Sam Smith’s Taddy Porter. Especially the later, if you don’t mind paying $9 a 4-pack.
Maybe, maybe not. Corona, piss water that it is, is made by Modelo brewery. I hate Corona, but I’m pretty fond of Negra Modelo.
Is Loft really an ale? I saw some in the store on Friday and was tempted (New Belgium doesn’t have a bad beer) but I was nervous about the absolute lack of description on either the label or the six-pack itself. I’m not too fond of lagers.
From the New Belgium website:
*Loft Beer is a refreshing ale brewed with both barley and wheat malt, a blend of Liberty and Sterling hops, and then spiced with the exotic kaffir lime leaf. Loft delivers an uplifting zest, a taut, hoppy line and a mouthful as big as the sky. All without weighing you down. This beer pairs well with spicy cuisine, kite-flyin? and backyard bouts of bocci ball. *
That’d be a “barley wine” right? i really should break down and try it sometimes, but I have really bad (if hazy) memories from my malt liquor days. Does anyone here know if it tastes like B.O. the way Olde English 800 does?
'Ello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You snaked my lager. Prepare to die…
Yeah, I went there after I posted. I liked it until I read the lime part.
Lime is the new drink spice of the moment, replacing chiles. I had a mojito for the first time a while back. GAG! Tastes like lime koolaid with some rum poured in, extra sugar added. That is one nasty drink.
Inigo my man, are you in for a treat! Hie yourself to your local purvayance and get yourself some Bigfoot Barleywine. Sierra Nevada’s answer to sobriety. At my best, I have been able to drink 2 pints of this before the room got all paisley and the elves started untying my shoes. Very good stuff. Tastes wonderful…all rich and toffee and yummy.