My dear wife, bless her soul, never developed a taste for beer. She says it’s too bitter. But she is attracted to the obvious psychic benefits. What brands of beer are sweeter and not as “hoppy”, without being nauseating.
Try Newcastle Brown Ale. Kinda pricey ($7.99 for a six-pack around here) but it has a very smooth, non-bitter taste, not very hoppy.
Go to a microbrewery and request something light.
Try a wheat beer. Specifically, Celis White is nice.
But if what you mean by “the obvious psychic benefits” is the buzz, then any other type of alcoholic beverage would do the job, no?
Is there a microbrewery near you that has pumpkin beer. I love it–a little sweet and spicy. Yum yum.
I think a beer buzz feels different than a wine glow or a whiskey drunk. Is it the mildly sedative effect of hops? I appreciate all these suggestions(slobber, slobber) but live about 100 miles from the nearest microbrewery or fine beer store. Maybe I should get a good recipe book,beer kit or mail-order beer web link?
Strange…Newcastle is my favorite beer. But I find it to actually be somewhat bitter. I dunno, maybe that’s just me.
I never liked beer for awhile. That’s because I kept drinking swill in a can. Bud Light, Milwaukee’s Best, it’s all the same crap. But then I got into ales and it completely opened my eyes to the world of beers.
I’d recommend a Fat Tire which isn’t that bitter. If you still want to go light and cheap, I think Coors is your best bet.
I personally don’t like many of the Sam Adams brands, but if she wants flavorful beers that may be your best bet.
You should definitely find her a sweet beer. Sample a few microbrews (assuming you are in the states) until you find something with a nice round, nutty taste. Darker brownish beers often fit the bill (not stouts like Guinness!!!) Also avoid lagers or anything cheap, whether domestic or imports. Czech beers can be sweet (sweetish Czech beers are my personal favorites), but well-preserved, non-skunky ones are sometimes hard to find in the States (avoid those green bottles!)
I don’t know much about what’s available in Wisconsin, but I’ll give you this advice.
Only drink beers from a glass.
Don’t drink anything made by a major brewery.
Your local liquor store will special order stuff if you ask.
Two good starter beers:
Corona - Stick a quarter-slice of lime through the bottleneck, numnums!
Leinenkugel’s Berryweiss - Heard someone mention Wisconsin, this should be easy to get, although it’s a seasonal brew. This is a hybrid between a beer and a wine cooler.
Of everything I’ve seen on here yet, I’d have to agree with Green Bean. I’ve heard gooood things about that pumpkin beer.
Otherwise … well, pretty much all that weak domestic stuff. Coors and Bud light are pretty much the same thing, and I hesitate to suggest anyone drink a lesser beer than those. MGD, Old Mil … startin’ to get pretty nasty.
I’d stay away from the microbrews; I’ve never tasted one that wasn’t damn bitter.
I have a couple wussy friends who think the same way as your wife, but flat-out refuse to drink beer “Because it tastes nasty”. You know, the pack-a-day guys. Anyways, they only drink girly-drinks (any fans of the Kids in the Hall will know what I mean) and lame crap like Mike’s Hard Lemonade. Hey, I like’em, but I’m not gonna drink’em 24/7, you know?
Hmmmm … yeah. If I had to give something more definitive, I’d say look for some flavored wheat beers. I had this Raspberry Wheat at a brewery in North Carolina that was just incredible. Sweet as hell, but still beerily good.
if the “obvious psychic benefits” means getting drunk, just tell her to drink mike’s hard lemonade or smirnoff ice or some other flavored malt beverage…just as much alcohol (if not more) and tasty…yum…
Ditto on the Leinie’s Berryweiss; I haven’t had too much luck with fruit beers (they taste too much like cheap beer with kool-aid in it). However, Leinie’s makes a variety of beers, and they’re local. You should also be able to get the Point beers (from Stevens Point); their Bock is pretty nice and not too bitter.
I’d recommend getting one of those beer samplers, a 12-pack with four different types of beer in it.
My current favorites are Leinie’s Bock (not currently available, but $4 a six-pack in season, which is cheaper than I can make it), their Red Ale, Creamy Dark, and Honey Weiss beers.
Also, Octoberfests tend not to be very bitter, and they’re in season. Everybody and his brother should be selling some this time of year.
What worked for me was to learn to drink a really bad beer first, then everything else tasted great.
I learned to drink beer in Vietnam. The beer was BamiBa (sp? means “33”). It cost about a dime per bottle at the time and us poor GI’s that wanted to drink large quantities of adult beverages went with the cheapest stuff we could find. After that, any beer I pick up tastes just fine.
Well, I have to disagree with MGD being a lesser beer than Coors or Bud. Bud gives me headaches unless it’s the ice variety. Coors is very watery. Howerver, beer is very much a matter of taste, so whatever works for you is fine with me.
Leroy:
Yes, most microbrews tend to be bitter. They put a lot of hops in them. Most home brews are the same way. However if you go to http://www.MrBeer.com, it is possible to order the supplies to make some very sweet beers, and you have the option of leaving the hops out. You can make your first batch (2 gallons) for about $40.00, after that, it’s about $10 - $15 per batch. I have the kit and it’s pretty fun and not too hard.
I’d say definitely try Mike’s Hard Lemonade or Schmirnoff (sp) Ice. They are both fairly sweet but use beer as the base so it will have the same effect as any other beer without the same taste.
Ugh, Smirnoff Ice.
Smirnoff Ice is like Zima that a diabetic has pissed in.
I feel the need to repeat myself.
Coors, Corona, Miller Genuine Draft, and Budweiser ARE NOT BEERS! They are cheap, low-alcohol swill foisted off on a public that thinks beer is about image instead of taste.
They are the remnants of Prohibition policy.
I long for the day when all major breweries have gone bankrupt…
I didn’t say I liked it in the least. Although dumping it out would have been alcohol abuse, but I couldn’t manage more than one in a night. I forgot about Zima, but I’m not sure exactly what category that falls into. I think it might be a wine cooler more than a beer.
Beer is Beer!
Come to think of it, all beer looks like piss. I wonder if it tastes different?
uh…no. A stout is not a lager, a wheat beer is not a barley wine…may I ask how many of the 30+ recognized beer STYLES (not BRANDS) you’ve actually tried?
I wonder why you troll a thread like this, where the OP asks for beer suggestions?