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[Ian]

^ Wouldn't know...
 BigMatt

Never had birch beer? It's a lot better IMO than root beer.

[english si]

You can drink at the age of 16 in the Netherlands (and most of Europe).

Really? It's 18 here and in Ireland.

Err, it's 5 in the UK (16 to drink outside private houses, and then only at a meal with parents/responsible adults, 18 to actually buy it) - the wiki article confirms what I was taught at school.

21 in the states is too high - it illegalises a lot of drinking, pushing it underground - you will always have nutters, but being able to legally experiment with tolerances and so on means that there'd be a bit more accountability with parents and such.

Same.  I don't see myself handling alcohol that well.  Maybe wine on occasions once I'm 21, but I doubt I'll be a beer drinker.

get into beer - have a couple of decent ones, rather than a lot of the swill that's designed for just pouring down your throat and getting you drunk (then again, I did have a Carling tonight, which was a bit of a mistake - should have had a second ale rather than asking for a lager - just nicer, and probably would have gone with my Thai food more). Dodge the swill, work on it, and enjoy it for the taste, not the alcohol (just like coffee and caffeine).

There's a difference between the binge drinking that happens among college and high school students and having a beer (or two) after work and staying sober. Personally, I drink regularly, but rarely get drunk. Besides, when you're drinking craft beers and microbrews, getting drunk becomes cost prohibitive very quickly! I also really like a good wine, and a good beer can be appreciated much in the same way, especially with food. Don't give into peer pressure though; if you really don't want to drink, you'll be happier if you don't.

Absolutely - a good beer or two with food isn't going to cause major problems, be a bit adventurous - avoid American mass produced stuff, with the exception of Sam Adams (which is drinkable at least) like the plague, and try and go with various different types, develop preferences and the palate and then settle. Go with the smallest volumes you can get when it comes to draft beer - you can try more (say 2 or 3 rather than 1 or 2 - nowhere enough to get you serious drunk by a long shot, but enough to give you enough to drink over the course of a meal) and it makes it more about the quality of beer than the quantity of alcohol. Nothing wrong with wine, of course, nor good cider, or other stuff.

Alcopops/hard lemonade/etc just seem a bit off - they are about sugar coating the alcohol and make it go down easier - about getting drunk. Avoid if you don't want to get drunk - there's no point to them otherwise!

Oh, I haven't given my preference - a good fruity Belgian or a fairly light English real ale (not pale ale, but a light ale). But I'll drink anything that's pretty decent quality - it all depends on what's on offer and what I fancy. I'm often in the mood for a lager, and will go for the cheapest decent enough one. I'll drink wine (mostly red), and will happily enjoy a G&T or whatever if the occasion calls for it.

I miss root beer - it's so expensive to get here, as it's a small market of imported stuff, so it's twice the price of vending machine soda, which is overpriced.

[agentsteel53]

Whenever I'm out in Carlsbad, I always try to stop by Stone. Good stuff. Have you ever had their Ruination IPA? It's the hoppiest beer I've ever tasted. Also, Karl Strauss is awesome, and the Pizza Port in Carlsbad has some of the best beer I've ever had.

I have not had the Ruination.  Will have to try it. 

Karl Strauss is within walking distance of my work!  I definitely like their Red Trolley Ale.

[corco]

I am a sucker for wheat beers. I've always enjoyed the Pyramid Hefeweizen, but I try to buy local as much as possible. I really like the Odell brewery's offerings (out of Fort Collins), especially their Easy Street.

I do like a good New Belgium beer- I had been drinking exclusively Fat Tire and Two Below, but hat tip to Bugo for pointing me towards Abbey and Trippel. Those are quite good as well.

I also like Moose Drool from Grand Teton Brewing, and anything from Deschutes up in Oregon is good.

I'm not a porter/stout fan, but any IPA or wheat beer is quite good.

If I'm going cheap, I still love a good Budweiser or Corona out of a bottle. As far as light beers, I'll only touch Coors Light.  

Yeah, if I do drink any alcohol it'd prolly be something like Mike Hard Lemonade. I've heard that's good. I know someone who took Vodka to school. Didn't end well.... But he's still alive, so he didn't do anything too stupid... At why should 18 yo's be able to drink? I mean they already do it and look at how a lot of them end up. Dead. Every year after HS graduation there's at least one death from people (from a suburb of Angelo) drinking and driving (underage). So I think we have a long way to go until we see 18 being our legal drinking age.. That's just my opinion.

I'm for lowering the drinking age. My reasoning for that is I have noticed that since turning 21, I drink a LOT less. It becomes less fun to drink 11 beers at a time when you discover you can have 1 or 2 after dinner and beers become relaxing. Half of the fun of underage drinking was the slight rush from the illegality involved and the unfortunate social boost you get from being the underage kid who could get beer. Before I was 21, I'd drink 10 at a time or so once or twice a week. After turning 21, I drink roughly 1 or 2 every other night and up to 5 or 6 on weekends. I enjoy being hammered a lot less, and being able to know I can get hammered whenever I want makes it less appealing (there's a psychological term for this, but I'm not sure what it is).

I don't attribute the change in behavior to magically becoming more mature within a week of turning 21, I attribute it to the fact that alcohol stopped being special.

I also, and I'm not proud of this, used to drink and drive while in high school. My reasoning was this: my parents were unrealistic about underage alcohol consumption and I would have been in huge trouble if I got caught drinking. If I spent the night somewhere, it would be assumed I was drinking, so that was a no-go.  In my mind, the only way I could drink and party with friends and not make my parents mad was to risk driving home. The risk of a DUI was worth less to me than my parents wrath. Stupid decision, for sure, but that's the way my brain worked (and I know I wasn't the only one in that boat). It helped that I lived in the middle of nowhere and never once saw a police officer while driving intoxicated. When I turned 21, it magically became okay for me to spend the night or otherwise act safely when at home with my parents, so I stopped altogether. Their concern was legality- if the drinking age were 18 or 16, they would have been cool with me drinking and encouraged me to act safely.

I'd say that the one thing I've gotten from that is that regardless of what the law is, when I raise my own kids I will be realistic about underage drinking. I certainly won't encourage the behavior until it starts, but if and when it starts I will be drinking with my kids to show them how to do it safely and responsibly. If they tell me they are drinking at a party, I will happily go pick them up without any questions asked or punishment involved. Heck, if they want to have a party at my house with me there being able to supervise, I'd rather have that happen then a bunch of high schoolers getting wasted up in the mountains like I did. I'm a firm believer in supervision and education- punishment is completely ineffective when it comes to high schoolers drinking. If they want to drink, they'll drink. Better to get it out of the shadows. If that ends up landing me in a jail cell, so be it.

[agentsteel53]

As far as light beers, I'll only touch Coors Light.  

that is my choice of cheap beer.  Budweiser is awful, and honestly I haven't had Miller in so long that I don't remember what it tastes like.  Coors is quite palatable.  But I'll pony up the 20% premium for Shiner Bock or Sam Adams or another decent beer if I have the choice.

[corco]

Shiner Bock

Oooo.. that's delicious too and not too expensive. I forgot about that as a favorite- it started showing up in Laramie in about January and was quite a pleasant surprise. It's a great compromise beer when you don't want to pony up for a really good beer but don't want to drink booze-flavored piss.

[agentsteel53]

booze-flavored piss.

not a beer, but the most hideously unpalatable drink I have ever had is a concoction called Mad Dog 20/20.  Blecch!

[corco]

not a beer, but the most hideously unpalatable drink I have ever had is a concoction called Mad Dog 20/20.  Blecch!

Never had that- I used to have a lot of fun with Olde English HG in my younger years- that stuff tasted godawful, especially since underage you rarely get to enjoy cold alcohol- drink two 40s of that and wake up in a pool of vomit with a week-long hangover.

[agentsteel53]

Never had that- I used to have a lot of fun with Olde English HG in my younger years- that stuff tasted godawful, especially since underage you rarely get to enjoy cold alcohol- drink two 40s of that and wake up in a pool of vomit with a week-long hangover.

Ooh, I had forgotten about malt liquor.  Icchhrrrgh!  I do drink Steel Reserve on occasion even though it is awful, but mainly it is a tradition between me and one of my friends.  

speaking of underage drinking, the first time I ever had a drink was at age 19.  Probably a reasonably sensible time to do it.  I did miss out on the "face down in a gutter" phase of high school drinking, but made up for it with a few moments of excess around age 24-25.  I gotta keep the hard alcohol to a minimum; I get hangovers now!  Double icchhrrgh!!

[corco]

speaking of underage drinking, the first time I ever had a drink was at age 19.  Probably a reasonably sensible time to do it.  I did miss out on the "face down in a gutter" phase of high school drinking, but made up for it with a few moments of excess around age 24-25.  I gotta keep the hard alcohol to a minimum; I get hangovers now!  Double icchhrrgh!!

I drank too much cheap vodka and rum in my younger years- Idaho has a store brand vodka and rum called Idaho Silver and Idaho Gold, respectively produced exclusively for Idaho State Liquor Dispensaries that ran at $8.95 a half gallon (this was smart!), and now if I even try to take a shot of premium vodka or rum I puke.

These days, I do enjoy a good glass of scotch on ice and the occasional jagermeister, but that's it for the hard alcohol.

Back on topic, I also enjoy Blue Moon as another good mid-tier beer.

A beer I recently had that was surprisingly bad was Buffalo Gold by the Boulder Brewery. It was on sale at a bar in Denver and I had a glass- tastes like Fruity Pebbles.

Another beer I've only had one glass of but really want again is Okanogan 1516.

[flaroads]

I pretty much stick with darker ales, except for these extremely hot months when I favor Bud Light Lime. I got hooked on Bud Light Lime when I used to frequent Sea World Orlando and get the free beer from the hospitality house...

[agentsteel53]

I pretty much stick with darker ales, except for these extremely hot months when I favor Bud Light Lime. I got hooked on Bud Light Lime when I used to frequent Sea World Orlando and get the free beer from the hospitality house...

yes! despite the fact that Bud Light Regular is an abomination, Bud Light Lime is quite good.  But, at 4.3% alcohol with a distinct lime flavor, I am having trouble classifying it as beer. 

[golden eagle]

I mainly like Corona and, if you can call it a beer, Smirnoff. I tried my first Dos Equis last night; not too bad. I don't really drink beer much.

[rawmustard]

... and, if you can call it a beer, Smirnoff.

I wouldn't call a vodka a beer, just like I wouldn't call a tied-arch bridge a suspension bridge.

[PAHighways]

Here is the perfect brew for a road enthusiast:  Route 113 Indian Pale Ale.  It is brewed where the SEPA Meet was held.

[Ace10]

I mainly like Corona and, if you can call it a beer, Smirnoff. I tried my first Dos Equis last night; not too bad. I don't really drink beer much.

Are you talking about Smirnoff Ice? If so, that's a flavored beer/malt beverage/whatever. Smirnoff itself is vodka I believe.

I'm not *too* much of a drinker but I do hail from around New Orleans so I've had my fair share of drinks and my one time of puking from too much drinking. I'm a lightweight. My favorites are rum and tequila but I'll occasionally enjoy a nice Smirnoff or wine as long as it's not too bitter. I love me some margaritas and hurricanes!

[algorerhythms]

So we've had threads on mini-marts, sports teams, music, and other fun topics, but no threads about beer! What's your favorite kind?

Here's my usual go-to beer, when I'm not looking to try something new:



I also like brown and amber ales and am looking forward to the fall when marzen/oktoberfest beers come out again!

There are many things to dislike about Oklahoma. The general backwardness, for example. And in this crowd, there's plenty to complain about in terms of roads. But what I dislike most about Oklahoma is that there is no Yuengling.

[golden eagle]

I mainly like Corona and, if you can call it a beer, Smirnoff. I tried my first Dos Equis last night; not too bad. I don't really drink beer much.

Are you talking about Smirnoff Ice?

Yeah. That's it! But I'm dying to try a Pabst Blue Ribbon beer.

[corco]

Yeah. That's it! But I'm dying to try a Pabst Blue Ribbon beer.

You're not missing much. Go buy a can of Keystone Light or Milwaukee's Best, pour all but the last sip out, then drink that last sip. That's PBR- it's like a full can of the dregs at the bottom of a can.

There are people who are insanely loyal to it for reasons they can't describe- it's really popular where I am in Idaho, but I've always despised it.

From what I can tell, there are two camps. Those who think it's the greatest thing ever and those who think it's awful. Those who think it's awesome are usually either old hippies or young people who think they are hipsters but are really in no way, shape, or form hipsters.

[agentsteel53]

young people who think they are hipsters but are really in no way, shape, or form hipsters.

is this actually as bad as those who are in some way, shape, or form hipsters?

[english si]

Are you talking about Smirnoff Ice? If so, that's a flavored beer/malt beverage/whatever. Smirnoff itself is vodka I believe.

Is your Sminoff ice different to ours? Ours is a bit like hard lemonade - definitely not a beer, but an alcopop (even the name suggests that it's a kiddies drink!)

I don't attribute the change in behavior to magically becoming more mature within a week of turning 21, I attribute it to the fact that alcohol stopped being special.

While I agree totally with your reasoning, I will point out it doesn't always work. But I'm similar - alcohol isn't special, my parents were happy with the odd drink at Christmas when I was about 7, then moved to the odd beer when I was about 10, and by the time I was 12, it was a beer with Sunday Lunch every week, then the odd beer during the week. By about 14 I was allowed a second. By the time I was 16, it was up to me to find my limit. I was always allowed a (very small when I was very small!) taste of whatever mum or dad were drinking, from the age of about 5, and thus it became more about the taste, rather than the alcoholic content.

[Ace10]

Are you talking about Smirnoff Ice? If so, that's a flavored beer/malt beverage/whatever. Smirnoff itself is vodka I believe.

Is your Sminoff ice different to ours? Ours is a bit like hard lemonade - definitely not a beer, but an alcopop (even the name suggests that it's a kiddies drink!)

It's a flavored beer in the same vein that a wine cooler is a flavored beer. I like it mostly because of its sweetness and carbonation (or whatever makes it fizz/bubbly). If that is technically what an alcopop is (never heard that term before) then I guess we're both right!

[SP Cook]

Couple of reactions.

- Craft beer and microbrews are, IMHO, crap.  Sixties people buy some brewing equipment and say "wouldn't it be great if we put 1000 times the hops and then some pumpkin seeds and some apple cores in the mix.".  Umm, no, it wouldn't. 

- Most "imported" Euro and Asian brews in the USA, such as Guinness and Kirin, are really imported.  From southern Ontario.  They are made in a huge beer factory, just like Budweiser, and they hope you won't notice the tiny "Made in Canada" under the large "IMPORTED".

- A generation ago this thread would have been very different.  The USA had mass market, but regional, brands that changed from place to place.  The way bread and milk are today.  The obvious "highways" connection there is Smokey and the Bandit relative to Coors, but there were 1000s.  Lots of road trips involved "undocumented importing".  Mostly all gone now, Coors went national and most of the rest become "virtural brands".

- "Virtural brands"?  Glad you asked.  As the regional beers went under, Miller and Pabst and others bought the brandnames and make the beers in their breweries.  No real connection.  Pabst owns 100s of brands.  And not one drop of brewing capacity.  It just pays others to make some product which is then put in replica packaging.  Miller likewise bought many brand names from the bankruptcy courts and makes low production runs of these.

- Sam Adams.  An awful product, IMHO.  But regardless of your opinon, a triumph of meaningless marketing.  "Boston Beer Company" and those heavy New England accented "craft brewers" in the ads?  The beer never has been made in commercial qualtities in Boston.   Started out being made in Pittsburgh at the Iron City factory (one of the remaining regional brands still going), then by Miller, and today it is made in Cincinnati and in the Allentown suburbs in breweries abandoned by, Burger (a Cincy regional) and Pabst.  In giant steal vats, just like Budweiser.

- The Smirnoff, Bacardi and similar drinks are indeed a malt beverage with the same alcohol content as beer.  They actually contain no vodka or rum or whatever.   In Texas they have to call them "Flavored Beer".

- Gimmie a nice glass of the King of Beers, anyday.

[mefailenglish]

In no particular order:  Anchor Steam, Redhook, Shiner, Odell, Dogfish Head, Sierra Nevada (only a few months away from the 2010 Celebration Ale), Goose Island, Yuengling.  Fat Tire is excellent too.

If I'm feeling extravagant:  Chimay Grande Reserve.

And Birch Beer > Root Beer.

[Truvelo]

- Sam Adams.  An awful product, IMHO.  But regardless of your opinon, a triumph of meaningless marketing.  "Boston Beer Company" and those heavy New England accented "craft brewers" in the ads?  The beer never has been made in commercial qualtities in Boston.   Started out being made in Pittsburgh at the Iron City factory (one of the remaining regional brands still going), then by Miller, and today it is made in Cincinnati and in the Allentown suburbs in breweries abandoned by, Burger (a Cincy regional) and Pabst.  In giant steal vats, just like Budweiser.

That's totally the opposite of my opinion. Sam Adams is the only North American beer I drink in any volume. Maybe we have opposite tastes in beer.

As for those mentioned by mefailenglish in the last post, I've never tried any of those.