AARoads Forum

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:

(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fardentfrost.rayd.org%2FBeer%2Fyuengling2.jpg&hash=8d5a136522e05587f084cf96aaf874009b93f921)

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

I'm kinda partial to darker beer styles (stouts, darker ales, bocks), but I enjoy wheat beers (such as Bell's Oberon) and IPAs as well. I've been exposed to so much great craft beer that I highly doubt I'll ever go back to that corporate stuff again.

Quote from: rawmustard on August 12, 2010, 09:03:30 AM
I'm kinda partial to darker beer styles (stouts, darker ales, bocks), but I enjoy wheat beers (such as Bell's Oberon) and IPAs as well. I've been exposed to so much great craft beer that I highly doubt I'll ever go back to that corporate stuff again.

I don't like really dark beers like stouts personally, but I do like a good bock on occasion. I'm not much into wheat beers either.

I drink a lot of craft beer, but I also appreciate the corporate stuff for what it is. Like I said, Yuengling is my usual go-to beer. It's cheap, tastes good, and you can get it just about anywhere here. I consider beers like Budweiser to be sports drinks. After I've been out working in the yard or something and am thirsty, an ice cold Bud tastes really good, probably because it's light flavored and watery. With a meal, something with more flavor is much better. I also tend to drink a lot of Mexican and Caribbean beer this time of year if I'm out in the pool or sitting on the porch. There's just something about hot weather and a Pacifico or a Presidente...

I didn't used to like IPAs, but I've developed more of a taste for hoppy beer. Arrogant Bastard (hoppier than many IPAs I've had) has been one of my favorites lately.

I am a big fan of Sierra Nevada.  Tonight, though, I will likely have a Stone IPA.

mmm... beer.

I don't generally go for local microbrews. Give me a recognizable brand that I know I like.
Usually it's sweeter stuff, such as Coors Light or Miller Light. When I want something a bit more bitter I'll go for Heineken or Amstel Light.

Oh, and Corona sucks. Can't say that enough.

Quote from: agentsteel53 on August 12, 2010, 10:04:41 AM
I am a big fan of Sierra Nevada.  Tonight, though, I will likely have a Stone IPA.

mmm... beer.

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.

My favourite is Irish stout, either Guinness or Murphy's. However, the stuff you get in North America tastes like cat piss because of the preservatives or whatever treatment is has for export.

As for North American beer, most of it is garbage, particularly Budweiser and Coors. The only one I like is Sam Adams plus some of the Mexican beers such as Negra Modelo. I can only find one place that sells Sam Adams in the UK and it's about twice as expensive as the stout plus it comes in tiny 355ml bottles instead of the 440 or half litre cans/bottles most British beers come in.

Michigan's craft beer industry is rather burgeoning despite an overall sour economy, and I try to throw most of my support behind it. With that being said, I do enjoy many beers which come from out of state, chief among them Magic Hat #9, which has gotten a foothold in many bars around here. If we're talking corporate beer, I very much like Molson Canadian, as that's got a lot of flavor for its class of beer. Hopefully I'll have another Yuengling at some point as I'll be in an area where it's distributed come Labor Day weekend. Of course, I always try to sample local beer wherever my travels take me.

*Oppose ~~~~

I am partial to New Belgium beers.  My favorites are Abbey and Trippel.  Both are Belgian style ales.

Quote from: Scott5114 on August 12, 2010, 12:18:23 PM
*Oppose ~~~~

Sorry - but wikicode doesn't work on AARoads. :happy:

Bugo - Fat Tire FTW.

Also some exclusive to Wisconsin beers - Spotted Cow.

Quote from: bugo on August 12, 2010, 01:27:13 PM
I am partial to New Belgium beers.  My favorites are Abbey and Trippel.  Both are Belgian style ales.

I've only recently started trying Belgian beers. I've been impressed so far. Even the extremely sour Lambic that I had was interesting. I can never keep the various styles straight though!

Quote from: Master son on August 12, 2010, 01:33:19 PM
Bugo - Fat Tire FTW.

Also some exclusive to Wisconsin beers - Spotted Cow.

Fat Tire is OK. Whenever I have it in a bottle, it tastes a bit skunky to me, but draft is real good.

I had a spotted cow once. It was good, but not really my style of beer.

speaking of Belgian beers, I like Duvel quite a bit.  but it's fairly expensive, so I save it for special occasions.

Root Beer.   :happy:

I'm underaged, and I didn't bootleg any of my dad's beer.  My dad doesn't really drink, so even if I did, I wouldn't want to take it since it's been sitting in the fridge for years.

Mmm, I love me some root beer. I don't really plan on drinking beer when I get older. I'll stick to Barq's ;)
BigMatt

Quote from: BigMatt on August 12, 2010, 02:59:06 PM
Mmm, I love me some root beer. I don't really plan on drinking beer when I get older. I'll stick to Barq's ;)
BigMatt

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. 

A&W is pretty good as well, but Barqs is pretty high up there.  :)

Of course, I start college in a month, but I'm not the type to get sucked by peer pressure.

Birch beer > root beer ;)

^ Wouldn't know...
BigMatt

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

I don't drink very much, sometimes a local brand beer. I don't drink enough to have a preference.

Quote from: Chris on August 12, 2010, 03:52:13 PM
You can drink at the age of 16 in the Netherlands (and most of Europe).

Really? It's 18 here and in Ireland.

Quote from: Chris on August 12, 2010, 03:52:13 PM
You can drink at the age of 16 in the Netherlands (and most of Europe).

I don't drink very much, sometimes a local brand beer. I don't drink enough to have a preference.

I'm sure you probably know, but here in the states, the drinking age is 21.  Sort of lame since you're considered legal at 18.  I believe the drinking age in Canada is 19.

Quote from: Truvelo on August 12, 2010, 04:01:25 PM

Quote from: Chris on August 12, 2010, 03:52:13 PM
You can drink at the age of 16 in the Netherlands (and most of Europe).

Really? It's 18 here and in Ireland.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_drinking_age (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_drinking_age)

There is not really a consensus about this in Europe. It varies from country to country. Some countries don't have a legal drinking age at all. In some countries you can buy it in shops, but not in bars, in others you are not allow to buy it below a certain age, but there is no regulation about drinking it.

Quote from: KEK Inc. on August 12, 2010, 03:03:37 PM

Quote from: BigMatt on August 12, 2010, 02:59:06 PM
Mmm, I love me some root beer. I don't really plan on drinking beer when I get older. I'll stick to Barq's ;)
BigMatt

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.  

A&W is pretty good as well, but Barqs is pretty high up there.  :)

Of course, I start college in a month, but I'm not the type to get sucked by peer pressure.

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.

As for root beer, IBC is my favorite. As an adult though, my metabolism doesn't run quite as quick as it used to when I was a teenager. I've found that Diet A&W tastes almost like regular A&W but has no calories. I drink that stuff like water. It's probably the least diet-tasting diet soda that I've been able to find. :)

^ 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.

And in Mexico the drinking age is 18 but I've heard that it's real easy to bribe them into selling it to you underage. Especially if you're American, I'm not too sure that the Mexican authority would do anything to the seller, cause they have Mexican border police people being bribed into letting drug smugglers into the U.S. But that's off topic so never mind that... ;)
BigMatt

Quote from: BigMatt on August 12, 2010, 06:16:31 PMwhy should 18 yo's be able to drink?

natural selection.

Quote from: BigMatt on August 12, 2010, 03:36:25 PM
^ Wouldn't know...
BigMatt

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

Quote from: Truvelo on August 12, 2010, 04:01:25 PM

Quote from: Chris on August 12, 2010, 03:52:13 PM
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.

Quote from: KEK Inc. on August 12, 2010, 03:03:37 PMSame.  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).

Quote from: realjd on August 12, 2010, 04:33:56 PMThere'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.

Quote from: realjd on August 12, 2010, 10:59:35 AM
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.

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.  

QuoteYeah, 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.

Quote from: corco on August 12, 2010, 08:15:23 PMAs 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.

QuoteShiner 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.

Quote from: corco on August 12, 2010, 08:25:17 PMbooze-flavored piss.

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

Quotenot 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.

Quote from: corco on August 12, 2010, 08:30:15 PM

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!!

Quotespeaking 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.

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...

Quote from: flaroadgeek on August 12, 2010, 09:09:08 PM
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. 

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.

Quote from: golden eagle on August 12, 2010, 09:54:33 PM
... 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.

Here is the perfect brew for a road enthusiast:  Route 113 Indian Pale Ale (http://www.slyfoxbeer.com/index.php/front/beer_113).  It is brewed where the SEPA Meet was held.

Quote from: golden eagle on August 12, 2010, 09:54:33 PM
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!

Quote from: realjd on August 12, 2010, 08:13:20 AM
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:

(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fardentfrost.rayd.org%2FBeer%2Fyuengling2.jpg&hash=8d5a136522e05587f084cf96aaf874009b93f921)

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.

Quote from: AstareGod on August 12, 2010, 10:12:54 PM

Quote from: golden eagle on August 12, 2010, 09:54:33 PM
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.

QuoteYeah. 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.

Quote from: corco on August 13, 2010, 12:48:24 AM
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?

Quote from: AstareGod on August 12, 2010, 10:12:54 PMAre 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!)

Quote from: corco on August 12, 2010, 08:15:23 PMI 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.

Quote from: english si on August 13, 2010, 06:12:02 AM

Quote from: AstareGod on August 12, 2010, 10:12:54 PMAre 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!

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.

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.

Quote from: SP Cook on August 13, 2010, 07:13:13 AM
- 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.

Smirnoff Ice is a "flavored malt beverage" that tastes like lemonade. Wikipedia said that outside of the US, it tastes about the same, but is a premixed vodka drink rather than a brewed malt beverage. Smirnoff Ice, along with the other similar beverages from other liquor companies like Jack Daniels, were created partly for marketing purposes. For a long time, none of the TV networks would advertise hard liquor, so the liquor companies started making non-liquor products that they could advertise on television so they could increase brand recognition.

Corona is my least favorite Mexican beer. I'll drink it, but there are many better beers of that type out there. And the lime is essential to cover up the skunkiness that dominates Corona flavor. If you like Corona, go try Pacifico or Tecate (from Mexico), Presidente (from the Dominican Republic), or my personal favorite tropical beer, Landshark (embarrassingly, an AB beer from Jax).

Every time I've had one of the "common" household beers I can only think "God, this stuff is horrendous" and only choke down one or two sips. I'm nearly 21. Were I to start drinking, is there any sort of beer that would be better to start with than that? (I've tried Smirnoff Ice and didn't really like it either–too sour.)

Quote from: PAHighways on August 12, 2010, 10:09:01 PM
Here is the perfect brew for a road enthusiast:  Route 113 Indian Pale Ale (http://www.slyfoxbeer.com/index.php/front/beer_113).  It is brewed where the SEPA Meet was held.

There's also Mixing Bowl Sour Fruit Beer (http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/copper-canyon-mixing-bowl-sour-fruit-beer/127159/) from Southfield's Copper Canyon (http://www.coppercanyonbrewery.com/index.php) (unfortunately that brewer's site is under heavy redesign thus the Ratebeer link) and Lift Bridge Brown Ale (http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/keweenaw-lift-bridge-brown-ale/44065/) from Keweenaw Brewing. We also have Woodward Avenue Brewers (http://thewabsite.com/) and Fort Street Brewery (http://www.fortstreetbeer.com/). I'm sure I could find more road-related brews if I wanted to do some digging, and maybe I could convince Founders (http://foundersbrewing.com) to name something after the S-curve (just look at their location to see why :D).

Quote from: Scott5114 on August 13, 2010, 10:36:42 AM
Every time I've had one of the "common" household beers I can only think "God, this stuff is horrendous" and only choke down one or two sips. I'm nearly 21. Were I to start drinking, is there any sort of beer that would be better to start with than that? (I've tried Smirnoff Ice and didn't really like it either—too sour.)

On my 21st, the beer I had was Arcadia Starboard Stout, which is about as full-bodied as you can get. If you want to start off with something smooth yet still full-bodied, I'd recommend Smithwick's, a very drinkable dark red ale and always my choice for St. Patrick's Day. At first, I wasn't acclimated to hoppier beers like IPAs, but I've grown to appreciate that style. If you want something a little sweet, there's always fruit beers. I always have thought beers like Leinenkugel's Berry Weiss were suitable for those who like wine coolers but disliked the more general beer styles.

Quote from: Truvelo on August 13, 2010, 07:44:34 AM

Quote from: SP Cook on August 13, 2010, 07:13:13 AM
- 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.

It's not just you, it's a Europe versus America thing. Europeans generally like their beer heavy on the hops and bitter. Most Americans don't like stuff that strong and prefer the sweeter barley side of the flavor. Sam Adams is unusually bitter for an American beer.

Quote from: Scott5114 on August 13, 2010, 10:36:42 AM
Every time I've had one of the "common" household beers I can only think "God, this stuff is horrendous" and only choke down one or two sips. I'm nearly 21. Were I to start drinking, is there any sort of beer that would be better to start with than that? (I've tried Smirnoff Ice and didn't really like it either–too sour.)

try some kind of mixed drink instead of beer.  Beer tends to be a "love or hate" taste. 

QuoteEvery time I've had one of the "common" household beers I can only think "God, this stuff is horrendous" and only choke down one or two sips. I'm nearly 21. Were I to start drinking, is there any sort of beer that would be better to start with than that? (I've tried Smirnoff Ice and didn't really like it either–too sour.)

I'd start with a decent hefeweizen. I hated beer for a long time before I started drinking that- it just seemed to go down more smoothly for me and after that I started enjoying most other beers.

Quote from: AstareGod on August 13, 2010, 06:41:55 AMIt'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!

I see that taxes on wine and sprits in the US vs taxes on beer mean that wine coolers contain no wine (likewise stuff that in the UK would be spirits and fruit juice/juice substitute), but use un-hopped beer as a base. When I hear the term 'wine cooler' I understand some kind of drink based on fermented grapes (wine), rather than fermented barley.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcopop - I think it's more a UK term, it's definitely not an industry one, but it's the common term for those kind of things in the UK.

"In Europe and Canada, alcopops tend to be pre-mixed spirits, including vodka (e.g. Smirnoff Ice) or rum (e.g. Bacardi Breezer). In the United States, on the other hand, alcopops often start out as un-hopped beers, depending on the state in which they are sold. Much of the malt (and alcohol) is removed (leaving mostly water), with subsequent addition of alcohol (usually vodka or grain alcohol), sugar, coloring and flavoring."

They are OK, but if I want a sweet drink, I go soft or have one of the sweeter brands of cider - most likely pear cider, rather than apple as the apple stuff tends to be not very good if it's sweet (teenagers in the park drink before alcopops came along).

Quote from: Scott5114 on August 13, 2010, 10:36:42 AM
Every time I've had one of the "common" household beers I can only think "God, this stuff is horrendous" and only choke down one or two sips. I'm nearly 21. Were I to start drinking, is there any sort of beer that would be better to start with than that? (I've tried Smirnoff Ice and didn't really like it either–too sour.)

Common household beers in America are pretty ghastly. Palettes develop and you learn to like stuff. Looking at what you're saying, try something European(-esque) that's wheaty or fruity (or both).

For the beer geeks - there's a gastropub (ie a pub that specialises in food more than being a bar) near me that serves 83 (IIRC) different types of beer (the cask ales rotate, like in many English pubs, so I'm only counting that as one, though there's probably two at any one time). You won't get most of these in the States, and most of them are expensively imported. Also has a guide to which beer to drink with what food: http://www.sausagetreepub.co.uk/Beers.asp . For Scott, something like Hoegaarden is the kind of thing I'm recommending - it's what got my brother into beer.

My at-home regular beer is Straub; Brewed in St. Mary's PA.  (Fast fact about St. Marys:  In terms of geographical size, it is the 2nd largest city in Pennsylvania (behind Philadelphia).  Obviously, by population, it's nowhere near that "big".)  They have 16 ounce returnable bottles ("Brownies", as opposed to the non-returnable "Greenies".), which when you actually do return them, makes them a really good deal for a beer I like.

Though usually at the bar, unless I'm spending more $$$ on something different, I usually end up with some Yuenling.

If it's bowling night, or band practice, usually someone just gets some PBR or High Life for the group.

Though I wasn't the biggest fan of it, I used to have a soft spot for Rolling Rock beer, since it WAS brewed across the Loyalhanna creek from where I was born.  Ever since A-B bought it (from the company InBev, who then went on to buy A-B) & moved production from Latrobe to Newark, I haven't paid for a single one.

Quote from: Mr_Northside on August 14, 2010, 02:32:06 AMMy at-home regular beer is Straub; Brewed in St. Mary's PA.

A friend of mine from college grew up a few blocks from the brewery.  The only time I drank Straub was as his house since his dad had a keg in the basement.

Quote from: Mr_Northside on August 14, 2010, 02:32:06 AMThough I wasn't the biggest fan of it, I used to have a soft spot for Rolling Rock beer, since it WAS brewed across the Loyalhanna creek from where I was born.  Ever since A-B bought it (from the company InBev, who then went on to buy A-B) & moved production from Latrobe to Newark, I haven't paid for a single one.

Here I thought I was the only road enthusiast to have been born at LAH.

I also refuse to buy Rolling Rock that is produced from "the mountain stream" known as the Passaic, or any Anheuser-Busch product for that matter.

Living in Brew City, I'm surrounded by breweries of all sizes.  And it's great.  Lakefront Brewery (ironically located on the Milwaukee River, not Lake Michigan) a few blocks upstream from downtown has the best damn brewery tour because you don't have to wait until the tour's over to get samples.  Their best brew is the "Riverwest Stein," a creamy, full bodied red lager.  I don't think they're distributed outside of southeast Wisconsin, however.

Trying new beers is one of life's little pleasures.  Nothing better than sitting down in a brew pub with a couple of friends and getting a sampler of all their handiwork.

I'll be a lifetime fan of Leinenkugels since that was the local brand where I grew up.  I think I'm also a sucker for their Northwoods-y advertising campaign with the canoes and stuff.  Leinie's used to be our thing in northern Wisconsin, but Miller has done a good job of distributing them; maybe a little too good.  Just didn't seem right to see Leinie's at a liquor store in San Diego a couple years ago.

I'm a big fan of Octoberfest beers, so I'm pretty happy right now as they're in season starting now.

My choice for cheap beer has gotta be High Life.  That's what I get for tailgating once the sixer of good beer is down and we just wanna catch a buzz before the game starts.

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

Real hipsters don't exist. Even if it can be indisputably proven that they do, I'll still vehemently deny it.

Quote from: triplemultiplex on August 16, 2010, 06:53:41 PM
I'll be a lifetime fan of Leinenkugels since that was the local brand where I grew up.  I think I'm also a sucker for their Northwoods-y advertising campaign with the canoes and stuff.  Leinie's used to be our thing in northern Wisconsin, but Miller has done a good job of distributing them; maybe a little too good.  Just didn't seem right to see Leinie's at a liquor store in San Diego a couple years ago.

You can get Leinenkugel's here in Tulsa.  I had a Red Lager a couple of weeks ago.

Quote from: triplemultiplex on August 16, 2010, 06:53:41 PM
My choice for cheap beer has gotta be High Life.  That's what I get for tailgating once the sixer of good beer is down and we just wanna catch a buzz before the game starts.

Little known fact: High Life and MGD are the same beer! Draft beer is not pasteurized the way bottle/can beer is. MGD is just unpasteurized High Life in a bottle. In a keg, MGD and High Life are the exact same product.

^^Speaking of different brands being the same beer...

My dad worked for the Pabst Brewery in Milwaukee for 30 years before they closed it down back in the mid-1990s. He used to come home with I don't know how many different brands of beer. But somehow most of them tasted the same or very similar. He would tell me how they would put the same beer into different labled bottles or cans, and then ship the different brands to different parts of the country. That way they could save money by only brewing say a half-dozen different recipes, but be able to market say two dozen brands. I don't know if this was an actual example, but they could brew one recipe and put some in Stroh's packaging and some in Hamm's packaging, and no one would be the wiser. My dad and I used to be loyal Pabst drinkers until he lost his job there, now he homebrews most of the beer he drinks and I've gone to drinking mostly MGD as my regular beer. I also like Leinie's, Stevens Point Brewery, and New Glarus Brewery among others.