New to craft beer

All this talk about trolls and yeti's has me confused...

 

spend time going through styles, and focusing on what you like. You mentioned St. Bernadus 12.. well that's a Belgian Quad.. a high amped up Belgian Dark ale... why not consider other Belgian Quads... or Dubbels, or Belgian Dark Strong Ales domestic and foreign that are on this site?

Oaked aged Yeti with chocolate is a big American stout, why not look at the styles and similar stouts with chocolate in them for contrast...

You're off and running now...

 

Damn if those beers are in stock I'd get some
Ballast Point Victory at Sea
Dogfish Head Palo Santo Maron
Lagunitas Lil Sumpin Sumpin
Stone RuinTen

Please check dates on anything that is an IPA. You want those to be as fresh as possible. If no date, don't buy it. Have fun!

 

Lagunitas Lil Sumpin Ale, Dogfish Indian Brown Ale and Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout

 

I'm pretty new to craft beer so take my advice with a grain of salt but here are a few tips based on my limited experience:

-Try different styles... When I first started drinking IPA's a few years ago, that's all I had. I got sick of the bitterness and was steered away. Then I tried some new styles (stout's, barley wines, saisons, etc) and fell in love. I am now back in love with IPA's btw.

-You mentioned the the chocolate yeti... One of the first beers that really floored me and opened me up was the OA Yeti (love that stuff, try some bleu cheese with it as an appetizer or some cheesecake for dessert if you're interested in food pairing). That, and checking out a lot of the Yeti's (the espresso yeti with breakfast is incredible) has allowed me to compare the subtle nuances of each one. So to my next point...

-Find a brewery you like and try a lot of their beers... I love Great Divide Brewing, and thought I haven't tried even a small amount of their beers, I love the ones I have (Old Ruffian, Hercules DIPA, Orabelle...) and always try to seek out others (been wanting to try the chocolate yeti).

-Just keep it fun... Don't try to go crazy and seek out the most rare beer, or the beer you hear that other people like, just go to your local bottle shop and check out the selection and strike up a convo with whomever is working. They'll let you know when new beer comes in, and probably be able to tell you about it. I live in a small town and though we have one store with an incredibly massive selection, the closer corner stores have a nice selection and good people working that are always finding new beers for the store.

Go at your own pace and try not to spend too much money!

 

We don't get Indian Brown or any Dogfish 6 pack here in SC.

 

I would recommend the Quest grand opening on Saturday way over the Thomas Creek party- It's free and Don, in my opinion, brews a much better line of beer. From my experience, he will also be much more willing (and happy) to answer any and all questions about styles. I've personally had a few too many indifferent responses to inquiries from Tom @ Thomas Creek, and if you are wanting to absorb some information (and beer!) I'd say go to Quest!

 

I might have to check this out mainly because it's free and I have been to lazy to get tickets to TC, I have already had everything they brew anyway.

 

I started off with trying to check off as many of the Beer of Fame as I could. As I ran into styles that I really liked, I mixed and matched well rated beers in that style.

As explained, don't let the ratings influence your opinion of a beer. However, ratings are still are a good guide as you'll more likely find beers you like.

 

ask the clerk to suggest a fresh, most local, single IPA. Let us know how you like it

 

My advice. Stay away from beer ratings and lists. Forget about this site for a couple years as you buy randomly and make many mistakes and discoveries. Use websites like this only to learn about particular styles if you are so inclined to do so. Find out what you initially like and don't like, and keep going. Try more beers from the style that you don't like. Try more beers from the styles that you do like. Try strange beers.

Delete your account and come back after a couple years of buying with delightful abandon. That is the best advice I can offer you.

 

Gotta get my daily does of SNOBBERY!!!!

 

Hey! Where did Rwe366 go (and he got one like!)?:

 

Make that two likes.

He already responded and thanked the people who offered helpful info - I'm not sure what you are looking for out of the guy.

 

That he is not a troll busting our chops.

 

What strikes you as troll-like in his post? Promoting that website? I doubt it as I think there are much better ways to do so. You know like, "Hey guys, my beer store has a website, you should check it out and stop by if you're in town."

 

You think this guy is for real? I got a bridge to sell if you are interested.

 

Yeah I must have had a couple extra when I replied to this thread. The guy is obviously promoting his website under the guise of being interested in pursuing craft beer. The real irony is how many decent threads actually do get closed...