best beers with more subdued, subtle qualites...

SA boston lager.

 

Of course everyone is entitled to their opinion, but does Oude Tarte really scream subtle/subdued/delicately balanced, or any of the other descriptors the OP was looking for?

 

OP - as long as it's not too old, try a bottle of Tim Taylor Landlord. Available in NYC. A shadow of the cask version, but still a great beer

 

definitely try Left Hand 400 pound monkey

it changed my expectations of what an english IPA should be and you get a really good feel for the english maltyness and english hops

 

I agree with many of the above. Lagers, Pilsners, Kolsches, and Blonde Ales are great examples. I would possibly add a Wit or a Belgian Pale Ale to the list also. Wits are less subtle for sure, but are usually light bodied with nice flavors.

 

We get Coniston Bluebird, too- but the same caveats apply.

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For Munich Helles, there are a few that I'd put above Weihenstephaner's, although getting them in primo condition can take some luck. Spaten and Hofbrau come in green bottles, so I like to break open a closed case to grab a sixer or two; never from the display. Also, Augustiner's Edelstoff (which is probably my favorite) doesn't have bottle dating, but if you have a store that sells it regularly you'll have a better chance of getting some good ones. Last is Andecher Vollbier, which does have a date on the back, but is in 16 oz. bottles and probably doesn't move as quickly.

 

Duvel

 

Ha, I've been type-casted on Beeradvocate!

These are some great tips, and also contain some of the largest hurdles you'll find. The largest being freshness, some styles you simply can't find fresh, or great examples of them. For example, Vienna Lagers and Koelsch come to mind as difficult to find (not impossible though).

There's a litany of recommendations I could make to you, but in realty there's multiple styles which fit your description, so it's easier to give you some tips and tricks.

1) This is my number one recommendation, but is also the most difficult. Travel if you get the chance. There's truly no greater experience to begin expanding your palate than to try these "subtle" styles fresh from the source.

2) Many of these styles are German, head on over to the Germany forum, some of the most knowledgable users on this site reside there and share their experiences. I would have never discovered half of the beers I love if I hadn't spoken with those guys. The top lists for each style tend to skew towards the hoppier/American, and some real hidden gems are buried far down those lists.

3) If it's English, try to find it on cask. Find which bars know how to properly handle cask beer, and try to find English styles if they happen to have them. Depending on where you live, this may prove as difficult as traveling!

4) Homebrew if you can. You'll gain an appreciation for how difficult some styles can be to brew, but if you can't find them at your liquor store, you can make them yourself! And you'll know they're fresh.

5) Use all of these tips to begin to get a handle on what certain styles are supposed to taste like. Some American takes are traditional, and some have an American "spin" on the style. If you can find those which are traditional, I would opt for those, they'll be fresher than imports.

6) Once you discover which imports are spot-on for a particular style, try to find them on draft if you can. They have a better shot at being fresh than at the liquor store.

7) Find a beer manager who knows his stuff, not just his IPAs. Become friends with this guy, and find out when fresh imports arrive.

Finally, I'll start you off with some current favorites.....Rothaus Pils (if you have it, just started distribution this year, check dates at this point though), Troegs Sunshine Pils, Sierra Nevada Summerfest, Troegs Cultivator, Hofbrau Maibock, and......this'll be a shock, Yuengling Summer Wheat.

Cheers, good luck, and one more thing, don't stop drinking IPAs/imperial stouts either! There's always room for subtlety AND hops in my fridge.

 

I might have typecast you, but it seems I wasn't wrong

 

Coronado Golden
Anchor Steam

 

Drink nothing but adjunct lagers for six months and then try a fresh Czech Pilsner, it'll taste like a subtly delicious pale ale. From there you will have a palate that can pull flavor details out of lagers you once thought all tasted the same.

I actually did this to myself inadvertently while I was living in Eastern Europe. Unforgettable beer memory.

Another subtle but delicious beer I love is Hobgoblin, and even better is its bigget brother King Goblin. The only downside is that once you have one on cask, the regular will never be the same.

 

I'm not a huge porter fan..but Maine's King Titus is outstanding.

 

Spotted Cow

 

Try the nitro version of beer you are already familiar with.