Intro craft beers for friends?

Blue Moon is a good gateway. And shandies. Shit, all of my BMC drinking kin will toss back Leinies all day in the summer. From there it's a stones throw to other wheat ales. Some micros have light lagers that could be a good foothold.

 

Or divert their attention away from the good beer by handing them a Coors Light saying they wouldn't like that craft stuff anyway.

 

Hoo Lawd

 

I'm with you, OP. I'd offer Oberon.

 

Prima Pils or SN Summerfest are good starts. Pilsener is always a safe choice for macro drinkers to ease in with.

 

SN Kellerweis, Surly Hell, Bells Oberon, TG Pseudo Sue to introduce them to hops... BCBS if they are a fan of Bourbon...

 

Recently I had one friend who likes lighter beers. I gave him an Oberon, and he loved it. He went out to buy more. I had another friend who was a Guinness drinker. I had him get Dirty Bastard, and he fell in love. He's now going to try all the Founders beers on the shelf.

 

American craft? Agree with all of the above.

I would recommend Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier

 

A pilsner or lager.

Cheers!

 

Maybe a hoppy pilsner like Prima Pils, or something similar, to acclimate to a higher hop level while still retaining some familiarity to what they likely already drink.

 

Snpa sa boston lager or boulevard wheat and now occasionally pseudo sue, they are all approachable it just depends on what I've got.

 

I always forget about Boulevard even though everything they make is solid. Love their new packaging too.

 

Clockwork Orange their mouth and pour 120 Minute down it until your friend gives an honest thumbs up.

 

Sam Adams is the one that introduced me and the on I'd recommend.

 

Give them a better Budweiser, Anchor California lager or Sierra Nevada Summerfest do well. Most BMC drinker get turned off by hop bitterness

 

I did that many times and now people bring me beers from everywhere; it's like magic!

 

Boulevard wheat and Oberon, as said above. I think wheat beers are probably the easiest for a "general palate" to transition over to more complex beers. I also think that Belgians, maybe chimay wit, are pretty approachable.

This being said, I also agree with the multiple suggestions above that it depends on their palate and what types of favors (in their food, cocktails, other beverages) that they gravitate towards. If they love coffee, a coffee forward brown ale (I'm looking at you Sumatra brown) or a nice stout (not barrel aged, likely too complex right away...old Rasputin?). I am a coffee lover, and remember the first beer that really transitioned me over was Sam smiths oatmeal stout and them the nut brown. If they like tart drinks or tend to eat a lot of citrus, then a citrus forward pale ale or IPA (so not primarily the earthy, resinous hops) like pseudo use or even prairie phantasmagoria would work well.

If they aren't into any of those things, wheat beers are the way to go.

 

My dad is a Coors Light drinker and he will only drink barrel aged stouts, not regular, because it tastes like bourbon. Left Hand Milk Nitro gets a lot of people into craft beer (especially females).

 

The milk stout is an excellent point. Somehow I have overlooked that lately. It's what got my brother hooked