New Guy looking for advice.

Sierra Nevada, Boulevard, and New Belgium all make some excellent beers that are widely available and approachable by beginners.

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Sierra Nevada Stout, Boulevard Single Wide IPA, Boulevard 80 Acre, and New Belgium Ranger are some of my favorite "easy" beers from them.

 

Like everyone else has said, welcome to BA. Since you're close to CO I'm going to throw out a few brews that helped get me into craft. Like yourself, I HATED overly hopped beers, however they have grown on me since. Check out Odell easy street wheat, and their cut throat porter. Both are easy drinking tasty beers that have little hop profile. Also look into left hand milk stout, it's a great example of the style. But really, and I'm echoing everyone else, find a shop that let's you build your own six packs. Educate yourself on the beer styles that you see, and make notes on the ones you like and dislike. Expect some suprises, both good and bad, along the way and enjoy yourself.

 

Welcome to the site,
IMO hefeweizen's & Dunkelweizens are great gateway beers for making a transition into the craft scene. I started getting mix and match six packs for a few months until I had pretty much narrowed down what styles I liked. Just give that a try and before long you'll be into DIPA's and the darkest stouts

 

I guess I'm not the norm...super hoppy beers got me into craft beer. They were just something I took to off the bat. That said I do know they care more of an acquired taste for most people.

Prepare to be shocked at how much really really good beer you can find out there. Id echo what everyone else is saying. Hit a decent bottle shop and find some singles. Get different stuff too. Meaning grab a decent porter, a stout, a nice pale ale maybe an octoberfest beer. Stick with a pale ale don't grab an IPA, a pale ale will give you a little hoppieness but shouldn't overpower you.

Just have fun with it theyres plenty of time and plenty of stuff to try thats for sure.

 

FANTASTIC!

what were your thoughts?

I'm a fan of Kona Brewing...grab the Fire Rock Pale Ale if you see it.

keep on sampling...

 

After spending all that time in Germany the lighter American Lagers/ Pils probably won't impress you much. I'd start with Pale Ale's, Headwaters, Troegs, Burning River, SNPA is available everywhere. Fullers Porter is probably available everywhere too, and it is very good.

 

I was pretty much the same way and then a lot of my friends started making their own beers. I would try them but if they were really hoppy I would nurse them for a long time. Now I'm more or less a hop head but I'm still learning and discovering that even within IPAs the types of hops used makes all the difference. Living in Indiana I am somewhat spoiled to have 3 Floyds, Bells, and Founders available. Hopslam and Dreadnaught are two of my favorite beers but when I was in Colorado I had two Pliny's and wasn't that impressed. Beers like Pliny, Torpedo, and The Oracle aren't reallly doing it for me yet.

In trying to find and drink the highest rated beers out there I have really have expanded my beer drinking horizons.

 

Great advice by evilc. I didn't read through this whole thread yet, but this is a great place to start. You would be surprised the gems that are hiding in your local area...

Look around you for things in the area to attend, tastings, microbreweries, brew tours etc... I was in your position a few years ago and just started trying everything out there to see what I really liked. Expanding outside of what I liked at the time made me appreciate different tastes and styles, even though I didn't plan on drinking them regularly. I traveled to New Orleans when I was finding myself getting into beer more and I swear, every bar I went into i asked for a tasting and EVERYONE offered up a tasting...I swear I tried 40 different beers haha

It helped me appreciate the style I knew I loved even more. beer flights are your best friend as are places that offer tastings.

Hope that helps

smo

 

This. Never let anyone tell you that what's right for your palate is wrong. Taste, explore, keep trying new beers, but make room for ones you've tried before and liked as well.

I also like Blue Moon, and a meal at a Mexican joint isn't complete without a Negra Modelo.

 

Or a 32oz Dos Equis Amber

 

Look for some seasonals and try them while you can. Pumpkins and Oktoberfests are happening now, and there are some good wintery things coming up. It's good to catch beers in season; if you find you've missed out on one you'll have to wait a while to try it.

Keep an open mind. Some of the styles you are going to find will taste like nothing you ever imagined beer could be, but do not let that put you off a style. If you taste something that just seems too weird, make a note of it, and revisit the style in a few months when your palate is more experienced.

Take notes. I've found this is a valuable mental excersise thet will help you to develop your ablity process what you are experiencing while trying new things. You don't have to do it publicly, but you may find yourself tasting hundreds of beers in a short few months, and if your memory is as bad as mine, you'll be glad you kept track.

 

Oh man, that would be something. We don't have 32oz bottles of Dos Equis is Ontario.

 

I meant on drw

I meant on draft. From the bottle it tastes metallic.

 

A nice IPA to start with that I enjoy is Founder's All Day IPA.. It is a nice 4.6 abv so you can have a few and not be too toasty . You cant go wrong with going to a respectible craft brew bar and order a flight. You can try a bunch of different beers at a time, take note on what you like as in styles, brewerys etc... don't be ashamed of what you liked that is why you are her and we are here to help guide you in your endevours...Cheers!