"Table" Beer

Brown ales and Saisons are my go to for this kind of stuff. Their flavor profiles tend to work with most foods and for the most part are pretty easy drinking. Browns don't get as much love on this site, but I really enjoy them.

 

IMHO anything Samuel Smith works, even their imperial stout. They're all really delicious.

Belgian saisons are widely regarded for their versatility in pairing with food. Hefeweizens and witbiers as well, and even some IPAs.
If you want to think seasonally, I would say the above work best in the spring and summer, then brown ales, marzens, and pumpkin beers in the fall; then bocks, porters, and stouts in the winter.

 

Weihenstephaner

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/252/712/

My wife and I always drink a couple of liters of this at our local brew house...very good, easy drinking, great beer to drink with friends over a few hours and enjoy with some big pretzels and good conversation.

 

I can enjoy a good pilsner with multiple styles of food, the light crispness with subtle hop flavors can really pair well.

 

Two Brothers Domaine DuPaige. Look no further if you have access

 

Yes Brown Ales go well with hearty meals and pretty easy to drink ESB's are a good choice. Lite with some flavor.
ESB's are another underappreciated style. They have the word "bitter" in the name so it scares off many newbies, even though most all I've tried are less bitter than pales and certainly IPAs. Many BAs don't appreciate them because they are lighter beers. They have a small fan base.

 

Because of availability, SN Pale Ale might be the ultimate "table beer" followed closely by SA Boston Lager.

Here's a list of a few others that I really like (mostly East Coast because that's where I live):
Great Lakes Eliot Ness Lager,
Smutty Old Brown Dog,
DFH 60,
Troegs Hopback Amber,
Stoudts American Pale Ale

 

There's not much love for them on BA, but red/amber ales might fit that bill. Here are three that are somewhat widely available, interesting, moderately priced, and you can drink more than one...

• Troegs Hopback Amber (hoppier than the other two, but delicious)
• Caldera Ashland Amber (OK, this isn't moderately priced, but it's more well-rounded than the other two...this may be the winner!)
• Lagunitas Censored (not as interesting as the other two, but still has that tasty Lagunitas yeast quality)

And a solid brew that isn't an amber that I think would pair well with food is Lagunitas New Dogtown Pale Ale (for some reason, this reminds me more of a red ale than a pale ale). Fuller's London Pride is another pale ale that I think would work.

I think all of these would appeal to most beer drinkers (including BMC drinkers). I don't think saissons would.

 

Pilsener, Saison or English Pale Ale/ESB's would work as a table beer

 

A ~4% or lower light saison is exactly that - a table beer. Refreshing, light, pleasant and subtle. Basically an old Belgium "session" ale - but for the purpose of getting nutrients without getting hammered. I believe children used to drink it as well...ah the good old days

 

I've had all of these, some of which like the Westbrook are particularly good, but doesn't the name Table Beer sorta imply a cost per bottle less than what we're seeing with those? $12 dollars for a "Table Beer"? Whose table?

 

Jester King http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/24018/75930/

Well, if one of the few liquids you could drink that didn't kill you was beer...

 

When it comes to food, Saison Dupont Vieille Provision is the "golden retriever" of beers. It likes everything!

I think this beer has the body, flavor, ABV, and availability characteristics you're looking for. It's a great table beer.

 

Jester king petit prince is specifically a table beer. $7-8 for a 75cL bottle. Crisp saison with lemon and grassy notes 3% ABV.

 

The reason this existed according to the tour at Jester King was because "back-in-the-day" it was more sterile to drink than the water.

 

Agreed. I'm in the SNPA camp with the guy above for table beers. If you want something fancier, there is always something like this...

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/24803/94594/

Honestly though, I'm not really sure I would prefer the Mystic to a couple pints of SNPA with most meals.

 

Stillwater Classique

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/22150/91189/

Side benefit: it's in cans, so your table beer won't take much storage space.

 

any small beer would work. 2nd running of the grain. i believe anchor makes one. id personally shoot for a true english bitter. nice easy flavor that can go with about anything and 3.5-4% is pretty darn low.