This Rocks!! Any Good Tips?

Welcome aboard! Under the "Beers" menu at the top is a bunch of links, including "Beer Styles," "Beer 101," and "Respect Beer." I would read everything on those pages.

Enjoy!

 

Welcome! Now, prepare to kiss your life savings goodbye!

(don't worry, you can always drink away your sorrows)

 

load up on packing peanuts, bubble wrap and sturdy boxes. Have fun and thick skin!

 

Have a beer and look around. Most of us don't bite.

 

Enjoy yourself, there's lots of self discovery here.

I see you are from Ontario, we do have a Canada forum as well. We can always use more Canucks and outside participation.

Go check out some of the threads there to see what other Canadian members are doing up to.

Cheers!

 

Read a lot before posting. Search a lot before posting.
And please, don't worry about any "top" beers. There is a wealth of good information here, so enjoy.

 

Welcome! Here are some tips...
1) Harvest a wealth of knowlege from these forums, but form your own opinions from your own experiences - avoid the hype-train.
2) Avoid snarkiness in your dealings here, there is plenty of that already
3) Use the website tools on the main bar (forums, beers, places, etc). Before you post a new thread, use the forum search to see if your topic or question has already been covered.
4) Be a beer advocate, not a beer snob. Avoid pretentiousness, and avoid being aloof; be a positive force.

 

Keep in mind that however much people talk about this beer or that beer being extra super awesome, we're living amid an embarrassment of riches, beerwise, and there are loads and loads of worthy beers out there for you.

(Be sure to check out this beer or that beer if you get a chance, though, because they really are extra super awesome.)

Also, many users here say Cheers a lot. Believe it.

Cheers!

 

It's just a way for us to be pretentious and snobby, but then act like it's all cool, and we're not really pretentious and snobby.

Like, "hey, your homebrew tasted like Colt 45; I've drain-poured better stuff. Cheers!"

 

Learn what is distributed in your area before you walk into a bottle shop and ask for Pliny, Heady, and Dark Lord.

In the states, many use seekabrew.com for this. Not sure of anything like this for Canada, but I'm sure you can figure it out.

 

^^Solid points all around. Just don't ever forget that taste is extremely subjective and just because your favorite beer isn't rated 95+, does not make it bad, it just means there will be more for you to enjoy! Get out there and enjoy beer; the second you start to get anxious, upset, or overly concerned with your hobby is when it stops being enjoyable.

 

FORUM TIP: the avatar pics of hot chicks aren't chicks 99% of the time. I know, it's weird, but whatever.

 

Welcome! Enjoy the journey!

 

Freshness. You're gonna see some of us make a lot of fuss about it, and you might think we're ridiculous. Many (including me) consider IPAs as the most important style to drink fresh, but for the most part, every style/beer under 8-9% is best consumed fresh. Exceptions are lambics and bottle conditioned bretts/wilds.

Freshness makes a very obvious difference with IPAs (IMO). The very aromatic, fruity, and citrusy flavors come from steeping hops (dry-hopping) after fermentation. These flavors/oils are extremely volatile and degrade quickly. The difference is so dramatic that many (including me) don't bother with undated bottles (exception being a newly released one-off/seasonal), and some (including me) simply pick up the freshest IPA at the store when deciding what to buy.

There's plenty of rants about the subject, but here's a nice recent write-up-
http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2014/06/beer-is-the-new-milk-drink-it-fast.html

One last thing- Don't be afraid to return to a style/beer you didn't like, but also, don't try to like a style just because someone else does. Cheers

 

Don't lose faith when you run into less than welcoming/kind ppl, there are more great helpful ppl on here than rude ones who only think their opinion is right... but there are plenty of the latter out there. Try and use the in person trade forum, great way to get some brew you have never had and also meet some quality local BAs

 

Dammit!

And here I've been all cheery like some kind of gullible idiot!

 

Welcome, my tip for longevity on this site is to be as laid back as possible. It's just beer. Have one, and relax.

 

Welcome welcome.

Drink what you like, not just what other people say is good.

When beer shopping with a gf/bf/friend/whatever ALWAYS make sure the beer is strapped in first. Whoever is with you can hang on the roof.

Use the beer styles pages to guide yourself and help determine what you like best to drink. If you gravitate towards particular styles look up some others in that style

 

Find beer you like and drink it!!!