Beer recommendations that aren't IPAs

See if you can get Von Trapp's seasonal called Trosten- it's a smoked black lager, very much in the opposite direction of what you're accustomed to . If not that one, then their Vienna and Dunkel are also standouts.

Or you could go the wild-ish route with Orval. Sour with Rodenbach Grand Cru. Spiced with Belgian Christmas Ales...

Honestly, those barely scratch the surface. Is there any way you could narrow it down a bit more?

 

Are you in Von Trapps area of distro. Nothing wrong going back to German style beers, I do this quite a bit. Being winter they probably have some seasonal alternatives as well.

 

You typed faster than me.

 

Fwiw, Zero Gravity in VT also makes some killer lagers.

 

If you're 2 minutes from Treehouse then you're only like 20 minutes from Jack's Abby. They should have a number of options in the direction you're looking for. Check out the Kolsch from Exhibit A too (they are also right there in Framingham). I don't think you're alone in finding that excessive hops play poorly with your gut, so good luck in exploring new frontiers!

 

In addition to the recommendations your are getting, you might take a look at the Belgian and Belgian style beers (dubbel, tripel, etc) that may be available near you. The hops the Belgian and Belgian style beers use are mostly somewhat different and more in the background and with a more controlled bitterness than you'll get with American brewed IPAs.

 

Yes, and a very reliable source tells me that Massachusetts has a fine import selection. In seriousness, lighter (per the OP's criterion) Belgians, increasingly limited in availability as they may be, are a great suggestion. At 6.2% ABV, I wouldn't call it light, but Orval is magic.

 

I love Jack Abby beers too, a solid vote right there, I'd love for them to be 30 minutes from me. But they do hoppy, I was thinking more traditional styles, really simple old time beers.

 

If you switched from light beer to IPAs and you've gained weight and feel bad after drinking, then it sounds like you need recommendations that have a relatively lower ABV than what you've been drinking. Since you mentioned Tree House being two minutes away, it also sounds like you should focus on 12oz packaged beer (as opposed to 16oz cans) to reduce consumption.

I'll limit myself to MA breweries both for your convenience and mine.

So with ABV and serving size in mind... and price in mind since you have one a day:

- Anything from Notch seems like a perfect fit for you if you are open to going back to lagers.
- Cambridge Brewing Company Working Class Hero for a light "Belgian" option.
- Mayflower Porter for a dark option.

I would try all three of the above while keeping an open mind that none of these will drink like a Tree House IPA and might take a little "getting used to" to fully appreciate.

 

Not sure if I'm misreading you but Jack's Abby is definitely not a hop centered brewery. Lots of traditional stuff on offer in both their core and rotating lineups.

 

Here's the live inventory of the store closest to my house.

https://belmont.craftbeercellar.com/beer-international-belgium-2/

Let's see your data.

 

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Since the OP doesn't live that close to me, I probably should have posted something closer to him. This is a very well regarded store in his area.

https://www.yankeespirits.com/main.asp?request=ADVSEARCH&

Data is good.

ETA: Hmm, the site doesn't seem to want to link to the output of the search. If you put 'Belgium' in the search field you'll find 105 options. I can't say I know how that stacks up to years past but it seems like a good selection to me.

 

Duvel may be a bit potent, but if one does it right, it covers a lot of territory. Orval is the best idea!

 

Perhaps time to come 'full circle' with Night Shift Nite Lite?

 

My first thought was creamy malty German beers, obviously Von Trapp was my first thought.

I've had limited access to JA beers, the ones I've had were a bit more hop forward, but they certinly weren't monsters either. Just well done very enjoyable beers.

 

That's a tasty little brew.

 

Notch.

 

More like an hour door to door, though Yankee in Sturbridge does stock most of the JA beers, last I checked.

They do have some hoppy stuff - Hoponius UNion, Kiwi Rising, and a few other ones, but they have a lot of other beers. The Red Tape lager is great, the Smoke & Dagger as well - a nice dark beer, with a hint of smoke may go well towards getting rid of hop fatigue. oh, and the other couple dozen beers they make.

 

Those are pretty good selections by 2018 standards in the Belgian space, but if that's what you mean by "imports are doing fine in these parts" relative to the past, then the pre-NEIPA craze Massachusetts beer scene must've been even worse than its mediocre-at-best reputation suggested. They're mostly the basics, the stuff you'd find at almost every halfway decent bottle shop in urban or suburban Minnesota or Wisconsin in the '00s and still missing some old favorites. The better selection of the two among Belgians is slightly lower than that of the top shops in the Twin Cities area today and lower still than the top shops around here ten years ago, which at that time would devote roughly half of their craft-oriented shelf space to imports. Meanwhile, scores of smaller stores have reduced their high-end import selections by an order of magnitude.