Looking for some suggestions on new beers to try.

Click on that "Beers" drop down (above) and click Top Beers and follow the list.

 

Knowing where you are would be helpful. Makes no sense for someone to make a Recomendation of something not distributed to your area.
Try Allagash White
Founders Porter
Victory Prima Pils

 

Best advice I can give is to try as many different styles as possible, and write down which styles you liked. You will probably have some sort of personal evolution. Just try as much different stuff as possible. Personally I started out preferring mild Pale Ales, then IPAs, then super hoppy IPAs/DIPAs, then switched somehow to both malty and hoppy beers like reds and american barleywines, then later to browns, then doubles and quads, and now I'm pretty well honed in on quads, strong ales, and barleywines in general. (with stouts as a consistent sidebar throughout) It's about the journey, man.

 

Where do you live?

 

Just try everything. Grab a few and try 'em. Read Beer 101: http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/101/ . Just try a little bit of everything, and don't let anyone tell you what to try, or not try.

 

When I first started out in craft Octoberfests were a gateway into Belgian styles for me. In addition to the Belgian imports, check out Ommegang Abbey Ale and some offerings from Allagash.

 

The World is Your Oyster....Go to bottle shops that offer singles and try as many different styles as you can. You will find styles that appeal to you and you will find favorites. I myself, started with IPAs and am now a huge fan of stouts, goses and wild ales. Keep trying them and I also agree with one of the previous posters and look at the top 250 beers and see what ones are distrod in your area. Welcome to the awesome world of craft beer and Cheers !!!!!!

 

Check out the What Beer Are You Drinking Now and New Beer Sunday threads. You'll have plenty of ideas after that.

 

If you do a search in the database on a beer you like, when the page comes up it will list a style name. If you click that link it will take you to a page that lists lots and lots of beers from the style that will most likely be similar to what you like.

Welcome to the site. Have fun exploring the resources available here.

 

Welcome! First off, I'd like to say try everything you can, even if it's just once. Personally, when I joined BA, I hated IPAs. The only beer I really enjoyed was a stout, and even then I was picky. Since joining and trying more and more and more, I've found porters (which tend to feel to watered down for me), barleywines, IPAs, DIPAs, pale ales, amber ales, old ales, Scottish ales, and even more stouts that I enjoy. Heck, in the past two days, I have had a single stout, the rest were all IPA/DIPA offerings. That's about 100% the opposite of my pre-BA forum days.

My one suggestion is not to try a specific beer or beers, but rather build a relationship with a local bottle shop. If they know and trust you, often times they'll sell you some extra rarities, or even order things through distribution for you. That's tremendous, as it helps you try more and more and more.

If you want specific beers that are classics, I'll suggest these: Pale Ale - Sierra Nevada (overall classic. Comes up in every thread about "need to try beers"), Old Stock Ale (might still be on the shelves around you), most anything Founder's or Bell's (again, don't know your location, sorry if it's out of your distribution), IPA - Torpedo by Sierra Nevada (just a plain ol' classic), Rochesfort - 6/8/10 (if you want to give solid Belgium beer a shot. Usually available in most any beer shop across America)(Chimay is another readily available example, although it's sold in larger bottles).

I know it's not a conclusive list, but truth be told, if you give this thread long enough (or search similar threads), you'll have enough suggestions to drink a 6 pack of new beers every night for a year.

 

If there are any brewpubs/breweries in your area, definitely check them out.

Cheers!

 

First thing, I'd suggest editing your personal details, particularly location.

You have already identified some styles/beers you like and some you don't, so you have a good start. Study the beer styles listed under beer at the top of the page. From those descriptions identify some other styles to try. Under styles, click on a style to see a list of beers, then sort on score. Disregard scores for beers where there are only a few reviews as they float to the top of the list. Find a few you'd like to try, based on their score and reviews. Then go to seekabrew.com and see which are available in your area.

Also, start looking at the threads "What beer are you drinking now" and "New beer Sunday". Here you'll see some interesting beers, quite often those that are favorites of the poster. See which of those are available in your area.

Make a list of beers you'd like to try and locate them in singles from a local bottle shop. While you are at it identify and visit all of the craft beer bottle shops (usually liquor stores) and figure out which have the best selection, price, and staff.

Find out what breweries and taprooms are in your area, and visit them to try new beers, possibly finding some from your list. Also identify events - at breweries, taprooms, or beerfests and attend some.

Do all/most of these things and it won't take long to sort out your likes/dislikes. Once you have done that, it is fairly simple to find similar beers that are highly rated. Have fun.

 

Obviously, try some more examples within the styles that you have liked. Find a place or 2 close that offers flights. Very good, and inexpensive way to try new stuff. Since you like Irish Reds, I would think you would enjoy some Scotch Ales too. While not abundant, Cream and Blonde Ales and Helles lagers would have more subtle flavor profiles that allow you to introduce your taste buds to some new styles. Most of all, don't give up on anything that you didn't like. Your tastes will evolve and fluctuate. You mentioned not caring for hoppy beers. Try a few American Pale Wheats and Pilsners to ease into hops.

Not sure where you are located, but a few specific recommendations I think you may like are Great Lakes Conway's Irish (seasonal that just came out), Belhaven Scotish Ale, Bell's Oberon, and several Sam Adams.

 

Here's how to explore your local beer scene:

Googlemaps is the place to go. Simple type in "breweries" and they will all pop up on the map.

In Rockford alone you have Pig Minds, Rockford Brewing, Granite City, and Carlyle Brewing.

My recommendations are to go up to New Glarus Brewery (1hr 14 min drive) or into Wisconsin to try some of their beers and look to Chicago to get all the beers from there (or visit 3 Floyds..about 2.5 hrs drive depending on traffic)

Use googlemaps and then check out the beer ratings from the breweries on BA and try to taste the better ones and try a variety of styles.

Enjoy!

 

Like others have said, your taste will evolve. Go to the styles page and start with the lighter styles, which you seem to prefer. Welcome to BA and your new adventure. CHEERS

 

Make a mix six of everything Sierra Nevada u can find and go from there

 

Try different styles to start, then hone in on what you like and explore that more using the reviews here. I'd also recommend getting an app like Untappd to keep track of what you like/don't like and to leave notes for yourself.

 

First, start with a brewery or two that makes a ton of styles, does them well and try them all. I'd hit up Sierra Nevada and Victory. Both are solid breweries that have a large distro footprint and make solid beers that, IMO, are true to style.

Second, go through every style and find the top few beers in that category and see if you can get a hold of them (maybe depending on limited release status).

Finally, pick up anything in the Top 250 page and try it.

Cheers and enjoy the journey!