As everyone on here does, I love trying new beer. I am mainly into English pale ales, Euro dark lagers, Porters, stouts and generally any dark or bitter beer out there. Any suggestions on what I should be trying next that is obscure or generally unheard of?
I looked over your beers rated/ticked and noticed you haven't ventured into many styles yet and most are English. Try a few of the Belgian Dubbels, Tripels, Quads as a next step or some of the German beer style.. Living in AZ, there should be plenty of CA or AZ locals to give a try as well. You seem to be at the beginning stages on your journey through craft beer. Enjoy the ride...it's a long, fun one for sure.
If you haven't already, hover over the beers menu, then select beer styles, then click on the styles you know you like, and sort on rating. This will show you the top rated beers for the selected style. Look for those with the most ratings as those are the ones with the widest distribution and most likely available in your area. As far as new styles, I'd suggest that you start working through all of the styles. I started as purely a stout drinker, but as I worked through the styles I discovered several styles and specific beers I like. I am only a bit over halfway through the 104 styles but have really expanded my horizons.
I second this. Belgian beer styles are among my favourite and are a relatively unexplored in North America. If you can find a local interpretation of Belgian styles, great (I'm lucky to live an hour away from a microbrewery that almost exclusively brews in the Belgian styles). If not, go for the classics. For Belgian brewed, I recommend La Trappe Tripel, Rochefort Trappistes 10, Orval, Chimay Red and Blue, as well as most of St. Bernardus' offerings. In support of my fellow Canadian beer brethren, I must recommend La Fin du Monde by Unibroue. It's a world class Tripel and available pretty much everywhere in the Continental United States as far as I know.
Some good suggestions here. If there is a brewpub nearby, ask what styles they have available and see if you can get a flight that includes several different styles. Also, I'd recommend anything from Weihenstephaner. They offer several world-class beers of different styles. Most are widely available and they're all quite affordable. Good luck!
Yup - fully agree - try some different styles at taprooms, and get some Weihenstephaner. My favorite is their hefeweizen Hefe Weissbier.
You get yuengling in AZ? If you can get PA area beers and can get your hands on Yards, youll be in business Brawler Washingtons Porter Jefferson Strong Ale... Other than that long shot youd be better suited to someone on your coast for an answer. Id also check out The Commodore from ballast point and Piper Down also from them. Oskar Blues Old Chub
Getting sampler flights at local breweries, or buying mix-a-six packs at your local beer store are the two best ways to go when breaking into this craft beer scene. You'll just want to focus first on mainline styles (pales, porters, stouts, ambers, IPAs, wheat ales, etc.) and then bocks, barleywines and the Belgian styles. Stay away from the sours (wild ales, Goses, Berlinner Weisses, etc.) until you get a bit more advanced.
