I am starting to feel my way around beer and it has been a rather mixed if not entertaining adventure. I enjoy a good vodka or rum but beer has been hard to break into for me. I have lurked here a bit and some suggested trying a smattering of Sam Adams various brews and I did. Didn't like Boston Lager was too bitter IMHO. Cream Stout was close but the taste was too mellow an milky. Blackberry Witbier was delicious and made me come around to beer. So now I want to explore around some more and figured I would ask for some suggestions.
Order random choices at the bar every time you go out and try not to get the same thing. You must try and try and try until you familiarize yourself with styles and what you like/dislike about them. Once your palate develops you will appreciate more styles that in the beginning tasted like an old wet sock. At least that's what i did.
Don't ask anyone on this site for guidance or advice! You will only receive snarky, demeaning rants by entitled jerks! Not everyone on here is an ass, but most are!
Can't really tell you what to go for until you figure out what you like. Any breweries near you? Most of them, and many craftcentric bars or brewpubs will let you order flights of beer. The tasters are small enough that you won't be stuck with anything you hate and its an easier/cheaper way for you to smaple many different types until you zone into the styles you want to try more of.
Order flights (on average 5 or 6 small tasters) at bars or breweries. They will contain several different styles of brews. Go from there and have fun.
I didn't truly fall in love with beer until I had St Bernardus 12. Maybe try that or Chimay Blue if you can't get it where you are. It opened my eyes to the beer world. Now I mostly drink saisons and sours, but that was my gateway beer.
Just like every day, it pays to ignore the assholes and to be thankful for good spirit. I've found this site to be largely friendly and inviting. I've also "enjoyed" some sharp rejoinders with the less than tactful types. Anonymity does strange things to some people.
When I first got into craft beer, I would have a "Monday Night, Night of Pints, Pint Night" on whatever night I felt like with a few friends. Everyone brought 1-2 different bombers and we would split them, so that we could try several different beers in one night. Now, a lot of beer stores will let you mix your own six pack. That's less risky than having 22oz of something you might hate. And what others are saying - flights. Go to tap takeovers.
As far as style, look for hefeweizens. They are low on bitterness but still offer great flavor especially as we approach summer. Weihenstephaner, franziskaner are two easy to find and great ones.
Order flights (samples). Sample from lightest to darkest. Remember that sampling beer is almost the same concept as trying different scotch or whiskey. Beer is also meant to be drank slowly and appreciatively. A lot of people that go from drinking light beer to craft beer seem to make the mistake of wanting to chug them down. This can overpower the pallet. Sit back, relax and enjoy.
Completely agree with you on this. It's best to find the bar or bottle shop in your area with the best selection and feel your way around. See what kinds of beer you're in to and what you aren't. At first I LOVED wheat beers and really didn't like IPA's. If you asked me now IPA/DIPA is probably my favorite style. Your preferences and tastes will change once you develop your palate to pick up the nuances of each style. What I did was pick up 3-4 different beers any time I went out to the best bar by my house that had a selection of 250 beers. It's also good to get a variation from different breweries in each style because one bad brew might make you think you hate a particular style. If you stick it out and try a few more from other breweries, you might end up liking them. I was this way with Barleywines. I thought I hated them after the first one I tried was terrible (Weyerbacher - Blithering Idiot). It took me a few years to even try another Barleywine, but now I really enjoy that style because I had one actually done right (Bells - Third Coast Old Ale). Shops that sell beer in single bottles are great too if you have one around you. They can really help to explore different styles because you'll end up paying less than you would going out to buy beers at a bar that you might end up not liking. You can justify 2-3 bucks at a bottle shop but 6 bucks at a bar for something you don't enjoy might get frustrating if you aren't finding styles you like. Mix and match 6 packs are great too usually you can get a pretty good deal if you find the right spot. But there is nothing worse than being stuck with a case or sixer of something awful. I'm looking at you Weyerbacher.
I started my micro adventure with a solid Great Lakes Ed Fitz porter. I loved the roasted barley taste to this coffee chocolate beer. It took me to a place I'd never expect out of a beer and really opened my eyes. Definitely worth a try.
Greetings! I was in your shoes just 7 months ago; ah, how time flies. Anyway, I would recommend doing some "ticking". That's what folks around here call trying as many different beers as you can get your hands on (thus ticking off beers, as ticking items off a list). If you already knew that from your lurking sessions, apologies. The only way your going to figure out what you enjoy is to try as many different styles and brands as you can muster, taking note of your preferences and palate development along the way.
When I first started drinking craft beers...I started out with Hefeweizens and Witbiers...then graduated in APA's, IPA'S, IIPA'S, Stouts and others...If you liked the Wit you drank..maybe try Hoegaarden Wit..Paulaner Hefeweizen...swirl the bottom of the bottle to get the yeast
It sounds like you only enjoy sweet fruit beers so far, which aren't very popular on this site. Look for anything that says it was brewed with fruit (most will be wheat beers) and you'll probably enjoy them. And keep revisiting Boston Lager and/or Sierra Nevada pale ale every month or two, you might start to enjoy it and more "straight-forward" beers. Someone mentioned "finally found the style done right" regarding Bell's Old Ale. While I love its rich malty flavors, I don't think that flavor profile/substyle of barleywine is any more "right" than the piney, bitter toffee blast of many American barleywines. My point mentioning this is to take everyone's recommendations with a grain of salt, we all have our own preferences; try whatever sounds good.
