For decades, I suffered with digestive issues that kept me from drinking any kind of alcoholic beverages. I'm 60, and a couple of years ago, I discovered senna, a vegetable based laxative that helps relieve IBS symptoms, and now I can drink a beer three times a week. What I drink most are Coronas. They settle easily in my stomach and give me no problems, unless I drink too often. I also tried Landshark which goes down easily, but as the reviews confirm, it's okay, but more for drinking after doing the lawn on a hot day. About a month ago, my brother and I played a gig at a pub that sold an assortment of draft beers. Not knowing what to pick, I asked for the same as the guy sitting next to me at the bar. I never get drunk because I don't drink a lot, but WOW! did that beer cause me to feel drunk, and in no time flat! While getting paid for the night, I asked the name of that beer, wrote it down, and lost it. When I get back to that pub, or call the owner, I'll look it up on here. I noticed Sam Adams makes a double and triple bock with high alcohol content and great taste. You guys rate the double very high. It's likely in the same alcohol content as the draft I had at the pub, which had a dark reddish look and a likeable taste. So, any recommendations on where I go from here? The store, Fresh Market, offers a pick-your-own six pack for $9 which I tried twice. Nothing leaped out at me after drinking the ones I chose. One of them, I tossed out after a couple tastes. Dave
It sounds to me like you like Doppelbocks. Try this list here: http://beeradvocate.com/lists/style/35 Spaten Optimator is a pretty widely distributed beer that has malty sweetness that should do your stomach right Not sure where you are located, but if they have Anchor Steam around you, you should pick some up. It sounds to me like you should explore the world of lagers: pilsners, bocks, marzens .....then you should swallow the red pill, and try some ales. See how far the rabbit hole goes. cheers
Dave- I don't know where you are, but I'm wondering if what you had at the bar might be a what's known as a Scotch Ale (even if it's made in the US). Founder's Dirty Bastard is a popular one, which is fairly priced and available in lots of markets. They do tend to be stronger than something like a Corona, so you'd probably want to stop at one until you're more used to them. If you say where you live others may have suggestions.
When drinking at home, remember to pour the beer into a glass if you aren't already. A lot of beginners drink from the bottle, then ask themselves "why a certain beer doesn't taste as good as it does from the tap?" It's the glass.
Ill second Spaten Optimator. Its a fantastiac Doppelbock, but far less roasty and smokey and SA Double Bock. You should just start buying German Lagers. For darker, I would go Kulmbacher Eisbock (strong, but worth it later), Warsteiner Dunkel, Schneider Aventinus (Weizenbock--worth a shot), and Monschof Schwarzbier. For lighter beers German born, I would go Warsteiner Helles, Spaten Lager, or anything Pils (bittburger or whatnot). Spaten Oktoberfest is year round, so give that a try. If you like it, grab a Hacker-Pschorr or Ayinger Oktoberfest when the time comes! Americans, I would shoot for malty amber ales and any kind of Doppelbocks, Schwarzbiers, or Dunkels. Great Lakes Eliot Ness/Dortmunder are great starts. Thirsty Dog Labrador Lager is another good american gold lager.
Cant believe I forgot this one. I know its from Heinken, but this is a great italian beer. And sadly, I like Peroni Nastro on draft.
I live in Tampa, FL and have printed this screen for reference when I visit a store in the south part of town that claims to have 3600 brands of beer. That should be soon. They must have a few of the ones listed here. I'm assuming all of you are men. Maybe there's a femaile in the bunch somewhere. I intend trying to catch up, somewhat, for the years I wasn't able to drink, knowing I'll never be able to consume the amount other men do. I'll rate them for flavor and mind alteration, most likely, since I'm so naive. I do enjoy reading how well the beers that are tasted are so well described on here and how well the ingredients are recognized. Maybe I can some day get that well exercised. I guess it takes a lot of tipping. Dave
My advice would be to continue taking advantage of create your own six packs. Its a great way to try a variety of beers without having to waste a bunch of beer you dont like. Grab an assortment of styles, and jot down a few notes while drinking. Take notice to what you like and dislike about the particular beer, note the style. You will quickly gain an understanding of how the different ingredients taste, and what styles suit your taste buds.
Wheat beers and hefeweizens seem to be a good way to get your toes wet. Check out odell easy street wheat, boulevard unfiltered whet and franziskaner hefeweizen. They are all very smooth and well balanced, and not too over the top but still havee an ABV a little higher than corona and BMC. Also check out paulaner octoberfest marzen. It has a little more flavor and alcohol than their wheat counterparts but with a great flavor, and unlike most octoberfest.brews it is available year round.
Thanks guys. I have my next step provided in these posts. I'll go to that store in south Tampa and select an assortment of the ones listed above. Hopefully this weekend. We play a barbeque restaurant on Saturday, and they have an assortment of beers as well. Part of our payment is dinner and a beer. It's another chance to taste something new. What beers are not made with wheat? Would they be sorghum based? A list of them I would be interested in having.
The vast majority of beer is made without wheat. Most beer is simply yeast, water, hops, and malted barley. Barley is a heartier grain than wheat, with more of a fibrous husk. Like wheat, barely contains gluten and starch. The great variety in color, flavor, aroma, and potency are due to variations in the amount and type of barley, the degree to which it's toasted, the amount and type of hops, the type of yeast, and the conditions in which it ferments. Wheat beers, or hefewiesens, are typically made from a mash (hot grain tea) of about 50% wheat and 50% malted barley. I don't know of any 100% wheat beers, though some may exist, they would be a mess to brew. Wheat beer makes up a small part of the craft beer here in America, though there is still certainly a vast variety. Still, overall, most beer you will find will be wheat free (though not gluten free - remember barley also contains gluten). Sorghum, like you mentioned, is indeed used to make a handful of gluten free beers. Cheers, and welcome to the world of beer! Enjoy.
Here is link to some gluten free sorghum beers. Be warned, while I don't have personal experience with them, they are generally considered by the masses to be inferior products.
So, any recommendations on where I go from here? The store, Fresh Market, offers a pick-your-own six pack for $9 which I tried twice. Nothing leaped out at me after drinking the ones I chose. One of them, I tossed out after a couple tastes. Dave[/quote] Since none of the other posters have done so to this point, welcome to our world. Oh, and it's nice to have a contemporary on this site. There are a ton of good beers out there to choose from and the best advice I can give you is to read up, try a few, take written notes [the mental ones don't work as well for me either] and expand your horizons gradually. Although you have a lot of time to make up, you can't do it in a week. Be the tortoise, not the hare.
Since you said you live in Tampa I would say check out a mix 6 at Total Wine. They have a good selection (much better then ABC) and good prices as well. I go to the one in St. Pete and find their staff to be friendly and knowledgable. Another great option would be to check out some of the local beer bars. World of Beer has locations around the bay area and usually have a pretty well educated staff who are always willing to make suggestions and give you free samples of any of the beers on tap (most locations have dozens of taps to choose from) before you buy the full pint. If you are ever over in St. Pete I would also recommend checking out the ale and the witch. They have live music most nights and feature something like 30 American craft beers on tap. The selection isn't as wide as world of beer, but they really know their stuff and have a great atmosphere.
One other gluten-free (sorghum) beer you might want to check out is Dogfish Head's Tweason'ale. It enjoyed fairly broad distribution and rates pretty high for a sorghum beer. I believe it's brewed with honey and strawberries.
