Sampling Session for Beer Rookie Suggestions

PBR -> SNPA -> Founders Porters -> Hop Stoopid/PtE

 

Belgian Pale Ale...maybe Rare VOS - should be available in PA.

Saison...I'll stick with Ommegang and say Hennepin

APA - Troegs Pale Ale? If you can get Deschutes - Mirror Pond

 

Hefe: Weihenstephaner
Dubbel: Ommegang Abbey or Chimay Red
Tripel: La Fin du Monde
Quad: Rochefort 10
IPA: Jai Alai (pretty sure it's available in PA now). If not Two Hearted.
Imperial Stout: Stone or Old Rasputin

Just a list of readily accessible beers in the styles you mentioned that are amazing.

 

If your friend has ONLY really had natty light, then some of the strong flavors are going to be difficult to absorb first time around. Maybe go light on strongly hoppy beers. Belgians are a good idea.

How about a good hefeweizen (easy to assimilate), maybe Victory Prima Pils for some lighter hops, SNPA for more hops, Bells Two Hearted for a great but not overly strong IPA, and Duvel to start the Belgian list. Not sure about your selection of stouts, but even a good porter might be an option, too. Just a few thoughts.

 

Give him a Troeggs Nugget Nectar for sure if your in PA. I'd go German for the Weiss, Paulaner or Hacker Pschorr for me. Might as well stick to the guns and give him a Chimay Dubel or Tripel. I'd go Stone for Stout since you'll easily find it. Maybe throw a Lambic in the mix or a good Pils if he likes natty? Ever been to Eulogy Belgian Tavern in Philly? One of my favorite bars w lots of yummy fun on tap. Great stop. Have fun and good luck converting him to the dark side.

 

New Belgium would be a decent cheapTripleI if available. $3 bombers here. Also, I would grab Yuengling Summer Wheat - good transition beer and at $6/ 6 pack it doesnt really matter if he likes it. Rochefort 10 for quad. I think anyone would like it. A Chimnay. The RIS is tough. A lot of good ones, but can scare someone off dark beers easily too. I think Brooklyn Black Chocholate Stout is pretty well rounded. Not too much of any 1 flavor. A porter might be a better transition. Black Butte or Edmund Fitzgerald both lower abv and easy drinking. I am not a big fan of IPA's so I would say Dogfish Head 60 min there. Give him time. Going to be a big leap from Natty

 

Going from some sort of macro then moving to an APA, Stout/porter (nothing barrel aged or fancy just a solid porter/stout), then DIPA should give him an idea of the flavors craft beer offers. a hefe or saison is going to be a waste on the uninitiated imo. as would a craft lager and belgian style beers. i think solid examples of basic american styles of craft should do the trick, especially with the contrast from starting the tasting with a macro.

 

IMO, go more macro. Blue moon or shock top (going to get flamed for this) are good to wet a first timer's interest even though they are macro beer. Maybe Boston lager, summer love, prima pils, left hand milk stout, and IMO the best starter hoppy beer Sam Adams IPL.

 

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Deschutes Porter or Stout (or both), find a session IPA, Hefeweizen, nothing hoppy like an IPA, I know hoppy beers were a real stretch when I started. I think a Pale Ale is great for a beginner.

 

A Saison that is easy to find and also a very solid beer - Tank 7 by Boulevard.

Someone else mentioned Duvel, great Belgian ale that can be found easily.

Weihenstephaner Original is a Munich Helles Lager and they also have a great Hefeweizen...again pretty easy to find both.

Someone mention and I also agree, if he has been banging Natty's his entire life...keep it simple. The few I mentioned are relatively light, smooth and very drinkable...it will be very easy to crush his buds and ruin the experience...good luck and have fun!

 

Light- Prima Pils is a cant miss
-Weheinstephaner hefe, already been said for a reason (original is a great choice too)
Bitter (but not too bitter)- Hopdevil
-Lagunitas ipa
-harpoon ipa
Dark- Dubbel, Chimay Red
-Quad, Rochefort 10
-Imperial stout.....I wouldn't...but if I had one suggestion itd be stone or founders breakfast stout. Id probably go with left hand milk stout though for a regular stout.

 

Throw in a sour just to cleanse the palate and give him a taste of that corner of the spectrum. Can't go wrong with Rodenbach. I've actually seen a lot of BMC drinkers say "that's actually pretty refreshing!"

 

Judging from your responses, you have a hard time getting some basics like Hop Stoopid at your local shops. If you're just outside of Philly, I suggest you head into the city or drive across the bridge to Jersey. If you do that, you'll have access to many more great beginner brews

 

Troegs Hopback should be effortless to find and has some more sweetness to balance out the hops than most IPAs, might be a nice segue.

I might be in the minority, but I think Belgian stuff is as 'bad for beginners' as IPA. The yeast have some really strong, different flavors from Natty lite. A dubbel would probably be nice, but I'd skip the tripel, quad, and BSPA. And I love Rodenbach to death, but no.

If it were me: [local PA lager], SNPA, Founders Porter (or Edmund Fitzgerald), and New Belgium dubbel. All easy to find, inexpensive, and delicious.

 

Ok, I'll defer to Nixon's insight on Rodenbach ... how about a Bell's Oarsmen to give him a beginner's taste of a sour?

 

I would recommend going with different styles than you were thinking. Beginner styles might be more like an amber, pale ale, saison, marzen, triple, etc. There are really a ton of options for newer craft drinkers but for my recommended styles I'd go with:
Amber - Ommegang Rare Vos or Bell's Amber
Pale Ale - Southern Tier Live or Troegs Pale Ale
Saison - Saison Dupont or Ommegang Hennepin
Marzen - Schenkerla Marzen or Hofbrau Ocktoberfest
Triple - Victory Golden Monkey or Triple Karmeliet

If you really want to stick with your lineup then I would say:
Hefeweisse - Weihenstaphen or Franziskaner
Dubbel - Westmalle or St Bernardus Prior 8
Quad - Rochefort 10 or St Bernardus Abt 12
IPA - Victory Dirt Wolf or Troeggs Nugget Nectar
Stout - Victory Storm King or Southern Tier 2X Stout