I recently turned 21 and I'm drinking alot of sierra nevada ipa, sam adams lager, ufo pumpkin, and miller lite.
I always make a point of buying beers I haven't tried before. In fact I almost never buy a familiar beer if new ones are available instead. Initially it took me a while to actually ascertain what my top beers were because I had only tried most of them once.
I love dark beers like stouts and Porters. I'd say my favorite is either Turbo Dog, or Old Rasputin. If I'm in an IPA mood I always go with a Two-Hearted.
I just bought Turbo Dog! Have never had it before, but I'm looking forward to trying it in a day or two when it's a little less hot out.
Stouts and porters are my jam too. Rasputin is great. My favorite of all time is Surly Smoke, a local beer from the Twin Cities. Also other notable favorites are any of the Great Divide Yeti Imperial Stouts, especially the espresso stout. Also Narwhal from Sierra Nevada is one of my favorites, and oddly enough the only SN beer I actually like. But my favorites are any super rich and full bodied imperial stout.
I work at a local beer brewery, Toxic Brew, Dayton OH. If anyone is ever in town come through for a beer. I'm a fan of hoppy beers. Mystic Mama is by a Ohio brewery called Jackie o's is a regular for me because a bar i frequent does it for 2.50 a pint on thursdays. To be honest I enjoy the hell out of the beer at my work and rarely drink craft beer outside of work unless it's something particularly special. There's a couple beers I'll get no matter what if they are on tap. The Kimmie, The Yink, and The Holy Gose - it's only 4.8 or so which makes it easy to drink all day, it's salty and sour and is perfect for summer days. La Fin du Monde by Unibroue - it's a Belgian tripel, it's pretty bready and more carbonated than most other Belgians I've had. It's got some wonderful fruity notes, pretty high abv and pretty filling. I'm a sucker for barrel aged beers, during Dayton beer week a local brewery did a pale ale in gin barrels that was awesome. I agree that it's a total travel thing too now a days, good beer available in almost any city.
I'm a fan of hoppy beers myself; things like stone IPA or Racer 5 are probably my favorite IPAs. If you get the chance I would recommend trying Lost Coast's indica IPA or the Green Flash green bullet (seasonal). Sierra Nevada's seasonal rye is also really good. I've recently gotten into brewing and have done a few IPAs, a stout, and we're working on a tripple now.
I'm not sure where you are, but Bell's in Michigan has an IPA called Two-Hearted Ale that is incredible IMO.
I agree, zebra2 you should check it out if you get a chance. It's really available throughout the south too. I live in Raleigh-Durham and I see it everywhere. Janabutts also mentioned that she was a fan. I hope Bell's can maintain an increased production without compromising the quality. mk, You make a great point that beer can be a "travel experience" if you let it be. In the not too distant past this didn't apply to the US as much as it did Europe and other parts of the world. But now you can experience vastly different regional brews throughout the US. b_b talked about his experience traveling to a small town outside of Munich and drinking beers at a cloister from the 14th century with his brother and his father, essentially getting drunk with his dad and getting to know him for the first time. Beer, it is a right of passage! As for my favorite, there is one beer that I will always order in a restaurant/bar or buy in a supermarket if I ever see it and that is a white ale from Japan called Hitachino Nest. If you see it out there, try it! Remember the white-owl:
"The owl's are not what they seem"
On my friend's 21st, I gave him a few Golden Monkeys, by Victory brewing company. The thing is, he was drinking it like 21 year olds drink shitty light beer. It's good, it's potent and it robbed my friend of the ability to stand. So to answer your question, I'm generally a fan of Belgian style beers as well as really hoppy IPAs. As for breweries, I try to stick with whatever microbrews I'm around, so most often that means Smuttynose. I'm partial to the Homunculus but for an all day thing, I really love Old Brown Dog. I also really like this brewery out of Maine, which is right next door, called Allagash. The best I've had by them is the Curieux, which is a bit pricey, but to me it's worth it.
I love everything I've had by 21st Amendment.
Ugh, beer. I learned not too long that beer has something called phytoestrogens. I'm not sure if there is a direct effect on the endocrine system, and I hope someone might be able to shed some light, but I will try to stay away from beer. Beer is also very high in calories, which kind of mess with my dietary and fitness goals. I could easily consume 600-850 calories in one night of drinking beer. Many less calories could be had if I drank liquor. These are the things I think about.
Yes, but you could always drink a low calorie beer, like Michelob Ultra (ick). The thing about spirits is that they break down into sugars much more easily than beer does. If you add mixers like colas or juices, then that's even more sugar and more calories. I don't worry so much about calories I get from drinking, but rather the calories gained from drunk munchies and the sugars that will fuel my hangovers.
Almost every time I'm out with people who drink beer I'll ask to have a sip of what they're having in the hopes that maybe my tastes have changed and I might find something appealing. I used to only be able to drink really sweet wine coolers and vodka crans until I made an effort to expand my palate. With the recommendations of fellow hubskiers I bought a bunch of liquor and started mixing drinks (I accidentally got myself drunk, alone, while trying to find a perfect martini). I also bought a small bottle of Glen Livet because I wanted to appreciate scotch. Now I've come to love dry red wine and whiskey. Unfortunately, all my efforts haven't changed my feelings for beer. Basically, this is just a long-winded way of saying I really wished I liked beer, but I have yet to find one I like in the least.
Try a framboise or a kriek lambic. I like Boon, but any real Belgian one will be interesting. It's not your usual beer. The Belgians do a lot of unusual beers.
Have you ever tried ciders? The Shock Top Honeycrisp Apple Wheat is pretty good for when you aren't in the mood for hard liquor but don't feel like a true beer. Also summer. I got a Fox Barrell Pear Cider once too but I wasn't a fan. I didn't expect to like it but the design was too good to pass up. The colors and textures are impeccable. I still have that bottle on the shelf and often feel compelled to touch it. Certain elements of the design are actually raised. I picked up a Wailua Ale a couple weeks ago and that was pretty good too. I'm not a huge fan of really heavy or filling beers because I am so tiny that I can only have a certain amount before I burst.
I second ciders. I drank some Angry Orchard one time... and OMG that shit was amazing. You don't taste the alcohol at all, and some have a high volume of it. So delicious and sweet.
I've had that one too! It was like 12 bucks at CVS for a 6 pack and since CVS mostly carries $12 24 packs of bud light I figured I'd have a go at it. Delicious. A bit too sweet for my taste - the Shock Top has a bit more of the malty beer aftertaste that Angry Orchard but it was still really really delicious. They are indeed dangerous because they taste so good.
I was going to say Sierra Nevada too. Also a huge fan of Yuengling
Not to rain on ya'lls parade, but we have Yuengling in great quantity down here in the south and I've not found it to be anything all that special. I really was hoping I'd like it more given that it's the oldest functioning Brewery in the US but I couldn't get in to it. Often, pubs that only carry crap beers will have Yuengling too, which in that situation is always a welcomed site.
Yuengling is not an excellent award winning beer but it definitely fills a void for me. It's more flavorful than light beers and still inexpensive. No parade rained on here. I'm from Pittsburgh too so after Rolling Rock left the town a lot of locals defaulted to Yuengling as the local beer of choice (I know it's made in Pottsville which ain't that close) which has always been popular. Here in New York it typically is priced at the lowest point with bud light et al (~$5 :-o New Yortk is pricey) so I'm always quick to scoop it up.