I pity all the guys in here spouting off "Budweiser" or "Coors Lite" or some other macro as if they truly enjoy it. I've had a hard time drinking any of the mass produced macro's anymore. I practically have to gulp it to avoid the taste. You know a ****** beer when the warmer it gets, the more you have to fight just to get it down.
You guys that think that craft stuff has to taste bitter or strong, and that "Dark" beers are automatically "strong" or "thick" need to try some new things in life.
Light tasting sessionable (able to drink mass quantities) beers:
Blue Point Toasted Lager: Flavorful but easy drinking lager. I don't care who you are, you'll like this one.
Yards Philadelphia Pale Ale: Mildly hoppy, with a piney/citrussy character. I could drink this by the case
Stoudts Scarlet Lady: Smooth, sweet and malty.
Oskar Blue's Mama's little yellow pils: slightly more bitter hops, but still a smooth pils.
Today's beer lesson. Dark beers are not dark because they are stronger (it's not coffee). They are dark due to the roasting of the malts. Therefore they tend to have a toastier or even chocolatey flavor. Some people claim guiness is thick. It's not at all, it simply lacks carbonation, so no fizzyness. That's simply so you can drink more without feeling full, but it takes some getting used to the nitro creaminess.
<----Beer geek out.
Yup.
All the macro beers are adjunct beers. They have added rice and corn to the mash to lighten the beer and lower the cost. This includes Bud, Miller, PBR, and all the other beers your father drank. Real beer is made from malted barley. Maybe wheat. Not rice. Definitely not rice.
My favorite brewers are Dogfish, Clipper City, Stoudts, Victory, Long Trail, Switchback, Magic Hat usually, Harpoon sometimes, Brooklyn sometimes, BBC, Bells, Avery, Flying Dog, Lagunitas, Rogue, Southern Tier, and the grandaddy of them all, The Alchemist. That's only a partial list.
I usually drink US micro beer, there's so much to love. Why bother sending money abroad? One notable exception is Sam Smith (yes Smith, NOT Sam Adams) Oatmeal Stout. World class. Grolsh also has a unique taste I like, but there is also much better to be had here.
For you Guiness fans, find a bottle of Avery Out of Bounds Stout. Same style, but better. As dark beers go, Guiness is pretty light body. Also try Becks Dark as an intro to dark beers. Some stouts and double IPAs can get quite heavy, both in body and alchohol content. There is also huge taste there. Not good for dying of thirst coming in hot from mowing the lawn. A stout is for a hearty snack, or by the fire, or at the pub to sip on.
Try some summer wheat beer, BBC makes a great full bodied wheat called River Ale. (New England only) Sam Adams Summer was decent last year, but in general Sam Adams is over rated. Bells Oberon is excellent if they sell it in your state. Sierra Nevada has a good line of beers, and the Pale Ale is widely distributed. Also try Magic Hat #9, which is getting wide distribution. It is a light pale ale with a lot of apricot on the nose, but much less in the taste. A much drier finish than average. Good summer beer, and not bitter at all. Not that bitter is bad. You put pepper on your steak and salad, don't you? But not too much.... Same with hops and bitterness. A little is good. Once you develop a taste for fresh hops, a little more is good too.
In my fridge now:
Dogfish 90 minute IPA. Bells Oberon. Victory Storm King stout.