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Beer 101: tutorial; I need help


AsburySkinsFan

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Hello again ES, I'm back after a self imposed hiatus that I used to reflect on my attitude toward others online which was all to often sour and prickish, some might say that I should reflect longer but anyways.

When I began seminary I signed an ethos statement where I volunteer to abstain from any alcoholic beverages while a student, well I graduated, and over the past five years of school I've come to realize that as a pastor and Christian I can enjoy a brew, ferment, or distilled drink.

Anywho, for the first time in my life I have begun to enjoy the tastes of various brews, but I'm a complete novice. I've checked out some websites to research like www.bearadvocate.com, and I've tried reading some reviews but as I haven't tasted a lot of different styles I don't really have much of anything to reference stuff against.

Here's what I've found so far over the past week or so of sampling various brews.

I started with Samuel Adams and have been getting some variety packs, I got the Summer pack (Summer Ale, Pale Ale, Blackberry Witbier, Boston Lager, Sam Adams Light), and the Brewer's collection (Blackberry Witbier, Irish Red, and Black Lager).

My favorite of all of these is the Black Lager served a bit warmer than fridge temp, the Summer, Pale and Light are drinkable but I'm not going out to pick up more, because they just don't stand out much. The Blackberry and the Hefewizen are interesting and I'll probably be getting more but not regularly. I did not like the Irish Red at all, as it was WAY too bitter. The Boston Lager is good but just about the limit on my bitterness scale.

Today while I was out I had a Guinness Draught at the restaurant "The Pub" (designated driver included), it was served nearly room temp and I really liked it, and will be looking for it again I think its in the bottles. They also let me sample the Young's Chocolate Double Stout which was fantastic, it really felt on my tongue like it looked although one pint would surely be enough for an evening.

Ok, based on the above information as a baseline I need some recommendations for future sampling. I'm not worried about counting calories so lite beers are not necessary. I like a lot of flavor and the chocolate malts are really appealing to me, especially since I like strong lattes and extra dark cholocates. But, I don't like a heavy bitter taste like the Sam Adams Irish Red.

So...what say ye all?

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Try a Fat Tire, Most anything from Big Montana Sky, leinenkugel's. If you have a "yard house" nearby try it out. They are suppose to have 100 beers on tap, and you can buy little samples to try them out first.

For the most part now.. I just brew my own.

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You might try Shiner bohemian black(not sure if it available there), **** ale,or double **** from Stone brewery

For something lighter ,but still hearty Dos Equis amber or Fat Tire or Stella Artois

Bass Pale Ale is also good,though I'm not usually fond of pale ales.

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It sounds like you haven't come to appreciate the hoppy side of beer flavors yet - pale ales and IPA's.

Rogue makes a really good chocolate stout. (They make good EVERYTHING. Their Dead Guy Ale is one of my favorite beers.)

Yeah, the really strong hops are just too much for my pallet right now, for some reason the heavy hops is just too over bearing for me to appreciate the other flavors.

At first I was a bit leery of the stouts but after trying the Guinness and the Young's Double Stout I'm a believer. I really like the way their dark flavor and the way those flavors hang in my mouth and nose.

I think I'm going to sample Samuel Adam's Cream Stout, I've heard some good things about it as well.

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Try a Fat Tire, Most anything from Big Montana Sky, leinenkugel's. If you have a "yard house" nearby try it out. They are suppose to have 100 beers on tap, and you can buy little samples to try them out first.

For the most part now.. I just brew my own.

What type of flavors do those brews have, after my brief sampling so far I think I like the brews that are heavier on the pallet rather than the pilsner brews.

As for home brewing, well I wouldn't even know where to start yet to even make something worth drinking.

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Being from Scotland the most common types of beers are european although we do get the more popular American beers (Bud and Miller.) If you can get them try anything from Belhaven Breweries which is a Scottish company and very popular here. Tennents and McEwans are also great. Personally I will choose a Stella Artoirs if I am getting a pint at the pub. Its light and fizzy and after 4 pints you are well on your way to a great night out. Even though its now half 12 on a Sunday morning, all this talk is making me head for the fridge for a cold one. Enjoy!:pint::pint:

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You might try Shiner bohemian black(not sure if it available there), **** ale,or double **** from Stone brewery

For something lighter ,but still hearty Dos Equis amber or Fat Tire or Stella Artois

Bass Pale Ale is also good,though I'm not usually fond of pale ales.

I just checked the Shiner site, unfortunately it doesn't look like they sell in Kentucky yet, it looks like Stone brewery distributes here though, I'll have to look for them.

When I stand in front of the billion different type of brews at the store I simple get lost because I don't want to pick a dud and be stuck with it.

I wish there was a website that put the different brews in comparison to each other on the taste spectrums that way I could compare one to another.

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What type of flavors do those brews have, after my brief sampling so far I think I like the brews that are heavier on the pallet rather than the pilsner brews.

As for home brewing, well I wouldn't even know where to start yet to even make something worth drinking.

If you would like to get a taste of how to home brew do a Mr. Beer Kit. www.mrbeer.com

Its a great place to begin!

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Smithwick's Irish Ale is a great beer. It's slightly sweet like a Newcastle but malty like a Guinness. I also love Belhaven Scotch Ale, McEwan's Scotch Ale, Legend Brown Ale (a Richmond brew), and Starr Hill Amber Ale (which may be a bit hard to locate, but is from a local brewery). Happy sampling! :pint:

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Yeah, the really strong hops are just too much for my pallet right now, for some reason the heavy hops is just too over bearing for me to appreciate the other flavors.

At first I was a bit leery of the stouts but after trying the Guinness and the Young's Double Stout I'm a believer. I really like the way their dark flavor and the way those flavors hang in my mouth and nose.

I think I'm going to sample Samuel Adam's Cream Stout, I've heard some good things about it as well.

Just to be clear, the two Rogue beers I mentioned are NOT hoppy beers... You may well like them...

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Yeah, the really strong hops are just too much for my pallet right now, for some reason the heavy hops is just too over bearing for me to appreciate the other flavors.

At first I was a bit leery of the stouts but after trying the Guinness and the Young's Double Stout I'm a believer. I really like the way their dark flavor and the way those flavors hang in my mouth and nose.

I think I'm going to sample Samuel Adam's Cream Stout, I've heard some good things about it as well.

If you liked Guinness Draught and enjoy Stouts, it's only natural to recommend Guinness Extra Stout.

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Asbury, roll on down to the Total Wine and Beverage near you and go look at the singles they have. You can create your own 6 pack.

Very nice, I didn't know they did that type of thing. That's an awesome way to experiment without committing to something that makes you want to hurl. It doesn't look like we have a Total Wine and Bev here, but I can't imagine that they are the only one's who do this.

I very much appreciate all of the recommendations, its a bit much to get my head around right now with all the different varieties, before about two weeks ago I thought that beer varieties were like bottled water varieties, but then I saw a Food Network show on brews and began to learn about the different types of beer and that the only type of beer that I had ever tried was the standard American style beers which never settled with me.

Tonight, inspired by the Guinness draught served nearly room temp, I set my Sam Adams Black Lager out for about 20 minutes before pouring, I even tried the "perfect pour" nearly lost the head onto the floor, but I saved it. Its thinner than the Guinness so no cascade, but the head stayed very well, and it tastes much more smooth warmer than it does cold. The chocolate malts were much more pronounced, all in all it was a very good drink.

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I recommend trying a "Brooklyn Brewery Black Chocolate Stout (higher alcohol, but you can't taste it), it tastes amazing. Also Sierra Nevada makes a beer called "Bigfoot" it is technically a barleywine, but the flavor is incredible (only problem is that it is expensive and hard to find because they dont make it every year).

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