Where do my tastes really lie?

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msmith81

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Tipp City, OH
So I was thinking about what I really like. Then I came to the realization that I don't know. My tastes seem to be all around. So I thought if I post a list of my likes/favorites/regulars (difference being regulars might be cheaper and easier to get ahold of then favorites or just to keep quantity over quality sometimes, yes, shameful) and then my dislikes, maybe you guys could help me put focus on this. :tank:

So for likes and such:

Labatts Blue and Labatts Light are my staples. Keep these around for when I just want a good beer right from the bottle. Always tastes crisp, love the tickle from the carbonation it gives me, always thought it had some kind of wood soaked flavor, but probably doesn't. lol.

Sam Adams
Lite. Not sure about it. After drinking the Lager, it seems weak, but if I have the choice of this or Bud, I'd go this way every time.
Boston Lager. Good now and then, great on tap I think. Usually have at least a 6 pack in the fridge to pick and chose between this and other beers.
Oktoberfest. Love it, buy a case or two when it's out.
Winterfest. full and filling, feels like it's adding meat to my bones.

Bitburger. Good now and again. price keeps it out of my fridge most the time.

Blue Moon. yeah, love the citrus to it. unique, love the cloudy appearance.

Tequiza. no, it's not the same thing as Corona! Everyone tells me to just get Corona.

Miller High Life. Strange, but I like this one. My grandfather has this at his home, and I'll grab a few while I'm there. Makes a nice break from other stuff from time to time.

That's all I can think of right now (and it's really late) that I really drink all the time or come back to steadily.


Stuff I didn't like:

Great Lakes Burning River. Tastes okay when you first tip it back, but when it rolls to the back of the tongue, I swear I thought I was drinking chemicals. It was naaaaasty. Feels like I'm drinking cleaning solution.

Sierra Nevada
Indian Pale Ale. I dunno, this just doesn't hit it with me. No love here.
Brown Ale. Wasn't bad, but it just seemed boring. Didn't make me wanna drink it, or want another.

Warsteiner. I don't know if it was an old case or something, but it sucked. It was skunky and I don't think it was worth finishing.

Spaten. Pretty neutral. I'd drink it again, and might have to give it another shot.

Upper Canada. YUCK. We actually poured out an entire case of this stuff. Shop told me it was like a Labatts/molson style. Didn't come close in my eyes.

Arrogant Bastard. Lives up to its name, and its not for me.

Heinieken. what's the hype here???

any of the Natural, Busch, Bud Light beers. There's always a ton of these cans and bottles laying around the college dorms here. cheap and easy to get ahold of, but not good in the least.


I'll admit it, I'll drink Bud. A local mexican restaurant only serves Bud on tap. So I'll indulge in the 32 ounce glass for 3.50. It's not that bad, they pour it into a frozen mug that must weigh 4-5 pounds by itself, and it comes out with frost floating on top from the glass. Though not a fan, when it's the only thing they have, and it's 3.50 for a 32 ounces when Buffalo Wild Wings is selling a pint of anything else for more, it's tasty enough.

So right now I feel like I'm very hit or miss on my choices. I know a lot of people that only stick with one style or brand. I'll try anything anyone hands me, but a lot of times it just doesn't leave a distinct impression. I've learned to drink a lot of stuff from my dad, we never had Bud around. He drinks all sorts of different stuff, and I guess I kind of inherited/learned that. I'm only 25, and didn't start drinking beer really until age 22. But I look at most people my age swilling Nati Light and Bud Light and I just ask why bother? Or my dad's girlfriend who drinks Michelob Ultra Light. YUCK.

Okay, so now with all that out, what's everyone think? :mug:
 
I'll bump.

My tastes tend to gravitate towards the hoppy, but I don't share some of the same loves that others on this board do.

I find it odd that I think Arrogant Bastard is just a pretty good all around beer. Not too malty, not too hoppy, just pleasant. I don't consider it strong.

Stone Ruination isn't as good as Stone IPA. I don't think its as balanced of a beer and I think Deschutes Hop Henge Imperial IPA is notably better.

Dead Guy Ale is too malty and sweet, and I can't drink fat tire.

I guess thats whats so awesome about beer. So many styles we can all find ones we like. I don't want to come across as a d*ck, I'm just saying what I do and don't like.

Mirror Pond Pale Ale is fantastic. :)
 
It sounds like you like low gravity beers with little bitterness.


Other things you might think about trying are wheat beers (you probably won't like hefeweisen, but give it a shot). I'm thinking something like Goose Island's 312 might be up your alley.

Also, if brewing, try to keep your original gravity around below 1.045 or so and your IBU's below 23 or so. Basically, probably 1 ounce of hops should be plenty for your tastebuds.

Try Spaten Oktoberfest.

Also try a Maibock. Maibocks are higher in alcohol, but tend to be pretty light and smooth. You may enjoy it, but I'd bet you'd find most to be too hoppy.



Hope that helps.
 
Toot said:
Also try a Maibock. Maibocks are higher in alcohol, but tend to be pretty light and smooth. You may enjoy it, but I'd bet you'd find most to be too hoppy.

Maibock is probably my favorite type of beer. I lament my lack of lagering ability. However, my tastes are pretty much opposite to msmith81's: I like beers that are hoppy, big, dark, or all of the above. I guess I like anything that has some real substance to it.

For the record, msmith81, try a bunch of IPAs. Lots of people (myself included) don't care for them initially, but once you become a hophead, you'll never go back. :rockin:
 
ayrton said:
Maibock is probably my favorite type of beer. I lament my lack of lagering ability. However, my tastes are pretty much opposite to msmith81's: I like beers that are hoppy, big, dark, or all of the above. I guess I like anything that has some real substance to it.

For the record, msmith81, try a bunch of IPAs. Lots of people (myself included) don't care for them initially, but once you become a hophead, you'll never go back. :rockin:

If he's not digging pale ales, I don't see him getting on board with IPA's.... At least not yet. Don't worry though, msmith. We'll convert you yet. You'll be an EAC in no time!

Cheers! :mug:
 
Toot said:
If he's not digging pale ales, I don't see him getting on board with IPA's.... At least not yet. Don't worry though, msmith. We'll convert you yet. You'll be an EAC in no time!

Cheers! :mug:

Exactly my point: if you don't like it now, keep trying it now and then, and you'll fall in love with it like the rest of us. :tank:
 
You definitely have to give IPAs a chance about once every couple months. You start adjusting to flavors and I think we all end up liking them eventually. I think the brewing experience just opens you to more hop flavor and aroma.
 
Sitting around tonight, I had a Sam Adams Pale Ale (after a large Baileys Irish Cream over ice). I just don't get it. To me it was overly flat, not carbonated enough, flavor is muddy, and it lingers after you drink it. Half hour later and I'm still getting that sour flavor. Which is strange, because it wasn't sour on the way down.... Anyway, drinkable, but not exciting. I'd have to say it doesn't do anything well, but it doesn't go out of its way to be too offensive either, excusing the after taste.

I think the things I enjoy most seem to be the better end of the lagers and pilsners. My two favorite micros are a Helles and a bohemian pilsner. To me, a Labatts Blue has more flavor then this SA Pale Ale. For the most part, I tend to reject Ale. I had some brown ale, and it was so boring I thought. Yawn inducing, drinkable but I'd probably order a Mountain Dew first.

I don't know, I'm pretty hit and miss. There's stuff I really like from one brewer, and I'll try it from another and won't even bat an eye. None of it offends my tastes, but it'll just leave me yawning. Like most ales. But there's lots of other stuff that turns my nose up. Becks and Rolling Rock come to mind when I tried them, and oddly they seem like something that'd be in the catagory I like. Both highly overrated and I'll say it... sucked.

What I can't pin down is what makes me actually like one beer from another. Others here mention malt, hops, ex... But to me, it's mostly the whole flavor at once that gets my attention. I can't break stuff down into pieces for the most part. I get an overall package deal, and if there's a weak part to it, I tend to not like it as a whole. I must be strange or something. I really seem to go after the individual brew instead of the catagory. :(

And unfortunetly, being 15-20 miles north of Dayton, most of our options come from Kroger's beer isle, minus one or two stores I can think of.
 
msmith81 said:
I don't know, I'm pretty hit and miss. There's stuff I really like from one brewer, and I'll try it from another and won't even bat an eye. None of it offends my tastes, but it'll just leave me yawning. Like most ales. But there's lots of other stuff that turns my nose up. Becks and Rolling Rock come to mind when I tried them, and oddly they seem like something that'd be in the catagory I like. Both highly overrated and I'll say it... sucked.

Both of those beers come in non-brown bottles. This means that they are always lightstruck. Light struck beers have a skunky taste/smell that the commercial brewers try to convince us is part of the "flavor profile".

So you don't like skunky beer. That's not surprising to me. For what it's worth, Heinekin, Corona, St. Pauli Girl and Warsteiner(?) are skunky beers too.

What I can't pin down is what makes me actually like one beer from another. Others here mention malt, hops, ex... But to me, it's mostly the whole flavor at once that gets my attention. I can't break stuff down into pieces for the most part. I get an overall package deal, and if there's a weak part to it, I tend to not like it as a whole. I must be strange or something. I really seem to go after the individual brew instead of the catagory. :(

Nothing strange about that. Your ability to discern individual tastes will come with time. Me, I started out liking malty beers and that led me to discover sweet stouts, which led me to trying a lot of things, which led to IPA's which I didn't like, which led me to ESB's which I loved, which led me Sweet Brown ales, which led me to English Browns, which led me to the less sweet stouts and porters, etc... It just takes experimentation.
 
I like all kinds, depending on my mood and the situation. I like a hoppy IPA sometimes, but have never been a huge fan of Sierra Nevada. I think Coors Original is a fantastsic beer, and definitely the best of the macro brews.
 
I read your first post and come off with the impression that you pref BMC style products with a few SA lagers thrown in...the general hoppy/malty craft beers don't seem to appeal to ya. Nothing wrong with that 'cept most beergeeks prb won't relate.

pale lagers and pils are how you roll.
 
Bobby_M said:
You definitely have to give IPAs a chance about once every couple months. You start adjusting to flavors and I think we all end up liking them eventually. I think the brewing experience just opens you to more hop flavor and aroma.


Sounds like my mom at the dinner table trying to convince me that I would eventually like lima beans.

...sorry mom, I still don't like em.:eek:
 
Nah, my point was that tastes do change over time. I hated brussel sprouts, broccoli and mustard (not mixed together) as a kid. I'm glad I gave them another shot every now and then.

My point is that bitter/hoppy is something that grows on you. I mean, if all you ever had was brown ale, that initial IPA is going to punch you in the face. If you slowly explore down mildly hoppy pales, you get a taste for hops.

I was also saying that brewing in general gets you into hops. Smelling them in raw form gets conditioned as a "good" thing if you have fun brewing.
 
Bobby_M said:
Nah, my point was that tastes do change over time. I hated brussel sprouts, broccoli and mustard (not mixed together) as a kid. I'm glad I gave them another shot every now and then.

My point is that bitter/hoppy is something that grows on you. I mean, if all you ever had was brown ale, that initial IPA is going to punch you in the face. If you slowly explore down mildly hoppy pales, you get a taste for hops.

I was also saying that brewing in general gets you into hops. Smelling them in raw form gets conditioned as a "good" thing if you have fun brewing.


....that was supposed to be a joke, sorry for the misunderstanding.
 
I find I like a beer with body and flavor, but no flavorings.
My first preference is for stouts and porters but I also like hoppy beers and most dark ales.
However I have not tried a beer with extras I really like. That includes chocolate and coffee stouts, fruit ales, pumpkin ales and spiced Christmas ales.
I do not like any of the BMC beers I have tasted. I can't even stand to drink them. And I don't really care for the pale microbrews I have tried.
I didn't even start drinking beer until I was introduced to Guinness and microbrews. So I'm not so sure that full flavored beer is an acquired taste. It may be that most people actually prefer a very light tasting beer.
Craig
 
CBBaron said:
It may be that most people actually prefer a very light tasting beer.
Craig


You've hit the nail on the head. That's why Bud and Miller are as popular as they are and why just about everyone I know won't drink anything but. Especially beers that have a strong bitter aftertaste.

Clearly I don't agree with that assessment, but when I have guys tell me that *Pabst* and *Old Milwaukee* are a bit too strong flavored for them, I have to wonder if they aren't just looking for alcohol in carbed water.

In the case of megabrews, I will drink Miller, Pabst, Schlitz, Old Milwaukee, Point, or Old Style if I must. I don't mind Bud, but it gives me a headache.


Gedvondur
 
I can totally relate, msmith81.

After drinking commercial brews for more than 30 years, I have started to really try and explore what it is I want in a beer, or maybe more importantly, what I DON'T want. I had tried micro-brewery beers a few times, when I was younger, but having been conditioned to drinking mega quantities of BMC-style beers, felt they were too heavy, too strong, and drinking more than one filled me up. I tried the wheats and other pale beers, but I just didn't really enjoy the flavors that much.

Then, the Michigan Brewery opened up fairly near my house, and I would stop in once in a while and check out the offering, and liking the free peanuts (and liking throwing them on the floor), I found that the IPA was GOOD, and soon after found that I was just about addicted to the stuff. I don't like the Browns, Nut Browns, Wheats, or flavored beers, like cherry, pumpkin, etc, and about all I can say that I really like is the IPA (7.25%), and the Russian Imperial Stout (12.9%). I DO like the hint of chocolate and coffee in some of the darker beers, and surprisingly I DO like the stronger alcohol level beers. I really can't taste the strength of the stronger beers, but I sure feel it, which is kind of a downside to drinking much of a 'session'. But maybe I've been trying the wrong beers all this time, to start with, and looking for a better BMC styled beer and that wasn't what I should have looked for. Now, maybe I've had a change in tastes, or maybe I am just sick to death of drinking light BMC's; I really don't know... but I am getting interested enough to do a lot of research, and try to learn WHY I like some and not others.

Another point I'd like to make is that I generally consume mega-quantities of light beer on my boat, in the hot sun, for the whole day, and I can't see how the convenience of cans-coolerwise, low alcohol, and portablity of canned BMC's will ever be overtaken in that respect. But I want to get set-up to make my own, and I may just learn how to do lagers well enough to be totally free of industrial beer.
 
Appreciate everyone replying.

Sometimes, and I don't know if anyone else feels this way, it feels like there's a stigma for not liking pale ales, stouts, whatnot. I frequently hear that I might as well just drink Bud because I don't drink real beer or something. There's a feeling out there that if you drink lagers, your not drinking right. Which I find weird and annoying. It's not my fault that big breweries make varieties of these beers that are too light. It shouldn't catagorize the whole segment. Yet I find it does a lot.

If there wasn't a want for lagers and pilsners, nobody would have invented the method and stuck with it.

I'm finding that a good lager, with lots of calories, makes me the happiest. I can drink Pale Ales and others, but it doesn't make me smile, but it won't leave me mad. It just leaves me wanting something else... with more flavor.
 
I like all sorts of Ale's, Porters,stouts, and IPA's. Only beers i really dislike are coors,miler, and German Wheat.
 
Every since I started homebrewing I have tried alot more commercial beers. Most of the time when I go to the local package store, I pick something different just to try it. (I'm running out of choices). So far, I really haven't found a beer I didn't like. I've tried numerous styles and I will say that IPA's are my least favorite, but even so I like them now and then (The Red Hook IPA damned good IMO).

I am not including BMC in the above discussion. I have always hated Budweiser, and I had a coors light a few months ago and thought my carbonated urine would have tasted better.

I think it will take something totally off the wall like a jalepeno beer or something totally bizarre before I will find something that turns me off.

Anyone else seem to like just about everything or is it only me?
 
Here's my take:

Beer is an acquired taste. I have been hearing that since i was 16 and it's true. You have acquired a taste for lagers and pilsners. It sounds like you want to acquire a taste for more robust, flavorful and fun beers.

Get loaded, wasted, bombed out of your gourd... well ok maybe just drink 4 or 5 really good IPAs one night. Make sure you're around friends and having a really good time. Drinking the IPA that has a LOT of flavor to it will sort of dull your taste for the BMC type beers. Being around friends and having a good time while your drinking will have a psychosymatic effect. You will associate having a good time with drinking the IPA and it will become more appealing to you.

Keep doing this and keep trying different style of beers. Make it an adventure to see how many different beers you can drink before going back to the BMC. This is what worked for me.

I used to be a Natty Light drinker. Then I graduated to Bud. From Bud i started drinking Amber Bock. That's when i got hooked. Then i started drinking the strongest beers i could find. Samicluas, beelzebub, delirium, aventinus. Now everything I beer i drink, I can find something I like about it, except Miller Lite. That's just weasle piss in my opinion.
 
msmith81:

I think you need some guidance on which "gateway beers" to try in order to start expanding your tastes. The first different, non-BMC beer I ever had was George Killian's Irish Red. I think it's interesting enough, but mild enough that you might enjoy it. You could also try a honey lager, like J.W. Dundee or Michelob Honey Lager, and see if you like those.

The ale I always recommend to people that only drink lagers is Fat Tire Amber Ale. I don't drink it, but I recognize that it is a good starter beer for people that are ready to explore new flavors, but don't know where to begin.

You could also try a belgian ale like Chimay Premiere or Grand Reserve, or maybe Duvel. Those are sweet and malty, but hardly bitter or hoppy at all. Might be too much yet, though.

I drink stouts, porters, and IPAs, but I STILL don't like regular old pale ales like Full Sail and Sierra Nevada. Something about them just turns me off, so I can understand where you're coming from on those at least. But there are thousands of beers out there. I always get something new when I buy beer, along with my stand-bys.
 
robbase9 said:
... before going back to the BMC.

??? going back?

Thats like selling your Ferrari and buying 227 rusted out 1981 chevettes. - or deciding against getting the 5oz kobe steak and ordering 70 overcooked processed hamburger patty food product (hockey pucks)
 
I meant after giving up on trying new, good beers. It sounds like he's just given up and accepted the fact he likes boring BMC beers.
 
I used to be a Natty Light drinker. Then I graduated to Bud. From Bud i started drinking Amber Bock. That's when i got hooked. Then i started drinking the strongest beers i could find. Samicluas, beelzebub, delirium, aventinus. Now everything I beer i drink, I can find something I like about it, except Miller Lite. That's just weasle piss in my opinion.

My neighbor gave me a Busch one night and I had to hold my nose to drink it. Won't even try Natty. Bud is alright in a pinch, like the mexican place I mentioned. It's the only thing they have, and it comes in 32 ounce frosted glasses.

I used to love Amber Bock, but I drank 2 half gallons at Oktoberfest, mixed it with some bad saurkraut, and well... I haven't been able to drink it since. Won't drink Lite, but I do enjoy High Life sometimes, its all my grandpa drinks, so I drink it at his house.

Torchiest said:
msmith81:

I think you need some guidance on which "gateway beers" to try in order to start expanding your tastes. The first different, non-BMC beer I ever had was George Killian's Irish Red. I think it's interesting enough, but mild enough that you might enjoy it. You could also try a honey lager, like J.W. Dundee or Michelob Honey Lager, and see if you like those.


I drink stouts, porters, and IPAs, but I STILL don't like regular old pale ales like Full Sail and Sierra Nevada. Something about them just turns me off, so I can understand where you're coming from on those at least. But there are thousands of beers out there. I always get something new when I buy beer, along with my stand-bys.

Killians I didn't care for. It was alright, but it was a little burnt tasting. My dad likes it, and I'll drink it, but it's nothing special. JW Honeybrown is good stuff I think. All my friends turn their noses up at it, and question why I drink it, but I like it plenty.




Sounds like I'm a lager person (see stigma comments and all attempts at "conversion"), but I can't drink the nasty cheap water stuff. Bud Light is a cuss in my house. But Canadian beers aren't off the list. I think LaBatts did it right. It's got more to it, but I can easily drink 3 or 4 tall ones when I go to a sports bar. Sam Adams and I can't do that. I'm looking for that ultimate lager. I have a great one that I can only get a couple times a year because it's only sold in TN. Velas Helles (Helles is the style) and I LOVE that. And the other sold with it, a bohemian pilsner. I guess it's the heavy german bloodline in me coming out, that's why I like these beers.

I'm checking out the HefeWeizen offerings. I've had a few tastes before, and really enjoyed. Also going to look for Oktoberfest beers, haven't found one that I've turned down yet. Going to try a store that's about a half hour from here, supposed to have a good beer section. Up this way, it's mostly what you can get at Kroger because we're very rural.
 
robbase9 said:
I meant after giving up on trying new, good beers. It sounds like he's just given up and accepted the fact he likes boring BMC beers.

I don't know if that's your OPINION or whatnot, but I never said I liked boring beers. I like what I like.
 
Sounds like you're on your way. I have another suggestion if you like lagers and German style beers as do I. Try some bock and doppelbock beers. They are lagered but have more flavor and color to them. Sam Adams Winter Lager is a dynamite beer in my opinion. So is Shiner Bock from Texas. Spaten Optimator is an awesome German doppelbock. Whenever I go to Epcot, the first place I go is the Germany festhaus and grab some. Sooo tasty.
 
Lotta lagers in the world.

I like Japanese beer. Sapporo at the Jap place, everytime (and a large hot sake;) ). There I said it. And Corona. And Tsing Tao. There's a lot of good mild tasting beers out there, and I like just about all of them.

Now trying to MAKE a good lager, that's gonna be a little tougher than the Ales. But I'm determined. :D
 
I used to go to this Chinese restaurant and the waitress/owner was this 50 year old woman and every time i would order a Tsing Tao she would say this in an awesomely funny Chinese accent: Ching Dow, Chinese Beer, okaaaaay!

F-ing hilarious. Sorry just had to share. And it's good beer too. Tsing Tao, Molson Canadian, and Moosehead are my guilty pleasure lager favorites.
 
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