what microbrew for a stella drinker?

Im trying to get my mother in law a good microbrew of the style she likes so she can compare. I asked her what her favorite beer was and she said stella. I believe it is a pale lager or a premium lager. In this category, what do you guys think is a good one to get? I am in northern california so it has to be something that I can obtain out here like a Bevmo or somthing. I was thinking along the lines of a Full Sail Session Lager from Oregon? What do you guys think?

Maui Brew Co. Bikini Blond Lager would be a good start. It comes in cans, and is pretty tasty. They should have it at Bevmo up near you.

Trumer!

Session is not appreciably different from any other international lager, IMO.

Stella is an amazing beer. You are going to have a hard time finding something better in that category.

Stella's not exactly BMC. Let her keep drinking that. Have her try Pilsner Urquell as well.

Yeah I agree, don't know why you'd want to convert someone away from Stella, one of the best in the category. Not a lot of option from Microbrews in terms of lagers.

doctorRobert said:

Yeah I agree, don't know why you'd want to convert someone away from Stella, one of the best in the category. Not a lot of option from Microbrews in terms of lagers.

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I think it would be cool to introduce your mother-in-law to some fresh, local beer. Stella is just fine, but it is brewed by the largest beer corporation in the world. Finding a local, small scale beer brewed near you might be an interesting comparison for her.

Is she in the Bay area near you? The suggestion of Trumer is a great one -super beer and right there. You have so many breweries in California to choose from! Ever heard of Moonlight Brewing? They make a couple of different lagers.

I think its always cool to introduce friends and family to small local breweries.

Budweiser (Budvar).

Which I guess would be Czechvar over there now.

Ok, so I am going to do a blind test with 8 beers and see what happens. Heres the list I came up with. Coors Light, Stella, Bud Light, Maui Bikini Lager, Trumer Pils, Pilsner Urquell, Scrimshaw Pilsner and Drakes Blonde Ale. I can get all of these at Bevmo.

I would try expand horizons as well... thrown in some other beers. there's more to life than lagers.

yeah, but anything with a slight bitterness or hop flavor is a no go. and she likes light beer only

Northcoast Scrimshaw would be perfect

Nothing particularly wrong with Stella, but unless she's got a kegerator she's always going to be drinking skunky Stella.

I say go for draft Pilsner Urquell if its available to you. Gordon Biersch Czech Pilsner is also good. Hell just take her to a GB if you have one local to you and slurp on some lagers.

Capital Brewery in WI also makes a lot of lagers.

Then go for the Kolsch, blonde ale, cream ale etc as suggested, easing her into Pale Ale (start with Sierra Nevada?)

Or you could go the other way. I did this with a friend who was a typical Philly area Pabst or Yuengling guy (also known as lager). Gave him a Russian Imperial Stout and he loved it. Now likes lots of styles, especially the German wheat beers, malty Belgians and some lambics.

Not sure what you can get, but Wisconsin micros make quite a few lagers. Capitol mentioned above does a good job. New Glarus' Toatally Naked is great. Lakefront has a decent Pils.

Definitely through Noble Pils from SA in there. That is a great beer IMO.

andrew300 said:

Ok, so I am going to do a blind test with 8 beers and see what happens. Heres the list I came up with. Coors Light, Stella, Bud Light, Maui Bikini Lager, Trumer Pils, Pilsner Urquell, Scrimshaw Pilsner and Drakes Blonde Ale. I can get all of these at Bevmo.

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Seriously, I would drop Bud and Coors light. What are you trying to do, turn her on to craft beer or Macro swill???

I would also stick domestic, the beers will be fresher that way.

Some other things to consider:
Maybe throw in a Vienna Lager. It would be a nice intro into something a little maltier without being dark or offensive.

Ballast Point Yellow Tail Pale (actually a Kolsch) is another pretty good light beer. What about a Belgian Wit, like Hoegarrden? Or an Americanized version like Great White? Even Blue Moon is pretty good...

Pappers said:

I think it would be cool to introduce your mother-in-law to some fresh, local beer. Stella is just fine, but it is brewed by the largest beer corporation in the world. Finding a local, small scale beer brewed near you might be an interesting comparison for her.

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Interestingly, Stella can actually correctly claim that they weren't gobbled up by the InBev corporation--it grew out of them.

Oskar Blues Mama's Little Yella Pils is a really good Czech-style pilsener from a local-ish microbrewery.

Weihenstephaner makes a classic Munich Helles lager that's pretty widely available.

bgough said:

Some other things to consider:
Maybe throw in a Vienna Lager. It would be a nice intro into something a little maltier without being dark or offensive.

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This is a fantastic idea. Also, throw an Anchor Steam in there. Debateably a lager, but it's localish to you, it's the One True Uniquely American Style(tm) of beer, it's generally well-received by lager drinkers, and it's the wellspring of the craft beer movement. Plus, it's tasty.

alaskan summer ale is a nearly authentic tasting kolsch i bet she'd like, and in seattle we have beer from a brewery in the beer isle called "Moe's Tap Room" that has 3 simple flavors; Pale, Amber and Lager. I've had the lager and it's excellent, basically what BMC should taste like, but doesn't. add those to your list, along with Carlsberg lager if you want to add yet another tasty european export.

PS: 10 bucks says she'll think trumer pils is too bitter.

Shiner 101 is surprisingly decent for a pils style...and its got a sexy, well designed label

Taking a slightly different approach, why not try some Magic Hat #9? Not a lager, but a very accessible "gateway" ale. I know plenty of former lager drinkers who were introduced to micro and craft beers by trying some #9.

SteveM said:

Taking a slightly different approach, why not try some Magic Hat #9?

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Because Magic Hat is not distributed in California?

I might also suggest Sierra Nevada Glissade (if you can still find it) and Gordon Biersch Märzen for local beginner beers.

try oscar blue's yella pils

markg388 said:

alaskan summer ale is a nearly authentic tasting kolsch i bet she'd like

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Alaskan Summer is more of an Alt (darker, a tad heavier) but still a great beer. EDIT: Doh, I just re-read that and it didn't sound right...that's their Amber...ignore me

I would definitely throw in some Helles, German Pilsners, Reissdorf Kolsch (if you can get it) and other imported light beers. They are clean and crisp but with a solid backbone, compared to the American Light Lagers.

I'd throw a nice fresh german hefeweizen in there, too

944play said:

Because Magic Hat is not distributed in California?

I might also suggest Sierra Nevada Glissade (if you can still find it) and Gordon Biersch Märzen for local beginner beers.

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Hey, how would I know that? I'm in Beer City (Philly). I can't keep track of what's sold here, let alone in Cali!

In NorCal I'd recommend Scrimshaw Pilsner by North Coast Brewery. It's my all time favorite lager in NorCal, and considering I just moved away, I'm missing it already.

Fishin-Jay said:

In NorCal I'd recommend Scrimshaw Pilsner by North Coast Brewery.

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Whoo, I wouldn't!:cross: Don't get me wrong, I love the living crap out of North Coast, but Scrimmy has some milky and pukey notes that I just can't stand. Lagunitas Pils is better, IMO.

andrew300 said:

yeah, but anything with a slight bitterness or hop flavor is a no go. and she likes light beer only

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Given this, I'm a little surprised to see recommendations for things like Pilsner Urquell. I'd think most pilsners would be a no go.

Trumer Pils > Pilsner Urquell, imho

If you want to ease her with lagers, though, see if you can get your hands on some Red Hook Blonde Ale. I only ever see their ESB and Longhammer IPA but I tried this one at their brewery and loved it. Not too bitter, she'll like it, though it's rare in NorCal.

I also second the Oskar Blues Pils (if you can find it), Full Session, and the Lagunitas.

Full Sail also has their LTD series available in California. I think recipe #2 is the lightest (orange carton) but check them out. They're limited brews, and the lightest one is an extremely drinkable lager. I usually have at least two at a time when I buy a pack of any of the LTD beers. Recipe #3 is available starting in June - it's also a lager, but it might be hoppier than the #2.

Victory Lager is good stuff. To me it tastes very similar to Stella, but a bit more flavorful, and a bit more bitter as well. That being said, I've never had a pilsner that I've enjoyed more than Stella on draught at the brewery in Leuven. Soooo good. The bottled stuff is crap though, it never tastes as good, and sometimes it tastes downright bad.

She'll hate Urquell. I love it (and think Trumer is crap, btw, haha) but it's bitter enough to turn off most light ale/lager drinkers. Try adding in a Longboard.. Pretty good and readily available.

Was about to post Kona's Longboard - it's not too bitter, has a maltier taste more reminiscent of blonde ales, but still drinkable despite the fact it has a lot more flavor than most pilsners. If you can find it, Red Hook has a great blonde ale too. In fact, I think it's the only one of their regular beers worth buying - pretty fruity and drinkable if I remember correctly.

Try Brooklyn Lager, too, but I don't think it's available in CA.