OT: How does one get into craft beer?
Am I the only one that gets overwhelmed when shopping for beer or browsing a tap list? It seems the trend at restaurants is to carry 37 seasonal limited edition locally sourced beers on tap, changing weekly. At the grocery or beer store there are 100s of options from small to medium sized brewers. Wine feels immensely more approachable, in comparison. I don't want to become a fanatic, but I'd like to be more confident and understand a little more. And supporting local products is always cool. But how is it even possible with this trend seemingly overheating and new product pumping out constantly?
I picked up a case of Bell's Hopslam last month and it was pretty good. It didn't blow my mind (I think it was supposed to?). Also, I can't really do super dark beers after developing a taste aversion from too many car bomb blackout nights during understand.
If you have the time and drive for it, learn to brew and make your own. Learn about what goes into the beer you love.
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I'm not pretending to be an expert, but when I started drinking craft beers I would usually do a make your own six pack option at the store combined with reading about them, usually on BeerAdvocate. They also have some good rankings and I'd try to find whatever I could off the top of the list. I felt like even the ones I didn't like gave me some perspective.
I don't know if you have any breweries locally, but I learned quite a bit doing a tour of Goose Island in Lincoln Park as well.
The make-your-own sixer is the best way to go to get variety. Or if you're at a brewery or bar that serves them, flights of four+ beers.
Judging from OP's name, if you're out in DC I'd go visit Dogfish Head, especially if you like IPAs. Other than that though I'd find a shop with a wide variety and just pick stuff you read about/hear is good, or even just stuff with a cool name.
I started drinking craft beer pretty much right after trying Oberon for the first time...I thought it was so great that I tried pretty much all Bell's stuff, then moved on to "hometown" breweries of Founders', New Holland, Short's, North Peak etc. Any time I go to a bar I try to find a Michigan beer I haven't had before and try it out. There are still some "macro" beers that I enjoy a lot (Guinness is still awesome to me, and I've always enjoyed Sam Adams' beers.)
I've done that sorta and obviously some of my friends and even girls are into this beer thang, but it all starts tasting relatively the same. Some are God-awful but I can drink anything, really, so I can put it all down. I guess I'd like to develop an appreciation for the varieties I'm drinking. Dark beer still takes effort to get down. *shivers with blackout flashbacks of me heaving in a student ghetto toilet*
Nothing wrong with not liking something either. I know plenty of people that can't stand Guinness (which as stated below is kinda a "weird" stout) or porters or other dark beers. For me I couldn't stomach the hoppiness of IPAs or the strength of trappist ales for a long time. But I just kinda challenged myself to like them and I really love most of them now; same for me with foods I didn't like previously, I used to think raw tomatoes were awful and now I eat them pretty much every day. Sours are my next challenge, beer-wise.
I love that the craft beer "revolution" has taken place because there is a massive variety of tastes and choice, and you're not just stuck drinking a Miller Lite at the bar. It's like ice cream...sure vanilla isn't all that bad, but wouldn't you rather be able to have Rocky Road or Cherry Garcia or whatever? I know I would. There's something refreshing about being able to have a nice citrusy wheat ale like Oberon after a summer day or a good porter in the winter.
Step 1: Buy craft beer
Step 2: Drink beer
Step 3: If like beer, buy more beer that sounds similar to it. If not like beer, buy more beer that sounds different than it
Step 4: Repeat
Congratulations! Now you're into craft beer!
I wouldn't start with a case of hopslam. That must have been super expensive, and its not quite as good as advertised, IMO, though I do enjoy it.
Find a beer bar near you and stop by a few times a week and try something new everytime. Look up the reviews on BeerAdvocate along with their style definitions. Their style definitions aren't gospel, nor are their reviews, but its a good jumping off point.
If there is a good party store nearby they'll let you buy bottles individually. Get a six pack with all different beers and note what styles and what breweries you prefer.
Its interesting that you say wine is more accessible because I've had the opposite experience.
"Find a beer bar near you and stop by a few times a week and try something new everytime."
I'd like to keep my career, if possible.
Well if you stick to one beer a trip you'll probably be able to hold on to that career. I didn't tell him to get wasted.
If you're relatively new to craft beers, or trying them rather, try to find a place like Beer Baron in Livonia - which has a pretty wide selection - and start experimenting with the make-your-own six-packs and just find out what you enjoy. Eventually, you'll develop a good rotation - by brand and season if you want - and go from there.
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you don't get into it - you drink it. Impossible to get into those little bottles.
Try to narrow it down to what you like in general. Experiment with a couple of lagers, ales, porters, stouts, malts. Mix up your dark, brown, pale, wheat, honey, etc. Once you figure out your general preference, it's a lot easier to pick and choose.
For me it was a two part process
#1- I stopped drinking beer to get drunk. I just wanted to have something that I drink to enjoy.
#2- I found some good intermediate beers. I feel like if people jump too far in with things like the hopslam you mentioned they are overwhelmed or dont have enough experience to think it is exceptional. It might be a little like a non-wine drinker tasting a $75 bottle of wine. It just tastes like wine usually.
My advice would be to start out with some solid but not extravagant beers like amber ales and ESBs. They are usually pretty well balanced between hop and malt.
After establishing some tastes of what you do or don't like you can branch out.
You should find a simple craft beer that serves as your go to when you are out or are at some random grocery store. At least then you will have a guiding light in the storm of craft brews.
First you have to surround yourself by hipsters, and then the peer-pressure will help you drink bitter, unpalatable crap instead of delicious, delicious Coors Light.
I'm not a big beer person at all, my cousin and good friend drinks Miller Lite, which is not bad. He has some beer snob lawyer friends that always bring an assortment with them and turn their noses up at Miller Lite, and give the ol' "taste this, it's so much better than that horse piss you're drinking now!" Many of the beers are so bitter I imagine straight caustic soda would taste better. I don't get it. Drinking beer should not be an endurance contest.
I dislike "beer snobs" too, because no, Miller Lite doesn't suck, at least to me. It's a fine beer to drink in pretty much any situation. You know what you're getting and it's not bad.
HOWEVA it is a relatively bland and boring beer compared to all the different varieties out there and there are even basic lagers from craft breweries that I much prefer to Miller Lite while having a similar taste. I think my ice cream analogy is pretty valid. Would you rather be able to choose from Chocalate and Vanilla, or from those two plus Mint Chip, Mac Island Fudge, a bunch of different sorbets, a banana split, a really good vanilla bean, etc. If you don't think those flavors taste better than vanilla, fine by me...in almost every situation where theres a choice whether with ice cream or beer, I'm going for a unique flavor. I'm just very glad there is now the choice to do that because even 25 years ago those choices didn't exist. If that makes me a beer snob, I will wear that badge proudly...I consider myself more a fan more than anything.
2. Try an app called Next Glass. Helps track and recommends beers and wine based on chemical analysis.
The most important thing is to figure out what styles of beer you like. There are tons and tons of styles out there, (more than light, dark and amber).
The second step is to understand what makes them different. The major distinctions being hoppyness (how much hops falvor there is, often correlates to bitterness, but now always), maltyness(kinda a sweet/bready quality), and roasty-toastyness(the more roasted the deeper and more chocolatey/coffee like the flavor)
A good way to figure these main qualities out is buy finding beers that have a ton of one of them (but not both). IPAs, or India Pale Ales will represent hoppy, Ambers will represent malty, and guiness can represent roastyness.
Armed with all this knowledge you can begin to zero in on difference between beers, some IPAs may be more malty than others etc.
A couple quick tips:
Most people think they don't like dark beer or "super" dark beer because ofo Guiness. Guiness is a weirdo, classified as a DRY stout. which means it has very little sugar in it. Most stouts, however, are very sweet and are in a completely different category than Guiness. so don't close the door on dark beers just yet :) I find Porters to be a good gateway dark beer. They are usually prety roasty and malty but don't have the heavy meal like feeling.
Belgian beers are also weirdos. They use special Yeast that gives beers a very distinct flavor separate from the major difference I listed above. Furthermore, there are two main different compounds imparted by belgian yeast that taste very differently, so you might like one more than an other. Phenols make beer taste like peppery and grapefruity, and esthers kinda taste like bananas. Most belgian yeasts create a good mix of both of these and are a tad sour. Saisons however (one of my favs) are almost all phenols.
Last but not least, it doesn't make a HUGE difference on flavor IMO, but all beers are broken down into two categories, Lagers and Ales. Lagers ferment in cold condintions and produce a crisper cleaner flavor, where as Ales have a yeastier flavor.
I'm sure I'm missing a bunch of stuff but I'm just writing this all out as I think of it.
This is an excellent breakdown from a tasting perspective, especially for a newbie. As you say, the Lager/Ale differentiation is overblown when beer people create educational materials. Guiness and Belgians are weirdos, for sure. It's good to just experiment, as everyone has different tastes, but the malty/hoppy/roasty approach helps to start figuring out what you like as you sample different beers.
I would like to second everything bcoop713 has said. Excellent advice.
Drink with someone who understands and has a passion for beer. They can educate you on the differences between the beer types and even why they are what they are (the origin of the IPA, Trappist beers, etc). Also, they probably have a better selection in their refrigerator than you do. If you live in MN, I'll gladly participate in your education!
I would identify not only the kinds of beer you like, but also the breweries you particularly like. It will make shopping or selecting from tap much less overwhelming. You will at least know you like porters or IPA's and can try some from other breweries. On the flip side, you may be open to trying other types of beer soley on the fact that you know it is made by a respectable brewing company that you like, and you know they do good work.
Mix and match 6 packs are a wonderful thing.
Beer advocate is also a nice resource.
All this talk of beer has made me thirsty... Hopslam here I come.
Hope this helps!
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Drink thoughtfully, focusing on the taste, aroma, and texture. Learn what "malty", "hoppy", "floral", "piney", "citrusy", and so on taste and smell like. Try IPAs and wheat beers and red ales against each other, and note the differences in flavor. Pretty soon you'll be able to recognize these flavors and figure out which ones float your boat.
The easiest way to learn a flavor, I find, is to go to RateBeer or BeerAdvocate and find a beer noted for that flavor, and drink it. For example, Bell's Two Hearted Ale is hopped exclusively with Centennial hops, which have strong pine and grapefruit notes. Drink one, thinking about these flavors, and you'll pick up pretty quickly on how they fit into the beer.
This is all overwhelming at first, but the great part is you get to drink beer! Just keep trying things with a plan until you get a hang of the different styles and a sense of what the common terms used to describe beer mean (because you'll have already tasted them). Then you can go into a daunting tap list with confidence.
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Two Hearted is pretty easy to drink but I figured it was too boring and safe, so I try not to buy it anymore.
Since you're familiar with Two Hearted, I'd suggest getting some IPAs from different breweries and trying them next to Two Hearted. In particular, look for ones that use different hops - IPAs from England would be a good start, since they use English hop varieties like Fuggles and East Kent Goldings with a very different character from the American "C" hops. Sam Smith's India ale is a decent, widely available example.
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Buy a six pack of Two Hearted. Consume it. Should sort you just fine.
I've done that x5! Aren't I supposed to branch out or something now? I don't want to be a bore, yo.
..with drinking what you like.
The basic types:
Lager: light and refreshing. Coors, Bud, etc.
Wheat beer (witbier, weissbeer, weizen): Light, fruity, citrusy and sometimes spicy. Blue moon, hoegarden.
Pale ale/IPA: brewed with lots of hops so tastes bitter. India Pale Ale is generally just more bitter and hoppy than pale ale.
Porter/Stout: generally the darkest in color, try one with coffee added if you like coffee. Also range from leather and cigar flavor to sweet chocolatey. Like someone else said, Guinness is just one type in the category and actually isn't very representative.
Blond/Amber/Brown Ale: If it's not any of the above categories, it's basically just an ale and it's name will either describe the color or flavor/ingredients. They shouldn't be really hoppy/bitter but the variation can be drastic based on yeast, malts or any other weird ingredients that should hopefully be clearly indicated.
Basically all beers fall into these categories (belgians can basically be any of these but are made with yeasts that give them a flavor all their own). Sours are exactly what they sound like. There are many other obscure variarions but these are the ones to know.
If you enjoy trying new beers, even though you know you're going to drink something you don't like sometimes, you'll learn which of these styles you like and which you don't. And there's nothing wrong with sticking with what you like if the risk of trying new stuff doesn't excite you.
I've simplified it quite a bit, but it's crazy what's now being done with lagers. I have some India Pale Lager in my fridge right now, and it's a great crisp beer with the hops and earthyness of an IPA. Seems like a bit of novelty though, since lagers are a lot harder to brew so I can't imagine breweries will commonly take the harder road to basically copying an ale style, but who knows?
My personal favorite pilsner style lager is Scrimshaw by North Coast Brewing - crisp and tasty.
1. Do what you've just done - ask. Lots of people have been in your position, and they've been through the "This is great/this really sucks" phase. Benefit from their experience.
2. Consider what you already like, and use that as a starting point. Let's say the only red ale you've had was Killian's, and you liked it. So, pick another red and try it.
3. Don't be afraid to go against the grain. I had many people tell me Bell's Two Hearted Ale was great, so I tried it. Nope. But at least I know.
4. Roll the dice once in a while. I would have sworn that a coffee beer would be vile, and put off trying one for years. But when I did, it was great. Not all have been, but some are.
5. If you can find a place that offers beer flights, check it out. Great way to taste test several without getting too drunk to drive.
Try everything from a certain brand- for example, Founders or Bells. That's a good way to get ahead. Try the Centennial IPA, All Day IPA, Porter, etc. That'll give you a pretty broad base of knowledge, since most breweries offer a wide variety of beers- light beers, dark beers, fruity beers, bitter beers, etc.
In actuality, there usually more similarities than differences between beers. I can't tell you how many times I have tasted a beer and thought "oh this tastes just like X"
get a flight sampler. Many allow 4-7 different selections.
Try a pilser, IPA, brown, stout, mead, fruit, barleywine, etc, or other single variety. Cost is relatively inexpensive. You can sample to discover the type of craft beer(s) that match your tastes. Simple.
This is the best way to sample styles side by side, which allows you to really tell the differences (which are drastic between the basic styles). And the help in a brewery or craft beer establishment will usually be highly eager to talk about the beer with you.
Oh, sorry. Thought you said crap beers.
Start with figuring out something that you really do like. If Hopslam is too hoppy, try a wheat or a belgian ale. Then allow your taste buds to really develop a taste for that style by trying a couple of the same style from different breweries. Once you really start to like one thing, you'll want to explore more. Another good thing to do is if you know someone who brews (or you can do a brew tour), tag along sometime so you get to smell and taste the ingredients by themselves. This will allow your mind better ability to pick out individual aromas and flavors.
take it upon themselves to reinvent beer. All of these breweries are less than 40 years old and many are younger than 10 or 20 with brewmasters of similar (lack of) experience. Beer styles took 100s of years to establish and they came about for a reason.... they taste good. Fruit beers, chocolate beer, strawberry beer, about anyting from Oddsides or Short's.. .I'm just not open to trying them after tasting so much crap - much of it infected. Not saying it can't be good. Just saying in my view it's generally not. Hopslam, Dogfishhead's 60 minute, Humalupa licious or whatever it is ... All I can taste is the hop bomb and it's just not my thing.
Taste from established breweries within established beer styles. Bell's Two Hearted is a great IPA. Founder's Pale is great. Great Lakes, New Glarus, and Geary's are great breweries. Anderson Valley Deep Ender Porter is great. No micro does a guiness-style stout better than Guiness. No micro does hefeweizens better than the great German Breweries. Certainly no American does lambics better than the Belgian monks.
Have fun!
Thank god we have all these amazing craft breweries that are willing to think outside the box and come up with new and inventive brews. Shorts and Founders are two of my favorites.
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