Are you a beer connoisseur?

[altiain]

Do you like good beer? Do you talk about beer the way some people talk about wine? Do you know the difference between an ale and a lager? A stout and a weizen? Do you have six different kind of beer in your refrigerator, none of which have the word "Light" anywhere in their names?

If you answered yes to any of the above, then you're probably a beer connoisseur. And if you are, then I'm curious - what do you like? What's in your fridge right now? What's a good one that I've probably never heard of that you'd recommend?

Personally, my two faves have always been Shiner Bock and Paulaner Hefe-Weizen. Sure, Shiner is mass-produced, but it's got to be one of the best mass-produced beers out there, and it's nice to be able to go out ot dinner somewhere and be able to get a decent beer on tap.

If you've never had a Hefe-Weizen, you owe it to yourself to try one. It's an unfiltered wheat beer, so it looks a little strange (reddish golden and kind of opaque), but it's an excellent beer. Lighter than a bock, with hints of clove and fruitiness in the taste. Hearty enough to be a good winter beer, but crisp enough to be refreshing in the summer. I've always been partial to hefe-weizens, and most of them are pretty good (heck, even Shiner makes one), but Paulaner is my personal favorite.

I'm also got a six-pack of Paulaner Salvator dopplebock in my fridge right now that I picked up last week. This is good stuff - maybe a little heavy for midsummer, but very enjoyable, with a nice, malty taste to it. It's kinda heady (7.5% alc/vol) but it's a darn good beer.

So... whatcha got? What's your favorite, or what would you recommend for someone who is always looing for a new good beer?

[TurboDuane]

Well, lets see.....I've got 27 beers in my frige right now. They are all Coors Lite. Sorry, It's my standby. But when out I do like to try differant beers. A friend of mine drinks a beer called "LaBatts", it's popular up North. At our favorite hang out they keep it stocked just for him.

Hmm, maybe I'll try it next time.

I don't know if I'm a connoisseur, but I do like beer....maybe I'm just your average alchololic?

[sammm]

It's hard to go wrong with Shiner Bock! Some of my other fav's are - Fat Tire, Blue Paddle and Molson Golden. I like to try different "off the wall" beverages whenever I get a chance to. I've also be known to enjoy a Black & Tan when at a pub.

[Kestrel]

Shiner is a very tasty mass-produced beer, and one of my favorite "normal" beers. You know... a beer you can find pretty much anywhere.

Now for some of my favorite beers period:

- Franziskaner Dunkel Weizen
- Erdinger Dunkel Weizen
- Hacker Pschorr Dunkel Weizen
- Spaten Oktoberfest
- Kirin Ichiban
- Guinness Stout

It seems that most of my American friends (as opposed to my German or German-American friends) don't care to much for Weizen or Wheat beer, but I find it to be tasty and crisp. The Dunkel, or "dark", Weizens tend to be slightly smoother and a little (very little) "sweeter". Don't be fooled by the "dark" thing... we're not talking Guinness Stout dark. It's just mildly darker than regular Wheat beer. If you've never tried a Dunkel Weizen, you should. But know this: Wheat beers come either filtered (often called "kristal" or "club" weizen) or unfiltered (often called "hefe" weizen). Unfiltered (Hefe) Wheat beer looks "cloudy" but in my opinion, the unfiltered Wheat beers are far superior to the filtered ones.

Spaten Oktoberfest is another one of those "dark" beers... but it's more of an amber than a dark. It has great flavor, but it's not heavy (people seem to thing German beer is heavy... well, I guess compared to Bud Light... ). It is brewed only in the fall, and the export version that we see here is distinctively "wrapped" with a blue label and blue foil on the top. Yummy!



Kirin Ichiban proves that you can find good beer brewed outside of Europe. Kirin comes from Japan, and it has a lot of flavor and is very crisp and refreshing.

Lastly, when you are looking for a good meal, ask the waitress for a knife and fork and dig in to your Guinness Stout. This is a very strong beer with lots of flavor... and lot's of alcohol. What a fun fact about Guinness? It has a lot of iron. So much so that doctors in the UK "proscribe" it for people with low iron in their blood!

[tailchaser]

I'm a big fan of Guiness. For normal beer, I generally like Killian's Red, but that one seems to be going out of fashion in most taps, so I'm slowly rolling over and asking for Shiner Bock.

There's very good news on the horizon for wheat beer lovers... Filtration that doesn't screw up the beer...

I've enjoyed several regional breweries wheat beers, but I've not taken to any of the bottled varieties. My preferred beer for a long time was the black & tan at Rock Bottom Brewery. It was near perfection about the time they closed down in Addison.

[Majik]

Well with the 20 beers I have on tap in my fridge, and the 18 different ones I have in bottle in the other fridge, I would say hefe-weizen is my favorite also. Like Sammm said, blue paddle is a good one, and if I am in the mood for mexican beer dos equis lager is my fav mexican beer. Cristal is a good south american beer also. If I am not at my place, guiness is a beer I enjoy also. All my miller lite drinking friend cant stand it of course. The worst way to drink guiness is by chugging it. I had to one time when I ordered one then called my girlfriend to find out that I went to the wrong bar. MMM MM

Edit: Oh yeah I also like newcastle.

[tailchaser]

Hmmmm... I hear Moosehead is a pretty good beer in Canada... 'course... in West Virginia, it's a felony...

[Miatamaniac92]

I also like a good Hefe-Weizen. I will try most beers atleast once. I absolutley can't stand malt beers (not really a beer but a whine cooler I guess), and corona (too bitter).

I keep a couple bud lights stocked for partying. You can't chug the good stuff, and it's to expensive to go down a beer bong.

It's really too bad the Flying Saucer here in Arlington closed, I never got a chance to go to it.

Where do most of y'all beer shop? I've found Central Market to be among the best, you can mix and match a 6 pack. The AAFES at Carswell has a pretty good selection of German beer also.

Chris

[sammm]

It's really too bad the Flying Saucer here in Arlington closed, I never got a chance to go to it.

The one in Sundance Square downtown Ft. Worth is still open! TGFTBB!!!

[altiain]

Where do most of y'all beer shop? I've found Central Market to be among the best, you can mix and match a 6 pack. The AAFES at Carswell has a pretty good selection of German beer also.

Chris

Market Street in Grapevine has a pretty good selection (they've also got really good produce, so we usually do our grocery shopping there).

However, the best beer selection I've ever seen has to be at a gas station, of all places. It's called Hall's Texaco, and it's on the northwest corner of Glade Road and Highway 121 in Grapevine. It just looks like a typical gas station from the outside, but inside they boast the largest selection of beer in the Southwest, and I believe it. If you're ever in the area, stop by and check it out.

[altiain]

BTW, I too drink water... I mean American Light Beers :) . Like wine, there's a time and place for just about any kind of beer. For example, after cutting the grass on a hot summer afternoon, I find the German beers to be too heavy, and not... crisp?... enough. That's a great time for a light and watery (that's not a slam) Miller Light.

Actually, there's a non-mass produced beer just for that occasion, and it has a lot more taste than Miller Light. It's called Saint Arnold's Fancy Lawnmower. No, really - I swear I'm not making it up. I picked up a six-pack of some last week on the advice of a friend, and it's a pretty good lager. Nice, light, crisp, and much more tasty than Miller/Bud/Coors/etc. Light.

I'm also a fan of Peroni (an Italian lager) on a hot, summer day.

[Kestrel]

... Saint Arnold's Fancy Lawnmower...

I've certainly heard of Saint Arnold's, but I'm not sure if I've tried that one. I'll look for it at Hall's. Thanks for the tip!

[altiain]

Mmmm... picked up another good one at Market Street when we did the shopping this weekend. It's called Chimay Red Ale, and it's a top-fermented Belgian Trappist ale. Very nice and crisp, with a hint of bitter chocolate and fruitiness. Absolutely delicious.

Only downside is that it's $14.99 a 4-pack... still, they sell it by the bottle at Market Street. I encourage you to try one. I'm sad I only bought one, and I'll be picking up more the next time I'm back.

[AnthonyS]

This post is depressing.... really depressing.....

Why might you say? I was born in TX, land of Bud. I drank beer when I was younger (read not of age). Then I grew older and more finicky. I started to drink only beer in bottles and some imported beers.

Then I joined the US Navy. I moved all over, went around the world once, and sampled many beers.

Then I got stationed in the Pacific NW (WA state) for seven years. They have more microbreweries than you can shake a stick at up there. Everyone has their own label beer, and its all pretty good. Some are superior.

So what is the end result? Whenever I enter an alcohol store in Granbury I am severely disappointed.

My favorite everyday disposable beer, is Alaskan Amber. Then if I have a choice in the matter, I'll take Pyramid Hefewiezen. I'd settle for Curveball too which is Pyramid's Kolsch style beer only sold during baseball season. I've pretty much had everything they sell including stuff you won't find on the website that is sold only their their brewhouses www.pyramidbrew.com. I noticed they have a distributor locator. I might have a chance....... I'm on my way now. If I strike it rich, everyone who has posted here as a beer lover prior to me, can have a Pyramid Hefewiezen on me!

[Rpt1826]

I like beer myself and always have ever since i was about 7 years old when i stated drinkin guiness one every morning of course in england that's normal but i have drank a wide variety of beers and hinieken is good so is dos xx , and a couple of others, my question anyone ever had absenth?

rory

I have once and that will be the only time!!!!