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Expanding my Beer Knowledge

smokintexas

smokintexas

What have I gotton myself into?!
Joined
Aug 2, 2008
Messages
1,260
Alright guys, after reading and reading about all these beers that are glorious to you all (most of which I've never heard of) I've decided to take a trip to the local liquor store today to see what I can find, to see if I can expand my beer knowledge, and palate a bit. The Dark Lord especially intrigues me, but considering the rare nature of the Beer I kind of doubt to see it there. What are some others I could purchase to take it to the next level? I'm not really thinking about getting a 6 pack of anything inparticular, rather getting a few large bottles (or however they might come) of whatever it is you all might suggest. I've seen names like the following (St Bernardus Abt 12 60th Anni, RR Temptation, RR Supplication, FW 12, De Proef Reserve Signature Ale (w/ Tomme Aurthur) ) being thrown around and I don't know anything about any of 'em! Anywho, without getting into a long winded post (oops, already did) I just need advice on a few good bottles to pick up. On any given day I drink Shiner, Kirin, Sam Adams October Fest and Summer Ale, and Warsteiner. What do you think gents?
 
Most, if not all of the beers you listed you won't be able to find at your local liquor store. I'd say the best way to go about it is to hope the person working knows what they're talking about and ask them for recomendations.

The best Texas brewery I've had so far is St Arnold's, anything from them should be solid. Southern Star Pine Belt Pale Ale is great too, and I know a lot of people like Real Ale stuff.

Good luck!
 
It really depends on what you like (styles).

I would say try picking a couple of different styles; IPA, stouts, porters, dunkle, hefe, belgiums(dubbel, quads, ect).

Let's us know what you try.
 
smellysell said:
Most, if not all of the beers you listed you won't be able to find at your local liquor store. I'd say the best way to go about it is to hope the person working knows what they're talking about and ask them for recomendations.

The best Texas brewery I've had so far is St Arnold's, anything from them should be solid. Southern Star Pine Belt Pale Ale is great too, and I know a lot of people like Real Ale stuff.

Good luck!
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I kind of worried this would be the case, like I said I know nothing of the beers mentioned. I am not new to beer, just new to trying new things! Thank God a local bartender got me off of Coors Light, because had she not I could've very well been drinking it the rest of my life! I'll take a trip over there, pick up a few bottles and see what you guys think of 'em, and most of all see what I think of 'em!
 
The way I started my journey into craft beer was picking a brewery and drinking all of the different styles they offered. It works great if you can find a shop that will let you do mixed sixers. You quickly start to understand the differences from one style to the next and learn what you like. Many breweries also offer bombers so if you can't find a shop that has mixed sixers go that route. Enjoy the ride man, its an enjoyable one. :thumbs:
 
I haven't tried many beers but the few i have I haven't liked. I don't know why maybe just my palate is off or something. I have only had Budweiser, Miller ect . Maybe there are better ones out there. I love to try new things and always give things second chances because your palate changes.
 
masterp0606 said:
I haven't tried many beers but the few i have I haven't liked. I don't know why maybe just my palate is off or something. I have only had Budweiser, Miller ect . Maybe there are better ones out there. I love to try new things and always give things second chances because your palate changes.
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I know what you mean. When I first started drinking beer I could only drink the Coors Light/Miller Light variety and anything with more depth tasted too bitter to me. I thought I would never like darker beers but after I gave it some time I tried some again and it was great. Now anytime I drink Coors Light it feels like there is something is missing. I leave it in my mouth for a second or two to wait for that second wave of taste to hit but it never does. I was unable to go to the store yesterday (wife came up with some new honeydo's) so I'm going to try to go on Monday to see what I can get my hands on.
 
Another thing to remember is not all styles are created equal :whistling:

For instance, I was never into barleywine, I tried Bigfoot which was ok (I had to be in the mood to drink it) and Old Crustacean which I really did not like. I then was gifted a JW Lees 1998 and man oh man my eyes were opened. This was an excellent beer. Even though it was the same style I wasn't found of, I loved it!

So pick up those mixed sixers Jonas recommended but don't limit yourself in case you are not to found of the style. Try another style from another brewer, you may find one you really like :thumbs:
 
Many of the beers that each of us enjoy are only available regionally. The beers are from craft breweries, more ingredients and time goes into the product; hence you have smaller quantities being produced. If I were you I would find out what craft breweries in your area have products on the shelves. Then, you can go over to beeradvocate.com and search those breweries. You'll probably find most of all them listed, and you'll be able to see how other folks have rated those beers. Draw up a list, and go from there.

You might also check to see if your liqour stores have a website. If they do, there's a good chance they list all the beers they carry. If you can get that list, you can start searching from there or you can cross-reference beers that interest you on beeradvocate to see if they carry them.

It's all in the journey, man, and this particular journey is a lot of fun. Couple other things. If you good things about a brewery, see if they have a 12 pack sampler. Finally, some of the beers you'll try will actually suck ass. :laugh: Don't let that discourage you. Happens to all of us.

Have fun, bro!
 
If you want to try a good local beer pick up Rahr. It's brewed in Fort Worth. The Winter Warmer is outstanding and the other styles are just as good. They do a brewery tour every Saturday from 1-3pm. You pay $5 and get a glass and 3 free beers.

You'd also be good going to a place like The Flying Saucer in Addison or Gingerman in Uptown and just sampling beers. Both have at least 100 beers on tap plus bottled beer of all different styles. Places like World Market and Central Market allow you to create your own 6 pack of individual bottles and usually have a good number of random beers.

Beers I know of that are usually available around here:
Rogue Chocolate Stout
St Arnolds Winter Stout
St Arnolds Christmas Ale
Breckenridge Oatmeal Stout
New Belgium Two Below
New Belgium 1554
Oskar Blues Ten Fidy Stout (if you can find this one it's well worth the price)
Victory Storm King Stout

Imported:
Spaten Optimator
Paulaner Salvator
Kostritzer
Mackeson XXX Stout

Hope this helps.
 
I've never been to Dallas, so I have no idea what shops are around there. But I'd imagine in a city that big there are some great liquor stores if you look around. My friend likes BevMo a whole lot. Luckily for me there are two liquor stores down the street from me that have a great selection. There's a difference in "convenience stores" (7-11, AMPM, Circle K, etc.) and a true "liquor store". It also helps that these two liquor stores have very nice humidors as well!

I'm very much on the same quest as you, trying new brews and seeing what I like. Here's some more mainstream stuff I could recommend:

Guinness (don't worry if you don't like it at first. I didn't either. Now I love it.)
Bass Ale
Sapporo
St. Pauli Girl
Stella Artois
Hofbrau
Red Hook
Fat Tire


As for smaller breweries, I have no idea if you could find them there, but I highly recommend Moylan's Kilt Lifter. That seems to be my new favorite. Youngs Double Chocolate Stout goes well with a cigar. Lagunitas Cappuccino Stout is very nice as well.

What I do when I'm going to get a sixer is just have a look around, when I spot a beer that catches my eye that I've never tried before, I buy it. No rhyme or reason. It's very much like trying a new cigar. Variety is the spice of life. Enjoy your quest!
 
masterp0606 said:
I haven't tried many beers but the few i have I haven't liked. I don't know why maybe just my palate is off or something. I have only had Budweiser, Miller ect . Maybe there are better ones out there. I love to try new things and always give things second chances because your palate changes.
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these beers are the same "style" of beer...an american lager. some styles to look for that would get you into craft beers but not too off the beaten path:

cream ale (a light color/light tasting ale)
american wheat beer
amber ales
you could also try some easy drinking belgians..like hoegaarden maybe
or some german hefe's

just like some people start smoking lighter cigars you can start drinking lighter tasting beers and move on to other ones as your tastes change..or just drink what u like!

another great way to explore beer is to go on tours of the breweries...as you usually get tastings at the end and you get to sample a bit of every style they brew.

good luck!
 
Well it's been a while since I said I wanted to start trying various beers and I still haven't had the opportunity to stop by the liquor store to see what kind of selection they had. I was able to try a beer that Greg provided at a Herf but I cannot recall the name of it, I am pretty sure it was a Stout and I want to say it was St. Pauli Girl but I could be WAY off on that. I did stop by Target today to pick up a 6 pack of shiner (as well as other things) and decided to get something I had never tried. I decided to get the Saint Arnold Amber Ale and I have to say I am really enjoying this beer. It has a great flavor profile from the few swigs I've had and it gets better with every sip.
 
LOL you got the St right....

It was Saint Arnolds Winter Stout...great stuff.
 
smellysell said:
The best Texas brewery I've had so far is St Arnold's, anything from them should be solid. Southern Star Pine Belt Pale Ale is great too, and I know a lot of people like Real Ale stuff.
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smokintexas said:
GregSVT said:
LOL you got the St right....

It was Saint Arnolds Winter Stout...great stuff.
Click to expand...

Well shit, make that two beer's from Saint Arnolds that I enjoy!
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:whistling: :whistling: :whistling:


:laugh: St. Arnold's is a great brewery.
 
It's slowly becoming my favorite brewery from Texas. Their Christmas Ale is outstanding.
 
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