A Tale of Two Beers

[tarheels86]

Guys, I am not a drinker, but have tried to get into beers - a couple friends are beer connoisseurs but they haven't been able to find anything I enjoy drinking. I'm the annoying "it all tastes like beer" guy. (Strangely enough when it comes to coffee, I'm a snob.) Any recommendations that I might like as a novice beer-taster? Something not too "off the wall?"

I think I'd prefer something designed for drinking at room-temperature versus something cold...

I have found that the things beer newbies tend to hate are "dark", hoppy, and sour beers. I will assume by dark that they mean heavy, bitter, and roasty.

I usually recommend something incredibly tame but with flavor not seen in macro pale lager: Hoegaarden (a light but true to style Belgian white beer) or Franziskaner or Weihenstephaner Hefeweizen (true to style German wheat beer with banana and clove character from the yeast). These tend to get good responses. The next tier of easy to love beer with none of the aforementioned characters would be saisons such as Saison Dupont (you can buy it at Grassroots). Saisons are dry, fruity bitter, and light when true to style.

Stay away from India Pale Ales (IPAs), stouts, porters, barrel-aged __blank__, sours, lambics if you are just starting and gradually work your way up to the top (Imperial Stouts and true lambic).

[tarheels86]

Technically, yes. However, historically Guiness has been known as a double or Extra stout. As the years have passed Guiness has mellowed a bit. Also, the Guiness we get here in the states is not the same as what is served in England. Recently Guiness Foriegn Extra Stout has become available here with 7% ABV, which is closeer to the true double Guiness used to be.

Guinness in the US is the same as it is in Ireland and the UK. I've had about 100 pints of it

There are three main types of Guinness but I'm sure they've made 25 or more varieties at some point:

1) Guinness that you all know served on nitro and on tap only, however now it comes in cans and bottles with a nitro widget that mimics it being on nitro. This is the Irish Dry Stout with a low abv that can actually be chugged without dying (see Irish car bomb)

2) Guinness Extra Stout, which is a higher abv Guinness and more like a true porter with natural carbonation. A little harsher and found in bottles almost anywhere.

3) Guinness Foreign Extra which is a foreign stout brewed for export to Africa and the Caribbean mainly. It was never available outside foreign countries until recently. You could try it on tap at Guinness but could not buy bottles to go. Now I think it is fairly easy to find though I cannot comment on whether it tastes like the ones in Africa that I have had plenty of. I would say that the Foreign Extra is the best by far but is certainly not a good pub drink like normal Guinness nitro. 

[Gonzo]

Hoegaarden (a light but true to style Belgian white beer) or Franziskaner or Weihenstephaner Hefeweizen (true to style German wheat beer with banana and clove character from the yeast). ).

I would have suggested the same beers. Might want to throw in Tucher, too.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

1) Guinness that you all know served on nitro and on tap only, however now it comes in cans and bottles with a nitro widget that mimics it being on nitro. This is the Irish Dry Stout with a low abv that can actually be chugged without dying (see Irish car bomb)

Actually, the 'proper'  way to drink a guinness:  1.)Make a toast, 2.) Raise glass overhead, 3.)Quaff back with high elbow (forearm should be parallel to floor) until finished, 4.)Wipe off mustache, 5.)Repeat until sufficiently toasty. 

[Gonzo]

Guinness in the US is the same as it is in Ireland and the UK. I've had about 100 pints of it

I disagree, while the recipe may be the same it is not the same beer. Thre are subtle differences.

[tarheels86]

Guinness in the US is the same as it is in Ireland and the UK. I've had about 100 pints of it

I disagree, while the recipe may be the same it is not the same beer. Thre are subtle differences.

They may taste different to you but there is no such thing as the US-export version of Guinness that is made differently from Guinness shipped around the EU.

If the recipe is the same, how can it not be the same beer? 

[Gonzo]

They may taste different to you but there is no such thing as the US-export version of Guinness that is made differently from Guinness shipped around the EU.

If the recipe is the same, how can it not be the same beer? 

The Guinness we drink in the U.S. is actually brewed in Canada. Different water, different taste. Thus, the Guinness we drink here is not the Guinness one would drink in Ireland.

[BridgeTroll]

I'm with you Gonzo... I HATE canadian water...

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

I'm with you Gonzo... I HATE canadian water...

aka Labatts Blue

[Bativac]

Thanks for the suggestions!

This might be a stupid question - but "Hoegaarden, Franziskaner or Weihenstephaner Hefeweizen" are all TYPES of beer, right? So is there a specific brand or brewery I should be looking for?

I'm around the corner from European Street. Do they carry this stuff?

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

Nope, they're all brands of beer, and yes, E-street has them.  They're a little citrusy for my liking, esp. the hoegarden, but I hope you enjoy.

[Captain Zissou]

Franziskaner and Hoegaarden are specific beers. Franziskaner is made by the Spaten-Franziskaner brewery in Munich and Hoegaarden is made by the Hoegaarden Brewery in Belgium.  You can go to any place with more than a dozen beers, and they should have one or the other. 

You can also order Woodchuck or Strongbow if you're stuck at a place that only serves beer and you don't want something that tastes like beer.  They're both ciders, so they taste like apple cider, but are served on tap at most bars with more than 10 taps. 

[tarheels86]

Thanks for the suggestions!

This might be a stupid question - but "Hoegaarden, Franziskaner or Weihenstephaner Hefeweizen" are all TYPES of beer, right? So is there a specific brand or brewery I should be looking for?

I'm around the corner from European Street. Do they carry this stuff?

The type of beer is Belgian wheat beer or witbier for the former and German yeast-laden wheat beer or hefeweizen for the latter two. These are considered bars for the style.

If you are just getting into craft beer, you should be aware that these need to be poured into proper glassware. Hefeweizen particularly uses a specific glass called a weizen glass that is tall, slender, and bulges at the top. This allows the head to form and expound aroma, which is the major character that dominates the hefeweizen style. Most other beer you can get away with drinking it out of a pint glass, but every style has a specific glassware to match the beer profile.

If you have specific flavors you like or dislike, I can recommend more options. But start with those and see what you think.

[tarheels86]

They may taste different to you but there is no such thing as the US-export version of Guinness that is made differently from Guinness shipped around the EU.

If the recipe is the same, how can it not be the same beer? 

The Guinness we drink in the U.S. is actually brewed in Canada. Different water, different taste. Thus, the Guinness we drink here is not the Guinness one would drink in Ireland.

Mmm it would depend on the bar's distributor as I doubt all Guinness in the US is from Canada. Some is probably brewed in the US for all I know!

You are correct, different brewing waters will change the beer slightly, but you would have to have one hell of a palate to distinguish the two. I highly doubt you or anyone could pick out which one was the Canadian brewed one in a blind taste.

But by your logic there are 100 types of Budweiser since it is brewed in 100 different locations worldwide with different water tables.

Also remember that big breweries with big reputations and little room for variance will probably filter and add minerals to their water to create the desired taste and create a global, homogeneous product. Not to mention, the proprietary yeast for Guinness probably likes a specific mineral composition that the brewers have nailed down over the past 150 years. I highly doubt that the contract brewers for Guinness all over the place are allowed to just use their local tap water even if it has 10x the amount of chlorine and would potentially be toxic to the yeast!   

So yes water makes a difference, but not so much in mass produced beer.

[Ernest Street]

Bativac, some of those wheat beers have sediment that is natural. There are also many of these that are not fruity or sweet...just plain satisfying.
Bold City or other places will give you sampler shots if you explain your situation and Interest in finding a beer you like.