Originally Posted by
Lavabe
Earlier in the thread, we came up with brackets for our field of 65 (remember THAT, devildeac?). If you stay away from the porters/stouts initially, and go for the wheats, you will probably be doing the right thing. Also, as it is starting to turn spring (yeah, we had 1.5 inches of snow last night), a number of us shift our palates towards the wheats and summer ales, away from the porters and stouts. The fruit beers become more available.
Several suggestions on the wheats and others:
1) If you have a friend living in Wisconsin, your friend will become your best friend ever. New Glarus ... oooooooh. I'd wait until later in the summer for one of these, after you get more into brews.
2) Leinenkugel is a classic American wheat that comes in a number of solid varieties, including honey weiss, and a number of berry wheats. I believe that CBaB and I discussed this a little earlier this thread. These are inexpensive, and certainly a change of pace for someone who has been sipping a few ... err, well, other beers.
3) If you have a friend in St. Louis, O'Fallon's springtime "Wheach" (peach wheat) is a wonderful brew.
4) I think Chicago's Goose Island Brewery has a number of simple, straightforward ales worth trying, including their Honker's Ale.
5) Great Lakes Brewing Company is a godsend. You can find a lot of potent full-bodied porters, stock ales, later on, but some of their lagers are very pleasant (Dortmunder Lager). I'd definitely try their seasonal Irish Ale and Grassroots Ale.
6) I don't think Sweetwater has made it up to your neck of the woods, but their Blue, summer ale (named after the SUV beginning with "hum"), and 420 would be worth tries.
7) Look at your local store for Brooklyn Brewery, then research the varieties available there.
8) By all means, SEEK OUT LOCAL BREWERIES. Let us know what you find. Contribute to the thread. Local brewers will often times have interesting new varieties for you to try, and most can not only tell you what makes the most sense for you to try, but they can usually tell you what food will pair well with your brew. The friendliness at the brewpub will also enhance your beer experience.
An important stat to get used to would be the IBUs (bitterness measurement). If you're not yet used to bitterness, then I'd be sure to look at the beers you like, and get their IBU score. You can then assess which future beers you'd like to try by looking at this stat.
Cheers,
Lavabe