Good beer

[Chris Miller]

Now, I know Kris will get nothing out of this thread, as he likes girly drinks.

But for the rest of you:

How do you judge your beer? How do you discover your favorites, and what is it about various brews that you like?  How would you recommend someone learn how to "taste" beer (not unlike winetasting)...what are the qualities that need to be sought out?

[blob]

I love so many different beers for so many different reasons.  I just like to try something new whenever the opportunity arises.  Most often, I'm glad I did, but there have been occasions where I regretted it.

I just try things and try more of the ones I enjoy.  If you were here in Cleveland still, I'd invite you out to the Winking Lizard; they've got an impressive array of domestic, craft, and foreign brews of all stripes.  Perhaps there's something similar near you.

[cmdln]

I am an unapologetic beer snob.  I am not militant but do take my beer seriously these days.  Mostly I discover new beers through other snobs I hang out with at snobbish gatherings were we look down our custom crafted, laser etched stems at fizzy, yellow beer drinkers.  OK, only the first part of that is true.

We are also blessed to have several good local resources for beer enthusiasts.  I work across the street from one, RFD, which is one of a pair of establishments with an amazing array of beers on offer here in DC.  It is fun to go there or to the Brickskeller and either pick the brains of the wait staff or just sample at random.

My personal beer mecca is a great liquor store just inside the District, Chevy Chase Wine and Spirits.  There is one staffer in particular who knows my test and if I am able to catch his attention and withstand his habitual crabbiness, I usually get good info.  They also have an astounding selection and I have benefited by just trying things that look interesting.

We also have a superb local brew pub, Growlers, which has an excellent selection of beers brewed on premises as well as offering several other brews of comparable quality.

Best advice is to find one or more drinking buddies as this really increases your reach more than just random sampling on your own.  Other than that, random sampling works early on.  Takes notes and do a little research, though.  It doesn't take long if you do to realize what elements you like and why.  This makes it easier to find similar beers or beers that offer something you may like.

For myself, I am especially partial to Belgian ales.  So I gravitate to those Americans and Canadians brewing wild fire versions (non-indigenous) like North Coast, Ommegang and Unibroue.  I will preferentially try beers purporting to be of a Belgian style.  I also like American Pale Ales but the variety beyond the crazy, mad hop overload can be a bit difficult to get.  I am a bit jaded about dark beers, in a similar way, since so few stouts and porters I've tried really lift themselves past the level of a Guiness.  That being said, I would kill, or die, for a DFH World-Wide Stout (I have several in my cellar, including a nice two year old I'll crack soon).  North Coast's Old Rasputin is also an especially nice Russian Imperial Stout.

[NukeHavoc]

I have a drinking club with friends of mine. We meet irregularly at Porter's Pub in Easton, PA. They've got a mug club (drink 50 different beers, get a mug of your own). I think I've drunk about 10 of the 50, and it's been a great way to try out beers you've never seen/heard of before.

I also enjoy our local microbrewer, Weyerbaucher, which used to have an excellent brewpub before they had to close it because they were too damn successful, and needed a bigger building to brew beer (and said new building didn't have a pub-appropriate space).

The Bethlehem BrewWorks in Bethlehem is also good, and amazingly, the IronPigs (our AAA baseball team in the Lehigh Valley) sell BrewWorks beer. So instead of going to a big league game and spending $8 for a crappy Bud Light, I can spend something like $4 and get good beer.

Very cool.

(I know, I know -- baseball. But some how I've turned into a baseball geek over the last few years...)

[Chris Miller]

Beer groups. Clearly, I am doomed, for my best friend hates beer. 

"I'd like one of those Stone IPAs, and a drink with an umbrella for my friend here."

(I tease because I love. Honest.)

[Kris Johnson]

Am I the only person who thinks the title of this topic is an oxymoron?

[asteigle]

One of the greatest beers ever made, in my humble opinion. Not for the faint hearted:

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/30/2014