From: plutchak@pilsner.geo.brown.edu (Joel Plutchak)
Newsgroups: alt.beer
Subject: Companion to the Recommended List of Beers for Beginners, Revision 1
Date: 17 Apr 1992 17:55:26 GMT
Organization: Brown University Planetary Geology
Distribution: usa
NNTP-Posting-Host: pilsner.geo.brown.edu

[April 15, 1992 Edition, wherein I add a beer I just tasted last night,
describe a couple new list entries, and correct the bit about the lambics.]

   As a service to the truly beer-deprived, here's my classification of
the beer on the Beginner's List.  Note that descriptions of beers and beer
styles are strictly my opinion, based on only 15 years of (non-continual)
beer-drinking.  For knowledge from a true master, I heartily recommend
Jackson's pocket guide to beer.  If you are truly offended by my ratings,
send me a bottle or three of the beer in question, and I'll make a serious
attempt to reconsider my opinion.
   Thanks to Jon Noring for tabulating the collective net.beer.wisdom
and posting the list upon which this article is based.
*************************************************************************

Basic lagers: These are beers brewed with bottom-fermenting lager yeasts,
but *aren't* seasonal brews like bock, Octoberfest, etc.  With my Germanic
blood, when I think "beer", I think of these kinds of things.  My personal
list would include Spaten Munich, a good, solid beer.  I'd also put the
generically-named "dark" beer here, like Gartenbrau Dark, Beck's Dark,
or Heineken Dark.  Darks tend to have a bit more body, and a bit of dark-
roasted malt flavor.

   Samuel Adams Boston Lager - good; I prefer the Stock Ale slightly
   Capital Gartenbrau - good; their dark is even better-- Wisconsin's
      finest!
   Dominion Lager - I don't know this one, so I put it here.

Basic ales: These are beers brewed with top-fermenting ale yeasts.  I
include pale ales, which are generally hoppier, fruitier, and lightier-
bodied than the standard english-style ale like Bass.   I also include the
ambers here, since most ambers I've quaffed are ales.  They generally are
slightly darker and have more body than pale ales.  Again, I've left out
specialty brews.  Also, try a Scotch ale (Belhaven, MacAndrew's, McEwen's);
they're generally stronger and maltier than their English cousins.

   Sierra Nevada Pale Ale - my spouse's favorite; nice appley flavor
   Samuel Smith's Nut Brown Ale - good, slightly nutty, somewhat metallic
      taste
   Newcastle Brown Ale - similar to Samuel Smith's, more metallic
   Bass Ale - very "accessible" English ale, widely available in the US.  It
      seems to lose a lot in the bottling process, so try it on tap.
   Watney's Red Barrel - something of a joke in England, still quite good
      when compared to typical US swill (value judgment there!).  Bass,
      Whitbread, John Courage are all better, though.
   Anchor Liberty Ale - good American ale
   Geary Pale Ale - OK, especially on tap while sitting in a Bar Harbor
      brewpub
   Harpoon Golden Ale - pedestrian
   Pete's Wicked Ale - had it recently, not impressed.
   Whitbread Ale - good English ale
   Anchor Steam - good; really a lager, but brewed at warmer ale temp-
      eratures.  At any rate, this is where I classify it.
   Samuel Adams Stock Ale - my favorite "everyday" beer
   New Amsterdam Amber Beer - just tried this one, due it its presence on
      the list.  I was quite pleasantly surprised-- it's got a nice
      balance between malt and hops, and may replace Sam Adams ale as my
      everyday beer.
   Old Peculier - I've had this, but it's been awhile.  Can't remember
      if this is a barley wine or just an ale, so I put it here.
   Albany Amber - Never had it, but my local store stocks it.  Soon...
   Red Tail Ale - never had it

Pilsner - a distinctive style of light lager; not to be confused with
so-called pilsners brewed by US megabreweries.

   Pilsner Urquell - the definitive Pilsner, from Pilsen, Czechoslovakia.
      Light, hoppy, satisfying.  Note that my spelling of both Plzen and
      Czechoslovakia may vary.

Stouts/Porters: the really dark stuff, usually (always?) ales.  Vary in
character from bitter through sweet, from smooth through coarse.  For a
sweet stout, try Mackeson XXX.  (For lower-left/upper-right coasters, try
porter on tap at the Crown City brewpub in Pasadena, CA, or the porter &
stout at the Commonwealth Brewery in Boston, MA.)

   Guinness Stout - the classic Irish stout, bitter yet smooth.  Can be
      quite different in different countries and in different containers.
      Undeniably the best to be had is on tap at the brewery in Dublin.
      In this country, try it anywhere on tap-- it's smoother and less
      bitter than the bottled variety.
   Grant's Imperial Stout - OK; but for some reason, none of Grant's
      products have ever thrilled me.
   Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout - tastes like burnt chocolate chip cookies.
      I like an oatmeal stout every now and then, though Young's is
      cheaper, and almost as good.
   Anchor Porter - one of my favorites, really a bit too smooth to be
      called a porter, but great nonetheless.  For a more characteristic
      porter, try Sierra Nevada's or Catamount's offerings.
   Yuengling Porter - cheap yet drinkable.  I had one (well, OK, I had
     two of 'em) a couple nights ago, and had to strain my palate to
     detect the faint burnt malt flavor, which should really stand out
     in a porter.
   Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout - never had it.
   Black Hawk Stout - never had it.

Barley Wines: very strong beers (generally 6-11% alcohol), brewed with
special yeast which doesn't get pickled at high alcohol levels.  Can have
very complex qualities.  Not everybody's cup of tea, but worth a try.
My favorite in this style is Thomas Hardy's Ale.

   Anchor Old Foghorn - good; not as complex as Thomas Hardy.
   Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Ale - similar flavor to their Pale Ale, but in
      the characteristic barley wine style.  More carbonated and less
      syrupy than other BW's I've had, thus the most accessible.
      
Specialty beers:  This is a catch-all category.  Beers can either be
just a different (maltier, lighter) version of the brewery's standard
product, a completely different style, a fruit-flavored or spiced beer,
etc.  Also, I've put in this category beers which don't really have much
in common taste-wise with those in the above lists.  My favorite US beer
in this category is Anchor's Christmas beer; usually available in early
December, the recipes changes every year, but is always worth waiting
for and tracking down (I get it in Austin, Texas every year, since I
haven't found it locally).

   Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale - I remember this as a maltier version
      of their Pale Ale, brewed around Christmas.  Could be wrong.
   Samuel Adams Winter Lager - not too impressive; drink their standard
      lager or ale.
   Samuel Adams Octoberfest - a maltier version of the lager.  Again, stick
      to their standard products.
   Samuel Adams Double Bock - bock is a maltier, usually darker lager,
      traditionally brewed in the fall for drinking in the spring.
      Double bock is a stronger (~7.5% alcohol) version of bock.  Some
      purists quibble over the "double" designation of this one; I don't.
      More than one of these babies gives me a morning-after headache.
   Paulaner Salvator dopplebock - classic doublebock. More headaches.
   Spaten Optimator - my favorite double bock.  Still gives me headaches,
      though.
   Spaten Oktoberfest - great beer, similar to but maltier than the Munich.
   Chimay Red - words can't do justice to a good Belgian abbey-brewed ale.
      Suffice it to say that if I had to restrict my beer-drinking to
      the product of a single country, it would be that of Belgium.
      Chimay Red is a good, generally-available introduction to these
      brews.  Also try the Grand Reserve, which is darker & maltier,
      though characteristically Chimay.
   Duvel - never had it; is it a Belgian ale?
   Kriek - a cherry-flavored beer, usually lambic.  I suspect this refers
      specifically to a popular brand whose name escapes me (Lindeman's?),
      which also features peche (peach), and framboise (raspberry).  I'm
      not a big fruit beer fan, so I won't comment.  However, if anybody
      knows where I can find a non-fruit lambic in the Boston/Providence
      area (or even in Pasadena, CA,or even Austin or Dallas, TX, let me
      know-- I'd like to try one!  One final note: lambics are produced
      in a unique manner, worth reading about in the aforementioned guide
      to beer.
--
Joel Plutchak, Research Programmer/Analyst
plutchak@porter.geo.brown.edu -or- PGGIPL::PLUTCHAK (VMS: Just say NO!)
Favorite sci.geo.meteorology quote: "Joel dissipated over China on 7 September."