From: plutchak@pilsner.geo.brown.edu (Joel Plutchak)
Newsgroups: alt.beer,rec.food.drink
Subject: Re: Recommended Bottled Beers For Beginning Beer Drinkers, Revision 6
Date: 20 Nov 1992 21:22:30 GMT
Organization: Brown University Planetary Geology
Distribution: usa
NNTP-Posting-Host: pilsner.geo.brown.edu

Companion to the Beginner's Beer List, Revision 6 (November 17, 1992)

[I must have missed revision 5!]

   As a service to the truly beer-deprived, here's my classification of
the beer which appears on Jon Noring's 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 one of Jackson's books.  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.

For this issue, I've updated a few entries (Pete's fans take note!),
though I'm still lagging on trying some of the ones which are new to
me.  I promise to do better before the next posting.  Also, just to
stay a step ahead of Mr Noring, I've alphabetized them within each
category (at least to the best of the ability of a college graduate).
*************************************************************************

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.

   Capital Gartenbrau - good; their dark is even better-- Wisconsin's
      finest!  Get it fresh at the Memorial Union at UW-Madison.
   Dominion Lager - never had it
   Foster Lager - Aussie contribution.  It's been awhile since I've
      had one, but I recall it as only a little better than mass-brewed
      American.  Cooper's products have more character.
   Grolsch Lager - Dutch lager, probably brewed for export.  I've had
      a hard time finding non-skunked Grolsch.  Just OK when handled
      properly.
   Harp Lager - fairly ordinary for a lager, not as malty as some.
   Henry Weinhard's - Never had it.
   Leinenkugel - definitely a regional beer, it was my mainstay when
      I was in college (and before I developed my currently discerning
      palate :-).  Not a great beer, but it's reasonably cheap.
   Negra Modelo - one of the few Mexican beers I like.  It's dark in
      color, but has just a touch of roasted malt flavor.
   Red Stripe - Jamaican brew.  Had one on St. Lucia, after which I
      stuck with rum drinks.
   Samuel Adams Boston Lager - good; I prefer the Stock Ale slightly

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.

   Albany Amber - Decent, but more hop flavor would make for a better
      balanced brew, in my opinion.
   Anchor Liberty Ale - good American ale
   Anchor Steam - good; really a lager, but brewed at warmer ale temp-
      eratures.  At any rate, this is where I classify it.
   Ballantine India Pale Ale - had this once.  I don't remember, so it
      can't be amazingly great, eh?
   Ballard Bitter - never had it
   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.
   Double Diamond - been awhile for this one, too.  I remember it as
      average for a bottled British ale, so it's probably decent.
   Full Sail Amber Ale - This has got to be regional, right?  Never had it.
   Fuller's ESB - haven't had one recently.  I think it's one of those
      that do much better on tap.
   Geary Pale Ale - OK, especially on tap while sitting in a Bar Harbor
      brewpub
   Harpoon Golden Ale - pedestrian
   New Amsterdam Amber Beer - After seeing this one appear on Jon's list,
      this became my favorite "everyday" beer.  It's got a nice balance
      between malt and hops.
   Newcastle Brown Ale - similar to Samuel Smith's, more metallic
   Old Peculier - I've had this, but it's been awhile.  It's a strong
      dark ale, so be prepared.
   Pete's Wicked Ale - I finally had a good Pete's, after four previous
      disappointing pints-- on tap and fresh, it has a great hoppy flavor.
      Quality seems inconsistent, though.
   Red Tail Ale - never had it
   Red Hook Ale - never had it
   Red Hook ESB - never had it
   Samuel Adams Stock Ale - my second favorite "everyday" beer, though
      owner Koch's litiginousness is getting annoying.
   Samuel Smith's Nut Brown Ale - good, slightly nutty, somewhat metallic
      taste.  Flavor doesn't justify its high price.
   Sierra Nevada Pale Ale - my spouse's favorite; nice appley flavor
   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.
   Whitbread Ale - good English ale

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

   Aass Pilsner - never had it, but if their Bock is any indication,
      it's a fine brew.
   Bitburger Pilsner - never had it.
   Pilsner Urquell - the definitive Pilsner, from Pilsen, Czechoslovakia.
      Light, hoppy, satisfying.  Note that my spelling of both Plzen and
      Czechoslovakia may vary.
   Tsingtao - Chinese, light body.  Essential as accompaniment to
      Chinese takeout, otherwise go for the Pilsner Urquell.
   Warsteiner Pilsner - had a bottle recently.  Apparently it didn't
      survive the journey, since it was flat and bland.

Stouts/Porters: the really dark stuff, usually 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.)

   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.
   Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout - never had it.
   Black Hawk Stout - never had it.
   Grant's Imperial Stout - Tried this one again recently.  Intense
      burnt malt and hop flavor, chocolatey aroma.
   Guinness Draft - Is this the one with the doo-hickey in the can?
      If so, haven't tried it.  I *did* have a six of bottled Draft
      which a friend brought direct from the brewery.  It was better
      than even the imported draught! 
   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.
   Mackeson XXX - a fine example of a sweet stout.  I think this is
      a milk stout, which uses lactose (milk sugar) for brewing and
      priming.  The quintessential dessert beer.
   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.
   Samuel Smith's Taddy Porter - I've had this, but don't remember what
      it was like.  Since I'm a stout/porter fanatic, I'm probably
      content with the cheaper and more widely available Anchor Porter.
   Sierra Nevada Stout - Decent stout, a little rougher than I like.
   Sierra Nevada Porter - Probably my second favorite porter.  Smoother
     than the stout (or am I getting them mixed up?).
   Yuengling Porter - cheap yet drinkable.  I had a couple recently, and
     had to strain my taste buds to detect the faint burnt malt flavor,
     which should really stand out in a porter.

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.
   Old Nick - it's been awhile, but I remember it as having the
     distinct warming character of a barley wine.  Nifty label, too,
     probably banned in Texas.
   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).

   Chimay Blue/Grande Reserve - darker and stronger than Red; my favorite
      Chimay.  Reserve is the same brew, but in a 3/4-liter corked bottle.
   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.  Available in 12-oz capped bottles, or in the  3/4-liter
      corked bottle.  Curiously enough, the corked version tastes smoother.
   Duvel - never had it; a Belgian ale.
   Orval - the most money I've paid for a beer.  It was extremely
      perfumy, and not too my taste, especially for the price.
   Paulaner Salvator dopplebock - classic doublebock.  More than one
      double bock tend to give me a headache.
   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 headaches.
   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.
   Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale - I remember this as a maltier version
      of their Pale Ale, brewed around Christmas.  Could be wrong.
   Sierra Nevada Pale Bock - puts to rest the commonly-held misconception
      that bocks are always dark-colored.  I remember this as being a
      stronger version of the pale ale.
   Spaten Oktoberfest - great beer, similar to but maltier than the Munich.
   Spaten Optimator - my favorite double bock.  Still gives me headaches,
      though.
   Westmalle Tripel - another abbey ale; I've never had it.
--
Joel Plutchak, Research Programmer/Analyst