Quote:
Originally Posted by Reaper16
Yeah, you're at the super n00b level in terms of what your palate will likely be able to fully appreciate at this point. Thankfully, I remember my super n00b days. Here's five beers that helped me along back when I was a n00b in 2007:
Boulevard Bully! Porter -- it helped me to appreciate the darker malt flavors and was instrumental in getting me to appreciate roasted malt character. It's also a good beer to show off how hops can be an important part of a beer even when the beer isn't trying to show off the hop flavors.
Bell's Two Hearted Ale -- the first India Pale Ale I fell in love with. It happened on first sip. All those floral and grapefruit hop flavors. This is a stellar beer, period, and a great way to appreciate high alpha acid beer.
Rogue Dead Guy Ale -- A wonderfully balanced beer. It's brewed in the Helles Bock lager tradition but it uses ale yeast, so its something of a hybrid. This is a great example of a full-flavored beer that shows off what malt types and hop types that play well with each other can do together.
Goose Island Matilda -- this is a Belgian Pale Ale. It isn't nearly as hoppy as an American Pale Ale; the yummy Belgian yeast is the major player here. Brewing spices, airy malt, some grassy hops, wonderful fruit flavors of lemon, pear and white grape, and a lively effervescence. This beer is very refreshing yet complex. And it is insane to pair with all kinds of food, from grilled salmon to a simple turkey sandwich.
Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier -- this is the gold standard of German hefeweizen. You're not going to find a better straight-up German wheat beer. Again, refreshing, easy-drinking, yet rich with complexity.
Not only will those five beers help your palate along in different ways, they are each deep enough to keep revisiting. They will get even better the more you learn and grow.
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Well, at least we overlapped on one.
dirk, Matilda and Weihenstephaner are really, really good choices as well. And, I stayed a way from BLVD products figuring you've tried them but if you haven't, the Porter may be their best year round effort. Also, Bob's 47 may be their best seasonal - scratch that - it is.
Shag - Good point. Chimay Blue is the one I love but none are terrible. They're just varying degrees of goodness with Blue being far and way the best.