What's the best beer then?

Mrs De Rijk's grandfather established the brewery which is still barely known outside the immediate area. Perhaps beer of this quality can only be produced on a small scale but I do wish it was more widely available. I only know it as the owner of my local café was so impressed he travels down to Belgium every month to ensure his is one of only two places in Holland that serves it.

Beer writer Michael Jackson on De Rijk

Austrian beer is great stuff, better than German (heresy!). That said, I really miss American microbrews as long as they don't get too fancy with the flavourings, and intend to reacquaint myself over the Thanksgiving holidays.

Yay, Zipfer!

I discovered a new candidate yesterday - Exmoor Beast! It's dark, it's nummy and it's 6.6%!

Corsendonk [Belgium]
Corona [Mexico, duh]
Zlatorov [Slovenia] --- The YUMMIEST.
St. Ides Special Brew [snoop dogg drinks it...]

maybe i'll create the beer board when i make I Love American Football (before next year's NFL season starts, which is really when i drink the most anyway).

But its still Timmy Taylor's Landlord for me.

also Negra Modelo.

But as far as beers go, I generally choose Guiness when given that option, and am also quite partial to Fuller's line, especially their ESB. Asahi, accompanied by sushi, has made for some of the only actually good dates I've ever been on. Hell, from the Newcastle to the Heine to the Anchor Steam to the...< homer > aaaaaaah beeeeeeeeeerrr aaaaaaah < / homer >

And there are employers in the South in the States who will pay their employees in PBR. This phenom really does exist. Wild stuff, mang.

Amstel Light, Coronas and Red Stripe - There is no point in paying $$$ for imported light lager that tastes just as bad as the American version. And as far as I know, there is no law saying you couldn't put a lime in your Coors Light, so none of this "Coronas are good w/ the lime" nonsense ("oh but it looks so cool with the bottle!") In fact I prefer Pabst Blue Ribbon or Yeulings to any of these.

American beers taste...sweet to me. It's bizarre.

Fr'instance...

Summer day = india pale ales?
Winter day = thick stouts?
Autumn eve = dark lagers?

Within my pricerange, I tend to get carlsberg.

Yes, there are some minor differences in taste between these beers, for example AB products like Mich have that godawful rice flavour, but in the end its like comparing the tastes of different brands of Amercian cheese - even the best are taste like crap compared to the real stuff.

>American beers taste...sweet to me. It's bizarre.

Light lagers have virtually no hops, so the only flavour your going to get from them is from the malt (mostly corn), which is sweet. Even this flavour is very light compared to malt-heavy beers like dopplebocks (very very sweet, esp. Aventinus). So if a beer has no hop flavour or malt flavour, I don;t see how it has ANY (good) flavour - which is why I prefer PBR to Corona.

Summer = Pilseners, Hefeweissens
Winter = Dopplebocks, Imperial Stouts, high alcohol anything
Autumn = Oktoberfests, duh

Their Liberty Ale is good too. I also like Sam Smith (Oatmeal Stout!), Duvel, Chimay, Bass, Negra Modelo, and Harp. Brooklyn and Dominion are serviceable.

Most overrated - Sam Adams
Most underrated - Miller beers, MGD especially

Having put a few years between me and college, I do not plan on drinking Rolling Rock ever again for the rest of my life.

GOOD (though there are many many more):

Delerium Tremens (one of my favorite Belgians although I'm quite certain there are better ones I just haven't tried yet)

Shakespeare Stout (produced by the wonderful Rogue brewery on the Oregon coast, this stout is FAR superior to its European predecessors--although both Beamish and Guinness are pretty good).

Anchor Brewing's Special Ale (produced for Christmas/New Year's, these exceptional beers are even more flavorful and drinkable than Achor Steam)

Ayinger Brau Weisse (perhaps the best hefeweizen available today)

BAD (though there are worse):

Sparks (a bright orange alcoholic energy drink -- stay away)

Monkey Face Porter (the concept being that you 'pucker' as the acrid sour mess boils up your esophagus; it perpetually tastes "off;")

Widmer makes/made a beer that tastes/tasted like cheese, and I have mixed feelings about their pumpkin beer. I've never had a smoked beer that I liked either.

GOOD VALUE (aka cheap but drinkable)

Pabst 24oz tall boys can be found for $0.99
THE beer of unemployed NW hipsters, Pabst is a good alternative to corporate American domestics. Only slightly worse than Tecate, but far cheaper.

Olympia 11oz. stubbies (bottles like red-stripe) come in boxes of 12 for about $6
Bad beer but made with good water which makes a big difference when you are drinking the cheap watered down stuff.

Beer good...

For any major European style of beer, there is an American version of it that is at least as good as or superior to European examples. Its one of the few things that make me proud of my country right now.

Also good— Sheaf Stout, Guinness, Pyramid Apricot Ale (you’ve got to try it), Leinenkugel’s, Old Nick, most Belgians (lambics can be nice on a hot summer day)...

A very very VERY apt assessment.

Imports are tough, because, as stated previously, they're crud if improperly stored. Guinness is usually a safe bet (though I've never had Guinness outside of the US), as is Bass. I LOVE Sam Smith's lager and pale ale (have yet to try the oatmeal stout) as well. Chimay is a bev of the gods. A light lager is a light lager, but I do like Corona and Moosehead pretty alright.

To me, there are "just having one pint" beers, and there are "getting fuX0red" beers -- each type has its time and place, and its own special perks, but if I'm buying a six-pack for myself, I'll always go for the "one pint"-ers. And American microbrews are usually pretty safe bets for where I am.