Look for Session beer from Full Sail out of Portland. They come in 12 packs of 11 oz bottles and are shaped like small Red Stripe bottles. Under the cap is an image of a Rock, Paper, or Scissor. Session comes in Red (normal) and Black (stronger). I like the red, it tastes like and looks like a good quality American lager from yesteryear.
Your best bet is to go to a bar that has a beer sampler option. Pick a bar with a large selection. Usually you get a menu of beers listed by style & you can select between 4 to 5 samples. Try as many styles as you can. Once you know what style/styles you like then find some widely distributed bottles you like mentioned in your post.
Also, your beer taste may change over time, so don't be afraid to change it up. Personally I went from porters to stouts to wheats & now I just drink Pabst with a "fancy" local brew mixed in every once in awhile. Yeah, weird transition, but Pabst has the best value for the money that I can find. It does the job.
Founder's Red's Rye PA
Founder's Centennial IPA
Bell's Oberon
The beer sure is good in MI!
I really like anything Dogfish Head, Saranac, and Victory right now. Guinness on tap is hard to beat. Also recently had Sam Adams Alpine Spring for the first time and that was real good. But the best single beer I've ever had was Black Bear Stout with breakfast right after my team finished Hood to Coast.
My binge drinking beer of choice right now is Coors- THE BANQUET BEER
Pliny the Younger from Russian River, CA. Hands down, the best beer I've ever tasted. Had to stand in line at the brewery for 3 hours to get a pint and it was worth it (they only make it once a year and only a limited quantity).
Hung out one night at the Mikkeller bar in Copenhagen last year. That would be the best group of beers I've ever had. Tried about 8, all were fantastic. Some of their stuff is available in the US. Try one of their "Breakfast" beers if you see one.
If you are starting out I recommend visitin local brewpubs and buy local beer at stores. That is one way to learn a lot about different styles of beers and how different breweries make them with a much more defined population to sample from.
If you like Guinness, you should find a chance to try Lefthand Milk Stout in a pub that has it on nitro.
I had a good Sam Adams seasonal stout over the holidays - Merry Mischief Gingerbread Stout:
http://www.samueladams.com/enjoy-our-beer/beer-detail.aspx?name=merry-mischief
Avery White Rascal is a good wheat beer. Out of Bounds Stout too. I also like all the New Belgium stuff-but burned out on most of it-Their Abbey Ale is a good winter ale I poured quite a bit of over the holidays.
Avery sponsors a few races here and there in Colorado, so I try to support them for that.
Visiting Fort Collins/Boulder/Denver for a micro brew tour/binge over a long weekend is highly recommended. Bring a designated driver. Nothing is better than brewery fresh beer.
Brian wrote:
If you like Guinness, you should find a chance to try Lefthand Milk Stout in a pub that has it on nitro.
I had a good Sam Adams seasonal stout over the holidays - Merry Mischief Gingerbread Stout:
http://www.samueladams.com/enjoy-our-beer/beer-detail.aspx?name=merry-mischief
Thanks for the tips. I'll look around for them.
Genny Cream Ale!
Brian wrote:
If you like Guinness, you should find a chance to try Lefthand Milk Stout in a pub that has it on nitro.
I had a good Sam Adams seasonal stout over the holidays - Merry Mischief Gingerbread Stout:
http://www.samueladams.com/enjoy-our-beer/beer-detail.aspx?name=merry-mischief
Odell's just put out a Chocolate Milk Stout called Lugene that is quite tasty. It's not a nitro stout, but still good. I also think Lefthand sells their Milk Stout "on Nitro" in the bottle. So you don't have to go looking for a pub that has it on tap.
I am not that knowledgeable about beer (mostly just into IPAs and other hoppy styles), but I think of Avery as sort of like Boulder's version of Odell's - a good diverse under-rated brewery that has plenty of good stuff, good variety, and at a reasonable price for a good micro-brew. Most people visiting Fort Collins are jazzed about New Belgium and, not to belittle them, but Odell I think has better regular offerings. I could drink nothing but Avery and Odells and have a really nice variety of beer for pleasure drinking without going broke.
I would say Avery Maharaja is almost as good as Firestone Walker Double Jack and generally much less expensive. Their standard IPA is really good too.
Thank God someone mentioned Genny Cream Ale.
I agree. Avery is underrated and Odell's >> New Belgium.
Bell Haven
Speight's
Harpoon IPA
The 1554 is delicious.
Left Hand Milk Stout
Young's Double Chocolate
Old Rasputin
Anything by Sierra Nevada
Abita Turbodog
Maui Brewing Coconut Porter
Some great suggestions here. But we've drifted some from the OP's request for "widely distributed bottled kinds".
Coniston Brewing's 'Bluebird Bitter' is sublime.
Tilburg Dutch Brown
New Belgium 1554
Anderson Valley Winter Solstice
Thomas Hooker Irish Red
Rogue Hazelnut Brown
Sam Adams Black Lager
I'll drink anything but I've realized these are my favorites. I'm not big on hops or higher alcoholic beers. Anything above 6.5% starts to taste...astringent or something to me. I like malty but super dark where it tastes like coffee.
Just a medium malty red, amber, or brown is what I like.
Sorry, that should have been I like malty but NOT super dark so it tastes like coffee.
Wolfgang Grajonca wrote:
Some great suggestions here. But we've drifted some from the OP's request for "widely distributed bottled kinds".
Coniston Brewing's 'Bluebird Bitter' is sublime.
Good call. Cant go wrong with anything by Samuel Adams, and they sell it EVERYWHERE. Plus they have 200+ variations, so you'll have quite a bit of a selection depending on which kind of brews you enjoy.