American beer

[Jacob]

I am very content with the development of the North American craft brew scene in the last decade

[Sophie Scholl]

The brewery I work for (F.X. Matt Brewing Co. of Utica, NY) does the majority of Brooklyn's beers via contract, so I feel obligated to suggest trying that first.  It's a nice drinkable lager.  The Blue Moon is a Coors beer at its roots, and has gotten steadily less of a traditional Belgian White in style and more watered down and sweetened up in comparison to the taste it should have over the years.  Other than that, people seem to be spot on with their suggestions. 

Sidenote:  Jacob, I'm loving the boom in craft and micro brews within the US, but abhor the industry's obsession with over hopped beers.  I convinced it is a by product of people who don't like beer trying to be "cool" and get in on the scene.  You can drink shit non-craft beer and be mocked or down a high alcohol content, super hopped IPA, and kill your taste buds by nursing down a beer.  After that, it's quicker to get drunk and you can't taste the beer anymore, so it doesn't matter what you're drinking and whether you'd "like" it normally.

[derspiess]

Sidenote:  Jacob, I'm loving the boom in craft and micro brews within the US, but abhor the industry's obsession with over hopped beers.  I convinced it is a by product of people who don't like beer trying to be "cool" and get in on the scene. 

Depends on what you consider over-hopped, I suppose.  I like hops and while there are some beers that are too hoppy (particularly for certain styles), I'm happy with the overall trend-- I've rarely had a beer that was so heavily hopped I couldn't taste anything else.

[Sophie Scholl]

Tons of West Coast IPA's and Imperial IPA's are way, way overhopped in my opinion.  Dogfish 120 is far too much for me as well.

[Jacob]

I'm with B.A. - I don't enjoy the taste of hops in my beer, so I've been disappointed when I've ordered, say, lagers that were quite hoppy. I do think some people equate hops with sophistication when it comes to microbrews which I think is silly. Luckily, however, there are plenty of non-hoppy beers being made as well so I'll just leave the hop beers to those who enjoy them.

[Sophie Scholl]

   Good man.  I don't mind some hops, I just think hops should be a part of one's beer, not the whole beer.  I'm definitely more of a malt guy though though between the two.

[ulmont]

  Good man.  I don't mind some hops, I just think hops should be a part of one's beer, not the whole beer.  I'm definitely more of a malt guy though though between the two.

  You are completely correct here.

[Josquius]

I remember having Brooklyn once. it was....drinkable. but not great. sort of budweiseresque uric.

[derspiess]

  Good man.  I don't mind some hops, I just think hops should be a part of one's beer, not the whole beer.  I'm definitely more of a malt guy though though between the two.

You might actually like the IPA I'm having right now. It's got hops of course but there's some strong maltiness that shines through. Great balance, arguably closer to a standard American pale ale.

[dps]

Sam Adams is a fine beer, don't think you'll go wrong there. 

Yeah, I don't drink beer very much anymore, but when I do, it's almost always Sam Adams.  Even their light beer is pretty good--in fact, in some ways, I prefer it to their regular Boston lager.  And some of their seasonal/specialty brews are excellent, but a few of them I don't particularly care for.

[Scipio]

Taking my son and a couple of his pals to a yankee BBQ joint on Sunday. I will need a few beers to get through the experience. I always like to try stuff I haven't before, so woudl appreciate some guidance. Here's the list

Samuel Adams (tried before, but not on tap - remember it being excellent)
Bud, Coors, Moosehead, Grolsch, Corona - not interested in any of these.
Pabst Blue Ribbon - tempted to give this a go in honour of CCR but get the impression it's a pretty crap beer. True?
Brooklyn Lager - ???
Sierra Nevada - love this beer, would be my default choice
Old Dominion Old Barrell Stout - ???
Blue Moon Wheat Beer - ???

Sierra Nevada has declined slightly in quality.

PBR is novelty.  It is a classic example of American pilsner.  I would skip it.

Brooklyn Lager is a very nice Vienna lager with an American twist: dry-hopping.

I haven't had the OD Barrel Stout, but I do recall loving OD's beers back in the day.

Skip Blue Moon- it's a poor man's Hoegaarden.

Ultimately, you can't go wrong with Sam Adams.

[merithyn]

I like Blue Moon!

[Scipio]

I like Blue Moon!

He's a lot closer to Hoegaarden than to where they brew Blue Moon.  On balance, I pick closer and fresher.  And better.

[OttoVonBismarck]

How about being a real American and having a Bourbon?

[derspiess]

How about being a real American and having a Bourbon?

Sounds good to me.  Unfortunately Gups ain't American