/ck/ - Food & Cooking

>>5501430
Quality of beer depends on where you live, EU or USA have different standards.

First you have pilsner, which is regular beer. Think Budweiser, Heineken, Warsteiner, etc. Usually around 5%, light yellow in colour, and really basic. I've heard Heineken is very popular in the USA; in the Netherlands, it's considered mediocre at best. If you have a chance, try Grolsch, Jupiler, Warsteiner or Pilsner Urquell.

Then there's doubles; dark brown beers, mostly Belgian, around 6,5-8%, quite sweet with an nutty aftertaste. Goes great with red meats, cheeses and nuts. Popular brands I know of are Grimbergen, Westmalle or Chimay.

Then you have triples; strong, dark yellow beers, quite bitter, and quite strong, ranging from 9-11%. Thanks to the bitter taste, it's quite refreshing, and goes well with lighter foods, such as chicken or fish. Mostly from Belgium, and made by the same breweries that also produce the doubles.

From Germany, there's (hefe)Weizen, which is beer made from wheat instead of barley. 'Hefe' basically means there's still yeast in the bottle, you shouldn't drink all of it, but it doesn't matter if you get some in your drink. These beers are very refreshing, with a light acidity that makes them perfect to enjoy in the sun, with some fruit.

Related to the German Weizen, there's also Belgian white beer; beer containing yeast, often spiced with coriander and citrus. Very refreshing, also goes well with fruits, but hits less hard than the German variety.

The last big type of beer in Europe is the British India Pale Ale, which is amber-brown and very bitter. You either love it or hate it.

One thing I've noticed, is that Americans tend to drink their beer ice-cold, while Europeans drink it at around 6-7 degrees. This means that most American microbrews have a stronger taste than their European counterpart, since you taste less when it's colder. So keep that in mind when buying and storing beer.

>>5501430
There are various styles of beer. It's better to think about beer in terms of style rather than brand.
For example see: http://www.bjcp.org/2008styles/catdex.php
You should try at least one of each of those broad categories to start. It lists some popular commercial examples on each page. But what is cheap and good usually depends on where you live and what's on sale at your store.

budweiser, bud light, coors, coors light, miller genuine draft, miller lite, miller high life, corona

keystone and natty ice if you on a budget

>>5501454
these are what you drink to be one of the bros and youre just going to sip on it for an hour at a party to fit in with the rest of the people desperately trying to socially fit in.

>>5501430
find a good liquor store
read the beer variety descriptions on beer advocate and pick some that you think sound good
go try those varieties
rinse and repeat until broke

>>5501430

Beer isn't something you get to know nor understand by purchasing it from a store.

>>5501430

stick to Whisky (Irish and Scottish, obviously).

Beer is for poorfags

>>5501766

>Irish and Scottish, obviously

don't be dissing bourbon, boy

>>5501773

Ok, maybe the good Bourbon is not exported, but what Bourbons I have tasted in Germany, they're piss compared to a good Scotch

You'd probably enjoy some barrel aged stuff most. Going to be along the same flavor profiles as whiskeys and rums.. Anything with light/ lite/ ice is cheapest but might as well just drink water.

>>5501488
*tips fedora*

>>5501493
good advise here.. when I turned 21 I did this. I would save the bottle top from every different type of beer and put it in a jar. After awhile I had a few hundred bottle tops and realized I was more or less an alcoholic. You should also try doing a beer tour.. Old Chicagos does one... I am not sure if they are in your area but its like 200 different beers.

What's your country and age OP?

Both of these will help anyone trying to tell you stuff.

>>5502907
state would be more useful

>>5501430
OP, just go to your local brewery and ask for a recommendation. Tell them you're new, and want something accessible

Lager = light, Ale = medium/red, Stout = dark
IPA's are bitter as fuck

If you're really really new, I found Tsingtao to be a good starting point, or maybe a Stella Artois

>>5502925
That's assuming USA of course, lol.

>>5501448
You're a saint if you typed that all out.

>>5501430
1. Underage
>Anything is fine, I just want to get fucked up
2. Babby
>Hmm, what is this, hefe-weizen? I'd better try that, it sounds important
3. Beginner
>Beer that isn't dark is pisswater so I drink imperial stouts exclusively. Why would you drink anything lighter?
4. "Beer bro" (most people do not progress beyond this stage)
>IPA is the most manly beer, I only drink IPA because it shows what I can handle
5. Neckbeard
>I'll drink anything no matter how incompetently brewed, and I'll pay anything too, as long as it's not made by AB Inbev or MillerCoors. The location of the PO Box is what determines whether a beer is good. It also has to contain only hops that didn't exist prior to my year of birth. As I drink it I will recite trivia from Beer Advocate which is bookmarked on my phone.
6.Enlightenment
>Just give me something from Central Europe, or a suitable clone if that's not possible.
7. Guru
>Has favorites that change depending on the season, the drinker's mood, and the situation. Likes to explore new craft and European beers but isn't above drinking shitty MillerCoors when its offered by a friend.

>>5503019
What this guy thinks he said

>look at how kewl I am

What he actually said

>stupid shit, look at me I'm a faggot

>>5501448
Insightful thank you anon.

When it comes to macrobrew here in the states. I try to avoid it as much as possible. The reason I drink that so cold is just to not taste it.
When I brew my own ale however I like it warmer allowing all of the notes of the beer to shine.

>>5502985
Why, thank you, always a pleasure to share knowledge. Be advised, it's limited to European beers, I don't know shit about American or Aussie beers.