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My husband has started buying specialty beer instead of his usual Icehouse. Now I guess he's spoiled himself bc he no longer likes the taste of the Icehouse beers.
What are you favor specialty beers? And why? Just trying to get more informed so I can have something to add to the conversation when he starts talking about beer.
I used to be the type to hunt down obscure beers which get hyped on Beer Advocate but these days I'm good with the variety of beers available locally, or through Sierra Nevada. I prefer IPAs but will mix it up with porters/stouts andlagers.
They are flavorful- can be sour or sweet, bitter, rich, light - just a whole palette of tastes. I like the stouts myself, one of my favorites is a local cherry stout which is almost black, but its not heavy and tastes like cherry essence, and its oddly not sweet, but not bitter either....
IPA's for the most part, everywhere I travel now has a local IPA brew. More hoppy, less malty.
For lighter fare I like Pilsners, kind of a "snap" to the flavor.
The greatest event of the 90's was the rise in micro-brews, 2nd greatest- the interwebs.
There are an incredibly large variety of beer types. To add to that, brewers like to come up with creative names for their beers. You need to watch what kinds of beer he buys so you can comment on the style. Does he buy IPAs? Those are India Pale Ales. They are made with extra hops. There are over 200 varieties of hops, and each adds a different flavor and degree if bitterness. Is it a floral with a hint of citrus? See? Different hops. One floral, one citrus.
I don't usually like IPAs. They are too bitter for my taste. I like Ambers (best example is New Belgium's Fat Tire), Irish Reds, California Commons (best example is Anchor Steam), Pale Ales (think Sierra Nevada), Scottish Ale, Cream Ales, Hefeweizen, and probably a few others I haven't thought of.
Does he like Stouts and Porters? These dark beers come in a variety of flavors themselves. I like dry stouts, but I dislike dark beers with coffee or chocolate flavors. I made a pumpkin porter that was amazing.
Beer (in it's most pure form) is made from water, barley, hops & yeast. Is he a purist? Does he like rye beer or wheat beer? Does he like fruit flavors added? Fruits, such as cherry, blueberry, raspberry, and strawberry are often added to wheat beers. Also consider summer shandy beers, such as Leinenkugel. Traditionally, a shandy is 1/2 pale ale and 1/2 lemonade, but modern versions are lemon flavored beers.
A Black & Tan is traditionally a mixture of a Stout (dark) and a pale ale (tan). A bartender would pour half from a Guinness tap and half from a pale ale.
Buy him a Sam Adams seasonal variety pack and see which types are his favorites. Try some yourself. You might find some you like too.
There are an incredibly large variety of beer types. To add to that, brewers like to come up with creative names for their beers. You need to watch what kinds of beer he buys so you can comment on the style. Does he buy IPAs? Those are India Pale Ales. They are made with extra hops. There are over 200 varieties of hops, and each adds a different flavor and degree if bitterness. Is it a floral with a hint of citrus? See? Different hops. One floral, one citrus.
I don't usually like IPAs. They are too bitter for my taste. I like Ambers (best example is New Belgium's Fat Tire), Irish Reds, California Commons (best example is Anchor Steam), Pale Ales (think Sierra Nevada), Scottish Ale, Cream Ales, Hefeweizen, and probably a few others I haven't thought of.
Does he like Stouts and Porters? These dark beers come in a variety of flavors themselves. I like dry stouts, but I dislike dark beers with coffee or chocolate flavors. I made a pumpkin porter that was amazing.
Beer (in it's most pure form) is made from water, barley, hops & yeast. Is he a purist? Does he like rye beer or wheat beer? Does he like fruit flavors added? Fruits, such as cherry, blueberry, raspberry, and strawberry are often added to wheat beers. Also consider summer shandy beers, such as Leinenkugel. Traditionally, a shandy is 1/2 pale ale and 1/2 lemonade, but modern versions are lemon flavored beers.
A Black & Tan is traditionally a mixture of a Stout (dark) and a pale ale (tan). A bartender would pour half from a Guinness tap and half from a pale ale.
Buy him a Sam Adams seasonal variety pack and see which types are his favorites. Try some yourself. You might find some you like too.
I do know that he doesn't like wheat beers. I've heard him mention that there's a specialty beer that he bought one time that has a coffee flavor which he was surprised that he really liked. There's a peanut butter flavored one and a chocolate one that he really likes as well. I taste them every time he buys one and I've yet to find one that is to my liking. I've always liked fruity beers where he does not.
There are so many styles of beers, and so many new varieties being added all the time. This is both a blessing and a curse, as there are just so many choices these days, it can be difficult to sort through all of the voluminous options.
I would recommend you and your husband visit shops, bars and/or brewery tours and try samples of different beers. For me that was the best way to discover what I liked and didn't like.
For me personally I tend to enjoy malt (not hop) oriented beers and I drink mostly 5% alcohol or lower. Other beer friends I have prefer high alcohol 8-10% or more ABV and high hopped (bitter) beers. To each his own.
If you like fruity beers, you might enjoy trying some Belgium Farmhouse Ales. Due to the types of yeast used in those ales, they often produce some fruit flavors (without actually containing fruit).
I don't know what a specialty beer is, unless you mean something like a gruit.
I think she means anything other than p*ss water (Coors, Bud, or Miller) or malt liquor (Icehouse, Milwaukees Best Ice, Mickeys, Steel Reserve, ect...).
OP, Icehouse has its place (as do all beers). I love pounding a few Icehouse if I'm fishing or BBQing with guy friends. They serve a purpose (to get f-ed up on the cheap).
My wife also calls me a beer snob, as I like to drink craft brew when I just want to relax at the house. I always start with a few quality brew's for taste, and then if I wish to continue, I'll switch to something lighter like run of the mill stuff.
There is a lot of good stuff out there, and living in the PNW, I get to enjoy the best of them. As craft beer spreads, your husband will gravitate towards them. It is only natural for those who have good taste.
DM me if you would like to know some great styles he may be interested in.
Location: RI, MA, VT, WI, IL, CA, IN (that one sucked), KY
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I'm not sure Icehouse has its place outside of a frat party, but ok. She means non crap beer. There is tons of it.
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