Whenever I start a conver sation with someone about beer, they always gravitate to the same standard, collegiate, silly water choices: Busch, Miller, PBR, Coors and the like. Then, many of them will proceed to mention that they don’t actually like beer; they just drink it in large enough quantities that the taste be comes less of a bother.
There’s nothing wrong with not having a taste for beer, but for many people, this belief seems to be based on a com mon misconception. The canned confidence elixirs I’ve mentioned above aren’t real beer — they are Bear Grylls’ survival liquids at best. There’s a reason there are so many breweries across the nation (and even in Raleigh alone) and even more people who enjoy these breweries solely for the taste of their products.
So if you’re the type of Lonerider who only drinks beer once in a Blue Moon and wants to graduate from choosing your beers out of a Magic Hat, you’re in luck. Here is a guide to some popu lar beer types, with descrip tions and examples to help you figure out how to enjoy these drinks to the fullest extent. Who knows? Maybe one of these variations will strike your fancy, and you’ll discover a new beverage of choice!
Brown Ale
Brown ales are a very typi cal style of ale that most brew eries have some variant of. These beers are fairly malty and tend to be a bit sweeter than the average beer. Many breweries add nutty flavors to their brown ales, while others will introduce fruity esters to add character to the beer’s flavor. These beers are normally dark brown in color, sometimes taking on a reddish hue.
One of the most common brown ales is made by New castle, which is cheap and tastes almost like beer candy. Another good choice is the Big Boss Bad Penny, which was the first brown ale I tried. The Lonerider Sweet Josie is also quite tasty and not un common around this area.
India Pale Ale
India Pale Ales (commonly referred to as IPAs) are hoppy beers, which in turn can give them a bitter quality. These beers are generally light and golden in color. It’s not un common for breweries to add in citrus/fruit flavors to IPAs to complement the other fla vors at work.
Most breweries have some form of IPA, so it shouldn’t be hard to find one that’s to your liking if you like hoppy beers. That being said, a few I can personally recommend are the Dogfish Head 90 Minute Imperial IPA, Founders Cen tennial IPA and Sweetwater 420 (an Extra India Pale Ale).
Stout
Stouts are some of the dark est beers you can buy and of
ten have a slightly drier, but much heavier, taste than oth er beer styles. Many breweries like experimenting with dif ferent ingredients in stouts, including coffee, chocolate and even oysters. Many brew eries also age their stouts in whiskey or bourbon barrels for added flavor complexity.
As far as stouts go, one of my regular choices is the Nitro Left Hand Milk Stout. I’ve also tried the Flying Dog Pearl Necklace Oyster Stout, which is actually quite good despite what the name sug gests.
Amber Ale
Amber ales are another variety that’s extremely common across all brewer ies. These ales range from a clear amber to a deep red in coloration. Hops are not as prevalent in this style as other ales, particularly pale ales, and it’s common to see fruit flavors used as accents for this style.
One of the more common amber ales is the Fat Tire Amber Ale from New Bel gium Brewing. Another de cently popular and widely-ac claimed choice is Stone Brew ing’s Levitation Ale, which is definitely worth a try.
This is just a cursory view of some of the beer styles that are out there. There’s no reason to be afraid of trying out a few types of beer you’ve never heard of — the craft beer around Raleigh is quite tasty, and most of the bigger breweries became popular for a reason. Next time you pick up a beverage to enjoy, don’t go for something even Bear Grylls would hesitate to drink. Grab a real beer.
