Got to put in a second for some of pakman's votes here, but also expand on his list a bit. I won't drink most *American style* beers - they just don't taste good. There are quite a few beers made in America that are quite good, however.
Blue Moon - had my first (and second...) just a couple days ago - quite good with an orange. I don't usually like wheat beers, but I've been finding out that this is because most Americans think they need to heat them up and filter them like crazy, which is when things start to taste like piss water.
When in Ireland, do as the Irish. The Guinness they get over there is incredible, and I thought I liked it in the states. Turns out we usually only get the Foreign Extra Stout version over here. One of my favorite beer memories is being on the 7th floor of the St. James Guinness Brewery for my complimentary pint after the factory tour. Mmm - Guinness - the beer that eats like a meal! Other Irish stouts, while less well known, are just as good.
On the same trip, we went all over England, too. I got a pint of the local bitter wherever I went - and liked it. Don't think I've ever seen a good commercially available one, though. Don't bother with the beer in Scotland, but the whiskey was quite good there...
Edit - just read Eppie's post. The problem with English bitters in London is that you don't get the good local stuff. I drank it anyway, because I wanted a beer, but you've got the find the pubs that sell the stuff that they brew just down the road, and that means getting out of London. The things you have to do to make beer commercial kill the best of the taste.
Same story with the Germans. I have some fond memories of dark German beers, despite not really being legal to drink them when I was there.
Fat Tire is my default beer when ever some place doesn't have anything more interesting. It is good, but it is not worth raving about. The problem is, being from Colorado, it is very easy to be a beer snob. There a quite a few good microbrew type places around that can do better than Fat Tire, but don't operate on a large enough scale to be commercially available like Fat Tire and other New Belgium products. If there are many New Belgium products around, give the 1554 black ale a try - that's about my favorite. But if you are in Colorado (or other region with lots of good microbrews), ask around for the best place in town.
My favorite place has a nut brown that is to die for, and you won't find it in stores.
-V-
Blue Moon - had my first (and second...) just a couple days ago - quite good with an orange. I don't usually like wheat beers, but I've been finding out that this is because most Americans think they need to heat them up and filter them like crazy, which is when things start to taste like piss water.
When in Ireland, do as the Irish. The Guinness they get over there is incredible, and I thought I liked it in the states. Turns out we usually only get the Foreign Extra Stout version over here. One of my favorite beer memories is being on the 7th floor of the St. James Guinness Brewery for my complimentary pint after the factory tour. Mmm - Guinness - the beer that eats like a meal! Other Irish stouts, while less well known, are just as good.
On the same trip, we went all over England, too. I got a pint of the local bitter wherever I went - and liked it. Don't think I've ever seen a good commercially available one, though. Don't bother with the beer in Scotland, but the whiskey was quite good there...
Edit - just read Eppie's post. The problem with English bitters in London is that you don't get the good local stuff. I drank it anyway, because I wanted a beer, but you've got the find the pubs that sell the stuff that they brew just down the road, and that means getting out of London. The things you have to do to make beer commercial kill the best of the taste.
Same story with the Germans. I have some fond memories of dark German beers, despite not really being legal to drink them when I was there.
Fat Tire is my default beer when ever some place doesn't have anything more interesting. It is good, but it is not worth raving about. The problem is, being from Colorado, it is very easy to be a beer snob. There a quite a few good microbrew type places around that can do better than Fat Tire, but don't operate on a large enough scale to be commercially available like Fat Tire and other New Belgium products. If there are many New Belgium products around, give the 1554 black ale a try - that's about my favorite. But if you are in Colorado (or other region with lots of good microbrews), ask around for the best place in town.
My favorite place has a nut brown that is to die for, and you won't find it in stores.
-V-