Do You Hate Beer?

017_PP0255~Dean-Martin-Little-Ole-Wine-Drinker-Me-Posters.jpg Do you just absolutely hate beer? Have you ever been amazed that people would actually prefer to drink beer with their nice dinner, rather than the typical bottle of expensive red wine?

If you are set in your beer-hating ways, try these libations. They may change your mind.

Manny’s Pale Ale:
This is a very easy drinking and moderately hopped beer; very balanced and not thick at all. If you don’t like the taste of this, it’s likely because you don’t like hops. Remember that and stay away from hoppy beers. Give this a try while playing pool up at The Garage on Capitol Hill. $2.50 pints for happy hour…yeah.

Rochefort Trappistes 10
This is one of the best beers out there. Still licensed and produced by monks in their own monastery, they have a brewing history at least 400 years old; that means they have been doing something right. Full of caramel sweetness and dark fruit flavor. At 11.3% alcohol, this is one to sip on for a while. Do not put this in a beer bong. Head up to Fremont and check out Brouwer’s, across from the old Red Hook Brewery, where they have an amazing selection of Belgian beers. Brouwer’s is what heaven must be like.

Lindemans Framboise
Give any non-beer drinker a taste of this, and then have them guess what type of beverage it is. Chances are they won't say beer. A raspberry lambic from Belgium, this is a very sweet, fruity and bubbly beer that resembles sparkling fruit juice much more than Miller Light. This is not a beer you drink while watching baseball, but it is a beer you have with chocolate mousse. You can grab one of these and many other good beers at The Pike Pub and Brewing at the market.

Duchesse De Bourgogne
Try this one if you are typically a wine drinker. This is a blended Flemish Sour ale aged in oak casks. It has a very fruity, vinous taste with hints of oak from the barrel to go along with slight sour cherry sweetness. One of our friends who usually sticks to light American swill is now hooked on this beer. The Stumbling Monk on Capitol Hill is the perfect place to try this one.

Rogue Chocolate Stout
Yes, this beer really is brewed with chocolate. It has lots of chocolate and roasted malt: smooth and not overly sweet. This is one of our favorites. Stop by the Rogue Brewpub out in Issaquah for a taste of this after you are done with your Saturday hike. This beer mixed with the Lindemans Framboise is dessert in a glass.

Have a suggestion of your own for beginners to the good beer world? Feel free to post below!

Contact the author of this article or email tips@seattlest.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Geoff in Food on April 10, 2007 10:53 AM

Comments [rss]

Jared

I want to bathe myself in Duchesse!

Brian

Love the article, why didn't you write all my term papers in college for me?

El Cheapo

I have found that many people who don't normally drink beer (my mom, cooler-sipping friends) actually enjoy a good hefeweizen. Just about any good one with a wedge of lemon is delightful, even to the most dubious of palates.

Of course most beer-dislike is caused by bad associations, I think. And bad mass-produced beer. Hand even the most ardent "beer-hater" a nice hef on a hot summer day, and he's bound to enoy it.

Geoff

Sadly, I don't think that Brouwer's offers sampler trays at all....they may give you a single sample here and there if you ask nicely though.

And Jameson, if you happen to be the wine/beer guru at Broadway Market, I believe you once special ordered a case of Deschutes Abyss for me....god bless you.

Clint

Beer haters might also love Elliott Bay Brewery's draft concoction of Luna Weizen (light wheat) and said Framboise. Undeniably tasty, even for those of us who go for the bitter, strong stuff.

Jameson

Ephemere from Unibroue in Quebec. Apple-flavored but not heavy and cloying like Lindemans.

To toot my own horn, check out the beer selection at the Broadway Market QFC.

Audrey

I don't like beer, but I do drink that Framboise - it totally tastes like juice! It's also available at the Stumbling Monk.

MvB

Everyone likes Stella. And Maritime's Old Seattle Lager.

For German-beer beginners, I believe the Prost/Bierstube/Feuerabend trifecta all offer flights for tasting. I've gotta stop by Brouwer's and see if they do, too.

drrew

Manny's???? While I like it, there's no way in hell a non-beer drinker will enjoy it.

Honestly, as much as it pains me, a person who truly doesn't like the taste of beer is going to be happiest with a Coors Light. Of course they could simply order a glass of water and achieve the same taste.

As far as a real suggestion, Stella Artois is the pick.