One of the questions I’ve gotten more than once is, “How do you stay so thin and drink so much beer?” Before this post turns into one big humblebrag, I admit that yes, I am a thin man. Glad we got that out of the way.

What I am not is a genetic marvel (I was a chubby kid and never made an organized sports team I had to try out for). I do not have monk-like discipline (I will have the occasional hamburger and piece of cake). I am not an obsessed fitness maniac (I have never completed an Ironman).

Shortly after graduating college, I weighed 183 pounds and couldn’t run a mile. I wasn’t in terrible shape, I lifted weights and played pickup basketball. However, I just didn’t feel very good about where I was. I felt soft.

Before - January 1998

I made the decision that I was going to change my lifestyle and become more active and eat healthier. I didn’t use any specific diet program, I just tried to take a common sense approach to improve my life. Over the course of the next year, my weight dropped to about 160 pounds, I ran my first half-marathon and could bench press 260 pounds. (At the same time, I was 24, lived in downtown Columbia and probably drank more than I did in college.)

After - July 2009 (As a bonus, I have amazing tan lines)

Over the next 10 years, I’ve been able to maintain what I had attained. I weighed in this morning at 155 pounds. At 34, I ran a PR in the 10-K Cooper River Bridge Run this past April, finishing in 45:13. A few weeks ago, I had a fitness assessment and came in at 10% body fat and could do 43 pushups. I’m not super-human, but I think I’m doing well for myself and I’m enjoying a lot of good beer in the process. As the saying goes, if I can do it, anyone can do it.

Since this is the time for New Year’s resolutions, I thought I’d share some of my habits and philosophies that I’ve used to stay healthy, feel good, and yes, enjoy my fair share of beer. My hope is that at least one thing will stick with you and help you feel even better physically and mentally this coming year.

Below, I have identified five key ideas that have helped me maintain my weight for more than 10 years while still being a beer “appreciator.” Notice that I’ll often use words such as limit, avoid, and in moderation… That’s because I’m not going to say you should totally eliminate something, or always do this and never do that. I believe most people fail in their changes because they don’t allow themselves any room for error. Don’t give up because  you had a piece of cake at the office birthday party.

Cut yourself some slack!

1. Calories matter, make them count

I’m a male, 35 years old, 6’0″ tall, 155 pounds. Roughly, my resting metabolic rate is about  1,700 calories per day. Figure I burn about 400 calories in an average 30-45 minute workout and other activities throughout the day. I estimate I’m working with about 2,100 calories per day.

I figure that I drink, on average, about 2.5 beers a day. I usually have two on weeknights when I get home from work, and about three or four a day on weekends (sometimes more if it’s a brew day). That comes out to around 300-400 calories per day from beer. If math isn’t your thing, that leaves me with 1,700 calories for food and everything else.

Think of calories like money in a bank account. I have a certain amount money to spend, so if I’m smart, I’ll spend my disposable income on things I really enjoy or that have special meaning, rather than waste it on frivolous things I don’t care about.

I try to approach food in much the the same way. I only have a certain amount I can consume.  The goal is to maximize the enjoyment & health benefit per calorie. I want food and drink that is high quality or high health. That means minimizing empty calories, so out goes the soda, candy, chips, mayo, fried anything, the artificial and preserved. I deserve better.

If I’m going out to eat, I try to pick the most interesting and unique dishes available. If nothing stands out on the menu, I’ll get a salad and save the calories for when something better comes along. Choose your battles wisely.

A few other tricks that I’ve found very effective when eating out:

• Pick fun, new and/or expensive restaurants. Make eating out a special event, not just any old meal. (Goodbye, Applebees!)
• Consider ordering an appetizer instead of an entree. They’re smaller portions and often more creative dishes.
• If getting an entree, immediately draw a line down the middle of  the dish and only eat half. Take the rest home or let it go.
• Spend the extra $2 and upgrade to a side salad instead of fries.
• Ask to have the dressing or mayo on the side of salads and sandwiches.

2. Eat fresh

No, not Subway sandwiches. I mean load up on fruits and vegetables. You can eat them in nearly unlimited quantities. Throw in some whole grains, low-fat dairy (a little fat in your diet is actually a good thing), beans, fish and occasional lean meat.

My goal is to eat two pieces of fruit a day, either with breakfast on my cereal, as a morning snack or as “dessert” for lunch. I also try to make sure I have a salad at least once a day, either for lunch or dinner. Take larger portions of vegetables at dinner and smaller portions of everything else.

Over the past few years, Nicole and I have cut out a lot of meat from our diet. We’re not vegetarian, but we’re much more moderate. I’ve found that vegetarian dishes and recipes are often tastier than those that use meat. Many recipes use meat as a crutch to provide flavor, whereas vegetarian recipes have to be more creative, introducing a variety of ingredients, herbs and spices.

Eating fresh also means cutting out as much processed carbohydrates (including enriched flour, which is basically sugar) as possible. Limit pasta, white rice and white potatoes. Instead, try sweet potatoes, wild rice and beans. Lots of beans!

Now, I know some of you are going to say, “But I have an incurable sweet tooth! I can’t say no to sweets!” (Or fill in your vice…) Treat your sweet tooth like a heroin addiction. Go cold turkey for three months. Eat fruit instead of sweets. I guarantee you that at the end of your sabbatical, you’ll eat a candy bar or a bag of chips and it will be so sweet and heavy that you’ll feel like ass.

3. Drink a lot of water

Around the time I began my dietary revolution, I also made it a point to drink as much water as I possibly could. It’s gotten to the point where my friend Andy calls my water bottle my woobie. I can’t go anywhere without it.

The benefits of proper hydration are tremendous. Water is vital for proper body function. Among a plethora of benefits, it will improve your mental clarity, increase your energy level, and it will help you regulate your appetite.

What’s hard to believe is that most people don’t even know what it feels like to be properly hydrated. Most sources say you should drink at least 64 ounces of water a day. It’s also really difficult to drink too much water, so don’t worry about that.

These days, I basically drink three things: coffee, water and beer. (I enjoy milk, wine and gin from time to time.) I have my coffee in the morning, chug water throughout the day, then wrap it up with a beer or two in the evening.

4. Stay active

Everyone knows that exercise is important. I say it has to be a priority.

My goal is to work out six days a week. I alternate between strength training and running. It took me a couple years of starting and stopping to finally develop an exercise habit, but I cannot express how much better I feel physically and mentally because of it.

My workouts really aren’t all that intense. My weight and strength training workouts are about 30 to 45 minutes. If I’m not training for a race, I average 12 to 15 miles per week running.

I won’t pretend that I spring out of bed every morning ready to crush some weights or hit the pavement, but I always feel better when I’m done than when I started. Knowing the payoff keeps me going.

The key is to stay active, every day.

5. Listen to your body

A few months ago, I read the book The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks. It’s a life-changing book, and I highly recommend it to anyone.

One of the central themes of the book is that we all have an “upper limit” of how successful we allow ourselves to be and how good we allow ourselves to feel. When we hit our limit, whether it’s feeling good in a relationship, being in good physical shape, or having some money in the bank, something happens to sabotage that good feeling or success. We get in a fight with our spouse, we break down and order dessert at Cheesecake Factory, or our car breaks down and eats all of our savings.

Our ceiling is determined by our self-image, the programming we received from our parents and all the other messages we’ve heard as we go throughout our lives. (Money doesn’t grow on trees… No one in our family is athletic… Just get a good job…)

It was after reading this book that a lightbulb went off in my head. Any time I eat too much or eat the wrong thing and I feel like there’s a brick in my stomach the rest of the afternoon, that’s my way of sabotaging my good feeling for that day. I deserve to feel good and I should treat my body accordingly.

Since then, I’ve started to pay close attention to how I feel after I eat certain foods, what time of day I eat, and how I feel when I have “just one more bite.” If I feel bad afterwards, that’s my body’s way of screaming, “STOP IT!”

A tip that my sister taught me to help avoid overeating is called the Oprah Sigh. You know how when you’ve had most of your meal, you’re getting full, but there’s a few bites left on your plate? You put your fork down for a minute and let out a long, drawn-out sign. That sigh is a sign from your body that it’s had enough and you should stop eating.

Listen to your body. Listen to Oprah.

Needless to say, I’m excited about this Saturday. This year should be even better. The weather forecast looks good and the beer list already has me buzzed. It’s going to be a fantastic day.

Aside from all the rare treats that I’ll get to sample, one of the most exciting aspects of going to this year’s festival is that one of my longtime friends, The Beave, and his wife Meredith will be coming with us. This is their first-ever beer festival. I remember my first beer festival… barely…

What a first-time. This is the beer equivalent to loosing your virginity to Brooklyn Decker. I’m not sure any other festivals will ever measure up for them.

So, it got me thinking, what advice would I give first time beer festival goers? There are four key things to keep in mind in preparing to attend a festival:

1. Hydration is key, bring a hydration pack if you have one

Brewvival is a six-hour affair. These are big beers. You will get hammered much faster than you think, especially as you get caught up in the festivities. You need to make sure you’re paced and hydrated enough to make it all six hours. Don’t be that guy passed out face-down in a field.

Many of the smaller, outdoor festivals will allow you to bring in your own water bottles or hydration packs. Having plenty of water easily accessible is crucial, especially if there aren’t a lot of water stations around the festival area.

I always recommend drinking a swallow or two of water between samples. Not only does it help keep you hydrated, but it cleanses the palate, getting you ready for your next beer. Obviously, check the festival’s website or FAQ and see if there are any restrictions about what you’re allowed to bring in.

2. Pretzel necklaces are the crown jewels of beer festivals

We all know what happens when you drink beer on an empty stomach. Well, imagine drinking for six hours on an empty stomach. Bad things.

Since the dawn of agriculture and domesticated grains, man has known of the alcohol-absorbing power of bread. I don’t want to be the asshole carrying around a loaf of bread at a beer festival. Instead, wear a band of pretzels around your neck! It’s the coolest and will supply you with a steady stream of spongy carbs to keep you going all afternoon.

Pretzel necklaces are the perfect accessory for the beer connoisseur.

3. Know the lay of the land

Do a little homework before the festival. If it’s posted, check out the beer list, or at least the list of breweries that will be there. Mark the beers you want to be certain you try. Often, the rare or one-time beers will be in limited supply. You want to hit those first so you don’t miss out.

Other things to remember:

1. Determine if food is provided or available for purchase. Pretzels only go so far. Bring some cash for a substantial meal or snack if food is not complimentary.
2. If the festival is outside, wear sunscreen. Hungover and sunburned is not a badge of honor, it’s dumb.
3. Wear an abnormal hat. It will make your day more fun.

4. Arrange transportation before the festival

Trust me, you’re going to be more hammered than you think. Even with small, four-ounce samples, if you try 25 beers, which is not too difficult in six hours, that’s the equivalent of eight beers. I don’t know about you, but that’s a lot for me.

It’s best to have your transportation arranged before the festival, when you are at least somewhat coherent. Do not trust yourself post-festival. Coherence will be a scarce commodity. Make sure you make it back to tell your friends about all the crazy stuff you did at the festival.

These guys didn't arrange a ride home.

I’m sure some of you are saying to yourselves, “Experience my beer? Dude, it’s a beer.” It’s also a delightful sensory experience. Drinking a beer involves more than taste. To derive the most out of your beer, you also need to account for your other senses, especially sight and smell.

Humans are visual creatures and are easily influenced by appearance. Much of what we taste actually comes from what we smell. (That’s why you can’t taste anything when you have a cold.) So if you want to get all you can out of that $5 (or more) bottle of beer you just bought, ask the waitress to bring you a glass to pour it into.

There are several factors that will allow you to experience everything that your beer has to offer, including the beer’s temperature, the environment you are in, and the vessel that delivers the beer to your mouth. This article is a guide to help you choose the right glass for the right beer.

There are a few things you should remember, no matter what type of glass you choose. First, be certain the glass is clean. If you notice any spots, oil, lipstick or dust, be sure to clean the glass with soap. If you’re at a bar or restaurant, don’t be ashamed to ask for a new beer if you notice the glass is dirty, or you see bubbles sticking to large spots on the side of the glass. That’s a sign your glass is probably dirty. You paid money for it, they shouldn’t bring it to you in a dirty glass.

The glass should not be chilled. When a beer is really cold, it numbs your taste buds. If you really want a cold beer, order a cheap one. Don’t waste the extra money on a good beer, as you won’t get the most out of it. Next, when you pour the beer, be sure to build a proper head. For instruction on proper pouring, see my Perfect Pour video.

Now it’s on to selecting the proper glass for that beer. Glasses come in all shapes and sizes, but the following guide should give you an idea of the general types of glasses and why they work well with different styles of beer.

Shaker Pint Glass

This is your typical, industry standard beer glass. If you order a beer at a bar, 98% of the time, this is what it will come in. This is also the least interesting and effective glass to drink a beer from. Figures…

This glass is popular with bars and restaurants because it is durable and stackable. It’s more space and cost effective to use them. However, there is very little about the design of the glass that enhances your drinking experience.

Advantages

• It’s better than drinking from the bottle.

Disadvantages

• It has a rather straight and uninspiring shape, so it doesn’t make for the best presentation.
• There is no inward taper to hold in aroma.

Appropriate For

• A general use beer vessel. If you’re slinging beers at a bar, no problem. If you want a better experience, there are better choices.

English Tulip Pint

This is a slight variation of the shaker pint. It starts narrow at the base and flares slightly out at the top.

Advantages

• The outward flare better supports the beer’s head, helping the head retention. It also helps you hold onto the glass.
• The small inward taper at the top is slightly advantageous for holding in the beer’s aroma.

Disadvantages

• Doesn’t stack well and the design doesn’t provide a significant upgrade over the shaker pint.

Appropriate For

• Irish and English stouts

Pilsner Glass

Tall and slender, this is a traditional glass for German Pilsners.

Advantages

• The slender body allows more light to pass through the beer. This is designed to highlight the golden color and clarity of a pilsner.
• The outward taper provides support for the head of the beer, allowing the foam to last longer.

Appropriate For

• Pilsner
• Golden lager

Brandy Snifter

This short, stout glass is wide at the bottom and tapers to a small opening.

Advantages

• The wide body exposes a large surface area to release a lot of aroma.
• The inward taper and small opening at the top holds the aroma very well.

Appropriate For

• Barley wine
• Imperial stout
• Strong ale
• Belgian trippel

Stemmed Tulip

This is the most ideal glass for getting the most out of your beer: taste, appearance and aroma. Great for beer tastings.

Advantages

• The stem keeps your palm off the bowl of the glass, which can cause the beer to warm prematurely.
• The inward taper holds in aroma, much like the snifter.
• As you drink the beer, the outward flare at the top will spread the beer out over a wider area of your tongue, which ensures you get the broadest array of flavor.
• The outward flare also supports the head of the beer.

Disadvantages

• You might look kind of girly while drinking a beer from a tulip glass.

Appropriate For

• Belgian ale
• Imperial IPA
• Beer tastings

White Wine Glass

Come again? Yes, you can use a wine glass to drink beer. In the absence of an ideal beer glass, when you want to get everything you can from a beer, whether it be for a tasting or your own pleasure, a white wine glass will do just nicely. It has many of the same characteristics that make the snifter and tulip glasses so good to use.

Advantages

• Inward taper to hold in aroma.
• Thin body to show off the clarity and color of the beer.
• The long stem keeps your palm off the body of the glass to prevent premature warming.

Disadvantages

• People will likely think you’ve gone off your rocker when you pour a beer into a wine glass.

Appropriate For

• Beer tasting when you don’t have a better choice available.

Other Glass Styles

There are hundreds of other styles and variations beer glasses that have been created. In fact, in Belgium every brewer creates a glass specifically for each of their beers. Below are some other hybrid style glasses that combine different elements of the basic styles I described above.

Sam Adams designed a glass that is like a stemless tulip. It has a narrow bottom to reduce heat transfer, much the same as a stem. The top of the glass tapers in and then back out, like the top of a tulip glass. It’s a nice piece of glassware engineering.

Dogfish Head’s glass is an english tulip-snifter hybrid. Thin at the base, it flares out and tapers inward at the top.

The Tripel Karmeliet glass has a thick stem and wide bowl. It tapers slightly inward, going straight up with a wide opening so you can really get your face in there and smell the wonderful aroma of the beer.

It’s precisely because of those memories that most of us associate canned beer with cheap, bad-tasting light beer. And for the most part, it’s a valid association. Most beer that we see in cans is from the larger breweries and it is typically your run-of-the-mill Standard American lager. Over the years, canned beer has developed a very bad perception.

That perception has slowly begun to change over the past few years. A few craft breweries have begun canning their beer. Oskar Blues in Lyons, Colorado, championed the cause back in 2002 when they became the first microbrewery to can their beer. Since then, about 40 other microbreweries have started canning beer, including Surly in Minneapolis, Sly Fox in Pennsylvania and New Belgium in Fort Collins.

Given the perception surrounding canned beer, it is quite a risk for craft breweries to can their beer. After all, if it’s in a can, it can’t be good, can it? Good beer is only in bottles, right? Doesn’t the aluminum impart a metallic taste to beer? Yes it can, no it doesn’t and no.

Perhaps way back in the day, steel cans may have given the beer a metallic taste, but that is no longer a problem. Cans are now lined with a space-age polymer that prevents any such tainting of flavor. (Ok, I made up the space-age polymer part, but the cans are lined with a water-based epoxy to protect the flavor of the beer. The beer and aluminum don’t come into contact.)

Cans Are Better For Beer

As a matter of fact, cans are a much better container for beer for two primary reasons:

• Cans don’t allow in any light. Beer gets skunked when it is exposed to light. Even brown bottles, which block most of the light that damages beer (clear and green bottles are worthless), allow in some light. With enough exposure, beer in brown bottles can get skunked.
• Can don’t allow in any air. When beer comes into contact with oxygen, it can get oxidized. Oxidation results in beer tasting papery, cardboardy or stale. Bottles, for the most part, are sealed very well. However, over time, air can slowly seep in through the seal on the cap and result in an oxidized, stale beer.

For the most part, if you are drinking fresh beer that has been handled well, bottles will serve just fine. Cans do provide an extra measure of protection and help preserve the freshness of the beer.

Cans Are Better For the Environment

Not only are cans better for the beer itself, they also provide numerous benefits to the environment:

• Cans are more compact and weigh less than bottles, so they are more space efficient and cost less to ship.
• Aluminum is more easily recyclable than glass. Consumers are also more likely to recycle aluminum than glass.
• Cans don’t break, which make them ideal for outdoor activities such as camping, boating, tailgating and hiking.

Cans Are More Fun

• You can’t play Wizard Sticks with bottles.

Why don’t more craft breweries can their beers?

The primary reason is the initial cost to switch to cans. A small commercial canning line is much more expensive than a bottling line. Canning systems have become more affordable, thanks to Cask Brewing Canning Systems, which has engineered a relatively low-cost system designed for microbreweries. Still, Oskar Blues spent about $45,000 for their canning set-up, and many small breweries can’t afford that type of up front investment. Larger canning lines can cost over $200,000.

However, if a brewery can swing the initial investment, the savings over time can be significant. Shipping costs will be substantially lower due to lighter-weight aluminum. They can also save on labels and glue. In addition, breweries have seen substantially higher sales growth for their canned selections, as people have become more aware of the benefits of canned beer.

I’ll leave you with one final thought: Draft beer is served in a 1,984 ounce can, also known as a keg.

Jimmy C (aka Jim Ciallella) from OrangeCoat shows us his 400+ beer bottle cap collection. It’s about 20 minutes long, so you may be asking yourself, “How can they talk about bottle caps for 20 minutes?” I don’t know, but we did, and I find it to be a fascinating look at beer history and the evolution of different beer brands, such as Miller and Budweiser.

As a special bonus, Jimmy also shows us his trick for popping bottle caps without bending them. (That’s around the 3:00 mark.)

Watch the video (about 9 minutes)

I am currently reading Tasting Beer, and I have found it to be a very informative and entertaining read. I’ve already learned a lot of new vocabulary to describe beer, as well as useful information on how to present beer, including serving temperature and glassware. I’m about to start the section on pairing food and beer and I am particularly excited about that topic. That’s one area I definitely want to learn more about.

In an effort to be more envioronmentally and cost conscious, I’ve started stripping the labels off the beer bottles I drink to reuse for bottling homebrew. In the past I would just buy new, unlabeled bottles. I don’t brew that much beer and at $0.50 per bottle, I felt the cost was worth the time saved.

Now that I’m running low on bottles, I’ve decided to start collecting used bottles to use. Being rather anal, I can’t have someone else’s label on my beer. That’s just not right. The downside, as any homebrewer would know, is that even if you soak the bottles, taking the labels off is a pain.

So far I’ve stripped the likes of Sam Adams, Flying Dog, Bell’s, New Belgium, Stoudt’s, Thomas Creek, RJ Rockers, Sierra Nevada. Some were easier than others. There was one brewery’s bottles that stood out from the rest with ease of stripping: Dogfish Head.

First, they only use one piece of paper on their bottles. There is no backside piece and nothing on the neck. Second, that one piece of paper came off easier than a prom dress and left almost no glue behind. It was so refreshing after I struggled with a Bell’s bottle for a solid five minutes.

I don’t know what Dogfish’s secret is, but we need to know and spread the word to other breweries to use the same glue. That is, of course, unless it’s like super toxic or something. Even then, it might be worth it.

Well, I’m here to help those of you out there that are looking for a little something different to do this year. My suggestion is to find an interesting alternative to wine to liven up your romantic dinner at home. There are many great high-gravity beers out there that have similar characteristics to wine. Some even come in corked 750 ml bottles, you get the whole fancy wine/champagne presentation.

Hopefully this shortlist will give you some ideas and inspiration:

Victory V-12
Belgian-style red ale that comes in a corked 750 ml bottle. It has a very fruity start and aroma with hints of pear and apricot. It’s a big beer at 12% ABV.

Flying Dog Horn Dog Barley Wine
Now, busting out something called “Horn Dog” on St. Valentine’s Day might give someone the wrong impression. But let’s be honest, we all know what we want, and it’s good beer. Horn Dog is dark and malty, with very little hop flavor evident. The color, mouthfeel, sweetness and alcohol content as closely resemble wine as I’ve had in a beer. 10.2% ABV.

Great Divide Yeti Imperial Stout
I know I’ve raved out this beer several times before, and you’re probably thinking to yourself that I’ve completely run dry, but I love this beer right now. It’s one of my all-time favorite stouts. If you are looking for something to accompany dessert, you can’t go wrong with this, especially if it’s a chocolatey dessert. It has such a rich, chocolate, roasted flavor that it has even appealed to people who tried it and swore they never like dark beer. Don’t be scared. 9.5% ABV.

And now I’m heading to Total Wine to stock up on some new material…

www.pockethops.com

The concept is this: you carry this little dispenser with you that contains “Pockethops Bitter Powder.” According to the site, 30 mg is supposed to increase the bitterness in a beer by 10 IBU.

I guess being a bit of a purist, I’m extremely skeptical about this, even though I love hoppy beer. There are so many different varieties of hops that all have different characteristics of flavor, aroma and bitterness that create your beer experience. There is so much more that hops contributes to a beer than simply bitterness.

To me, this is like carrying little a travel salt shaker in your pocket. Sure, if you’re eating crappy bland food, it might make it taste a little better, but everything is just going to taste salty.

But then again, if you’re drinking Bud Light, maybe that’s the point…

However, there may be some of you out there that haven’t quite acquired a taste, or perhaps you know someone that insists, “I don’t like beer.” As Charlie Papazian said in his book, The Complete Joy of Homebrewing, “to generalize and say, ‘I don’t like beer’ is like saying ‘I don’t like food.’” (p. 363) My theory, as is his, is that you haven’t found the right beer. I hope to provide some tips in this post that will help you bridge the gap.

When I question those that say “I don’t like beer” and ask what beers they have tried, the most common response is, “Well, I’ve tried a lot! Bud Light, Miller Lite, Coors Light, PBR, Natty Light, blah, blah, blah.” Well, no wonder they don’t like beer! They’ve only had one style of beer, and in my opinion, it’s the most bland and least interesting style.

That type of beer is made to sell boatloads to the masses, and since everyone has different tastes, what is the only way to sell to the most people? Take away all the taste and aroma so there is nothing left to offend. It’s the same concept behind pop music, McDonald’s and television.

So, what should you do if you haven’t found a beer that you like? I think a lot of people are intimidated by the vast number of styles and varieties of beer and would rather stick with what they know, even if it isn’t good. If you aren’t willing to experiment, then I can’t help you. Sure, you’re going to waste $4 on a beer now and again, but think of the great beer you might discover with your next pint.

If you are looking for a safe place to start branching out, start thinking about the flavors you like in general and the styles of beer that match. Do you like sweet drinks, like juice or soda? Do you prefer bitter, like coffee? How about sour or citrus, like grapefruit juice? Chocolate? Do you like wine?

I’ve divided up the following suggestions based on the flavor profile you enjoy in other beverages. If you can’t find these exact beers, ask for something similar within that style. Odds are a good tap room or beer store will have something similar.

For those that like sweet juice, try a cider or fruit-flavored beer:

• Woodchuck cider – This is actually what bridged the gap for me years ago. Believe it or not, there was a time I didn’t like beer at all. I did like apple juice, so I tried some Woodchuck. After a few months of getting used to it, I was able to make the jump to light beer. The rest is history.
• Abita Purple Haze – Raspberry-flavored beer. The raspberry flavor is definitely apparent, but it isn’t overly sweet. It has enough raspberry flavor to satisfy those with a sweet tooth, but moderate enough to be enjoyed by those who prefer traditional beer.
• Sweetwater Blue – Blueberry-flavored beer. I haven’t had this myself, but I have had several people swear by it.
• Buffalo Bill’s Orange Blossom Cream Ale – A favorite of the Big Gnome, it’s like drinking an orange creamcicle.

You like light beer, but want something more. Try a hefewiezen or a wheat beer. These beers have a light body and mild flavor, but tend to have a slightly citrus flavor. These are the most common beers that traditional non-beer-drinkers tend to like:

• Blue Moon – Actually a Molson/Coors product, this is the most common wheat beer available. Not the best, but a really good cross-over beer. It has that familiar “macro-brew” twang of the big light lagers, but with a much better flavor.
• Hoegaarden – A true belgian wheat, this is a far step up from Blue Moon and is available at many good bars and beer stores.
• Franziskaner – This is a traditional hefeweizen, or German wheat beer. Excellent citrus flavor and it has a nice, creamy body. They also make a “dunkel” version, which is German for dark. It has a similar flavor to the “hell” or light, but it is slightly sweeter if I remember correctly. It’s been a while since I’ve had the dunkel.
• Left Hand Haystack Wheat – If you really want to get crazy, this is one of the best wheat beers I’ve had. Wonderful citrus flavor, great body and all-around amazing beer.

If you’re just getting into beer, who says you have to stay light? Maybe you should just go for the gusto and get yourself an imperial stout! There are a lot more stouts than just Guinness. If you like dark chocolate (bitter chocolate, in other words) or coffee, try one of these:

• Rogue Chocolate Stout – Like drinking a fudgecicle.
• Great Divide Yeti Imperial Stout – Amazing roasty flavor with intense chocolate and coffee flavors. I served this at a beer tasting with a chocolate dessert and it was a smash hit, even among “non-beer-drinkers.”
• Victory Storm King Imperial Stout – If I could be a brewmaster, I would be a Brewmaster of Victory.

If you like wine, but haven’t found a beer that suits you, try a barley wine. Barley wines tend to be very high in alcohol content, usually around 10-12%, which gives it a heavy body and alcohol bite similar to wine. They are also very sweet and have very little, if any bitterness. They are fantastic as after-dinner beverages:

• Flying Dog Horn Dog – Big, dark and sweet. Being a family oriented blog, I can’t insert a joke here.
• Rogue Old Crustacean – Haven’t gotten my hands on one, but it got great reviews and Rogue is always a solid choice.

Finally, we get to the Belgians. Belgian ale is truly unique among beers. Many beers in this style tend to be high in alcohol content, have a spiced fruit flavor and a lighter color. Not the type of beers you’d throw down at a football tailgate, but certainly ones that can be sipped on enjoyably for a while.

• Chimay Blue – Ridiculously good, just ridiculous.
• Unibroue Fin du Monde – A Belgian trippel style, this beer has a spicy aroma and flavor. Not like pepper spicy, but more of a fruity spice. Just try it.

I think I’ve given you enough homework for this week. I hope this gives you some good ideas for beers to try if you’re looking to branch out, or perhaps some suggestions if you’re out with someone that doesn’t know what beer to get. For you guys, this can be especially useful on dates if your date doesn’t typically drink beer. She’ll think you’re all sophisticated and not some Natty Light-drinking slob.

Welcome to the wonderful world of beer. Enjoy!