What's the best beer then?

Within my pricerange, I tend to get carlsberg.

Yes, there are some minor differences in taste between these beers, for example AB products like Mich have that godawful rice flavour, but in the end its like comparing the tastes of different brands of Amercian cheese - even the best are taste like crap compared to the real stuff.

>American beers taste...sweet to me. It's bizarre.

Light lagers have virtually no hops, so the only flavour your going to get from them is from the malt (mostly corn), which is sweet. Even this flavour is very light compared to malt-heavy beers like dopplebocks (very very sweet, esp. Aventinus). So if a beer has no hop flavour or malt flavour, I don;t see how it has ANY (good) flavour - which is why I prefer PBR to Corona.

Summer = Pilseners, Hefeweissens
Winter = Dopplebocks, Imperial Stouts, high alcohol anything
Autumn = Oktoberfests, duh

Their Liberty Ale is good too. I also like Sam Smith (Oatmeal Stout!), Duvel, Chimay, Bass, Negra Modelo, and Harp. Brooklyn and Dominion are serviceable.

Most overrated - Sam Adams
Most underrated - Miller beers, MGD especially

Having put a few years between me and college, I do not plan on drinking Rolling Rock ever again for the rest of my life.

GOOD (though there are many many more):

Delerium Tremens (one of my favorite Belgians although I'm quite certain there are better ones I just haven't tried yet)

Shakespeare Stout (produced by the wonderful Rogue brewery on the Oregon coast, this stout is FAR superior to its European predecessors--although both Beamish and Guinness are pretty good).

Anchor Brewing's Special Ale (produced for Christmas/New Year's, these exceptional beers are even more flavorful and drinkable than Achor Steam)

Ayinger Brau Weisse (perhaps the best hefeweizen available today)

BAD (though there are worse):

Sparks (a bright orange alcoholic energy drink -- stay away)

Monkey Face Porter (the concept being that you 'pucker' as the acrid sour mess boils up your esophagus; it perpetually tastes "off;")

Widmer makes/made a beer that tastes/tasted like cheese, and I have mixed feelings about their pumpkin beer. I've never had a smoked beer that I liked either.

GOOD VALUE (aka cheap but drinkable)

Pabst 24oz tall boys can be found for $0.99
THE beer of unemployed NW hipsters, Pabst is a good alternative to corporate American domestics. Only slightly worse than Tecate, but far cheaper.

Olympia 11oz. stubbies (bottles like red-stripe) come in boxes of 12 for about $6
Bad beer but made with good water which makes a big difference when you are drinking the cheap watered down stuff.

Beer good...

For any major European style of beer, there is an American version of it that is at least as good as or superior to European examples. Its one of the few things that make me proud of my country right now.

Also good— Sheaf Stout, Guinness, Pyramid Apricot Ale (you’ve got to try it), Leinenkugel’s, Old Nick, most Belgians (lambics can be nice on a hot summer day)...

A very very VERY apt assessment.

Imports are tough, because, as stated previously, they're crud if improperly stored. Guinness is usually a safe bet (though I've never had Guinness outside of the US), as is Bass. I LOVE Sam Smith's lager and pale ale (have yet to try the oatmeal stout) as well. Chimay is a bev of the gods. A light lager is a light lager, but I do like Corona and Moosehead pretty alright.

To me, there are "just having one pint" beers, and there are "getting fuX0red" beers -- each type has its time and place, and its own special perks, but if I'm buying a six-pack for myself, I'll always go for the "one pint"-ers. And American microbrews are usually pretty safe bets for where I am.

You might be right, Spencer. Sam Smith lager I could see easily convincing someone that beer can be smooth, refreshing, and yummy.

Amateur question, but what is lambic?

i will not argue this.

harp is my everyday beverage of choice since harpoon isn't distributed west of pittsburgh.

i emailed harpoon when i moved to chicago two years ago, they basically told me to go shit in my hat.

Does anyone know what a lambic is?

Oh, you wanted to know what it is? Spontaneously fermenting (the brewers don't add yeast) wheat beer from Belgium. Old & young lambics can be blended to make gueuze.

Fruity, clovey Hefewesseins make a good gateway beer because they have very little hop flavour.

Worst: Heineken, Hahn Ice (both water gas and hangover), West End (Worst End) and until you've had half-flat, warmish bottled XXXX from an inadequately rinsed plastic mug at the Gabba in Brisbane, you have not had bad beer.

Alas, fully carbonated, ice cold XXXX straight from the tap into a brand new chilled glass is not hugely better.

I tried my first hefe-weizen tonight -- from a brewery that claims to be the first maker of hefe-weizen in Germany -- and boy was it delicious.

My favourite when I go back to my parents is Castle eden, but it wasn't too special last time I had a pint. there was talk about the brewery being taken over, and I don't know what the outcome was.

No, not yet. Went over to my friend's house to see if he wanted to go to the liq store w/me, but before I could ask he offered me a Guiness and said I could have as many as I want--I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth.
Tonight sounds good though (I'm not a lush, I drink maybe once every two weeks and only 2-3 beers/time). Now the only question is which version of Chimay...I have a hard time leaving the store w/anything but the one w/the highest alc %.

I also really dig Sierra Nevada, a microbrewery in California I'm sure some of you US beer-heads are familiar with.

That's a little big for a microbrew. And it's somewhat overrated.

I like Sam Adams, Goose Island, Blue Moon. I've also gotta mention the very refreshing Bell's, since I went to school in Kalamazoo, where it's brewed. Kzoo represent!

goose island doesn't do much for me, i like bells amber. i think blue moon is owned and brewed by the coors family.