Craft beer

hellosweetie1015

H'okay so. 

FI's birthday is coming up. And I had a spiffy awesome present for him - he'd mentioned wanting a Spiderman sunshade for his car a while back, and I got it, and I was ALL EXCITED TO SURPRISE HIM and then a couple of nights ago, he asked me (completely out of the blue) if I'd gotten it. And I can't keep a fucking secret to save my blessed life. -.- 

SO I need a new birthday present for him. One that he DOESN'T already know is coming. And I think a nice craft beer would be an excellent choice. Problem being I don't DRINK beer, so I have no idea what to get. I don't want to get him something gross. He's generally into dark beers; he drinks Yuengling when we go out and Budweiser when we're home. 

I know this might be a regional thing, but any and all suggestions are more than welcome. 

esstee33

Samuel Smith Taddy Porter, Nut Brown, or Oatmeal Stout

Southern Tier Pumking

Breckenridge Vanilla Porter

Founder's Dirty Bastard or Breakfast Stout

Great Lakes Elliot Ness

lurkergirl

Well Yuengling and Bud aren't dark beers...are you sure that's what he likes? The dark beer I mean?

birdybride2014

this doesn't totally help you now, but in the future this site has some neat beer stuff! I don't currently have a clicky option http://www.uncommongoods.com/for-him/gifts-for-him/gifts-for-beer-lovers

lurkergirl

Also keep in mind that we don't get a lot of west coast (or anywhere west of the Mississippi) beers here the south (I'm assuming AL is on par with us for bible belt style alcohol laws).  So research everyone's suggestions to make sure they're available. 

hellosweetie1015

lurkergirl said:

Well Yuengling and Bud aren't dark beers...are you sure that's what he likes? The dark beer I mean?

...Yuengling looks dark to me... /o.o\

I've got a really nice beer and wine specialty shop in mind, but I'd like to go in able to say SOMETHING because I'm not a beer person, and I'm really not a wine person. [I'll take my Ketel One and Angry Orchard, thanks.] If I can lay hands on them, that's where they'll be. 

This part of AL is SO MUCH WORSE. In Oxford, you can't even buy beer on Sunday at all ever. At least in AU you could get beer after, like, 12:00 or so.

ETA because clarity is not my forte.

esstee33

Ooooh, yeah, if Yuengling looks dark to you, be cautious with the beers I suggested. They're VERY dark. 

Can you give some examples of other beers he drinks? 

I'd imagine in the South you guys can probably get Abita, right? It's a New Orleans (ish) brewery. 

hellosweetie1015

PBR. I don't really remember what all else he's had, since sometimes it's a brand I've never heard of. He's had Sam Adams occasionally. 

Yeah, I've seen Abita around. Avondale (I think?) is in Birmingham, so we can get that. 

I may drag him to the local brewery instead. That way he can just drink what he wants.

ETA OOOH Fat Tire. He likes Fat Tire.

sarawifenow

esstee33 said:

Samuel Smith Taddy Porter, Nut Brown, or Oatmeal Stout

Southern Tier Pumking

Breckenridge Vanilla Porter

Founder's Dirty Bastard or Breakfast Stout

Great Lakes Elliot Ness

 

TK, why do you trap me in the boxes???

I love Breck Vanilla Porter. Then again, I love all Porters.

 

cupcait927

If he drinks Yuengling and Budweiser, you might be better off sticking with a pale ale or an amber. Don't go into the IPA, porter or stout territory until you KNOW for sure that he likes them. There are plenty of awesome craft beers that are pale ales or ambers. Check out www.untappd.com - you can search breweries, beers, etc. You can also find the top rated beers by region, so that would help you find styles that are most likely available in your area.

lurkergirl

I bet the people at the specialty shops can give you some really good suggestions.  They will be really familiar with their selection, and may even have some smaller, local or regional breweries available.

hellosweetie1015

@lurkergirl I'm afraid of going in there and sounding like an idiot though, hahahaha. Y'all are okay, I sound like an idiot all the time here. 

cupcait927

CaitTDid23 said:

PBR. I don't really remember what all else he's had, since sometimes it's a brand I've never heard of. He's had Sam Adams occasionally. 

Yeah, I've seen Abita around. Avondale (I think?) is in Birmingham, so we can get that. 

I may drag him to the local brewery instead. That way he can just drink what he wants.

ETA OOOH Fat Tire. He likes Fat Tire.

This! I didn't know much about wine and only drank cheap beer before I started dating FI. He knew all about that stuff and I learned by going out wine & beer tasting with him. I've found so many good things that I like now that I never would've tried before. Granted, we live in a winery and craft brewery mecca, but you get the idea. And going to a brewery for a tasting is fun! We're actually going to a huge beer tasting festival tomorrow. I'm so excited!

esstee33

SaraBrideSoon said:

esstee33 said:

Samuel Smith Taddy Porter, Nut Brown, or Oatmeal Stout

Southern Tier Pumking

Breckenridge Vanilla Porter

Founder's Dirty Bastard or Breakfast Stout

Great Lakes Elliot Ness

 

TK, why do you trap me in the boxes???

I love Breck Vanilla Porter. Then again, I love all Porters.

 

I'm a stout and porter girl all the way. IPAs and pale ales typically gross me out hardcore. There are some I can tolerate, but I definitely don't go out of my way to have them.

Flying Dog came out with a super limited edition mint chocolate stout this year. BF and I had it at "our" bar, which was the only bar within almost 100 miles to get it, and they ran out insanely fast. We're super sad now because it was incredible.  

hellosweetie1015

cupcait927 said:

CaitTDid23 said:

PBR. I don't really remember what all else he's had, since sometimes it's a brand I've never heard of. He's had Sam Adams occasionally. 

Yeah, I've seen Abita around. Avondale (I think?) is in Birmingham, so we can get that. 

I may drag him to the local brewery instead. That way he can just drink what he wants.

ETA OOOH Fat Tire. He likes Fat Tire.

This! I didn't know much about wine and only drank cheap beer before I started dating FI. He knew all about that stuff and I learned by going out wine & beer tasting with him. I've found so many good things that I like now that I never would've tried before. Granted, we live in a winery and craft brewery mecca, but you get the idea. And going to a brewery for a tasting is fun! We're actually going to a huge beer tasting festival tomorrow. I'm so excited!

We've been there once before. It's not at all fancy or anything, and we live in a cultural pit in general, but at least then he could pick something he likes instead of having to pretend he likes whatever swill I might pick.

Sugargirl1019

You could get him a kit to brew your own beer! He might find that entertaining, DH and I have friends that do that.

mschristie123

Allagash white is my all time fave.

lurkergirl

CaitTDid23 said:

@lurkergirl I'm afraid of going in there and sounding like an idiot though, hahahaha. Y'all are okay, I sound like an idiot all the time here. 

Nahh, that's part of their job.  We ask about wines all the time because we know what we like, but we don't know what's "supposed" to go with certain foods, for example.  They'll be happy to help, I promise

Fat Tire Amber (which is just the "regular" Fat Tire) would probably be a safe bet too, but I definitely think it's a bigger label than a lot of the other things you can find at a specialty store.

I'm sure he'll be happy no matter what it is.  Does Alabama allow mix and match packs?  That's also fun and if he doesn't like one, there's always a different one to try!

Inkdancer

Aviator Brewery is from my county and makes some darn good stuff. Their Hogwild IPA is my FIL and BIL's favorite local beer.

Also Bombshell Brewery, but I don't know if they ship yet.

hellosweetie1015

lurkergirl said:

CaitTDid23 said:

@lurkergirl I'm afraid of going in there and sounding like an idiot though, hahahaha. Y'all are okay, I sound like an idiot all the time here. 

Nahh, that's part of their job.  We ask about wines all the time because we know what we like, but we don't know what's "supposed" to go with certain foods, for example.  They'll be happy to help, I promise

Fat Tire Amber (which is just the "regular" Fat Tire) would probably be a safe bet too, but I definitely think it's a bigger label than a lot of the other things you can find at a specialty store.

I'm sure he'll be happy no matter what it is.  Does Alabama allow mix and match packs?  That's also fun and if he doesn't like one, there's always a different one to try!

In AU we could get them, but I've never seen one here. This area SUCKS.

ETA I need to quit posting cus I keep having to edit them, hahah. I need coffee.

esstee33

Sugargirl1019 said:

You could get him a kit to brew your own beer! He might find that entertaining, DH and I have friends that do that.

Brewing your own beer is wayyyyyyy involved, expensive, and time-consuming. And there's a pretty high probability of making something that tastes like pee. 

Could be entertaining, though. 

hellosweetie1015

esstee33 said:

Sugargirl1019 said:

You could get him a kit to brew your own beer! He might find that entertaining, DH and I have friends that do that.

Brewing your own beer is wayyyyyyy involved, expensive, and time-consuming. And there's a pretty high probability of making something that tastes like pee. 

Could be entertaining, though. 

Well, FI's a chef, and has brewed his own beer before, so I doubt he'd come out with something that tasted like pee. FLAVORED pee, probably, but not straight-up pee. But we don't really have a place to do such a thing right now. 

slothiegal

CaitTDid23 said:

H'okay so. 

FI's birthday is coming up. And I had a spiffy awesome present for him - he'd mentioned wanting a Spiderman sunshade for his car a while back, and I got it, and I was ALL EXCITED TO SURPRISE HIM and then a couple of nights ago, he asked me (completely out of the blue) if I'd gotten it. And I can't keep a fucking secret to save my blessed life. -.- 

SO I need a new birthday present for him. One that he DOESN'T already know is coming. And I think a nice craft beer would be an excellent choice. Problem being I don't DRINK beer, so I have no idea what to get. I don't want to get him something gross. He's generally into dark beers; he drinks Yuengling when we go out and Budweiser when we're home. 

I know this might be a regional thing, but any and all suggestions are more than welcome. 

(KIDDING, KIDDING.  I have nothing relevant to add, PPs have already given every suggestion I would've thrown out.  Just had to throw some RuPaul in.)

hellosweetie1015

slothiegal said:

CaitTDid23 said:

H'okay so. 

FI's birthday is coming up. And I had a spiffy awesome present for him - he'd mentioned wanting a Spiderman sunshade for his car a while back, and I got it, and I was ALL EXCITED TO SURPRISE HIM and then a couple of nights ago, he asked me (completely out of the blue) if I'd gotten it. And I can't keep a fucking secret to save my blessed life. -.- 

SO I need a new birthday present for him. One that he DOESN'T already know is coming. And I think a nice craft beer would be an excellent choice. Problem being I don't DRINK beer, so I have no idea what to get. I don't want to get him something gross. He's generally into dark beers; he drinks Yuengling when we go out and Budweiser when we're home. 

I know this might be a regional thing, but any and all suggestions are more than welcome. 

(KIDDING, KIDDING.  I have nothing relevant to add, PPs have already given every suggestion I would've thrown out.  Just had to throw some RuPaul in.)

Are you judging me for my lack of beerology? Or are you judging FI's beer taste? Just curious...

kaos16

Go to the beer shop. . . tell them what you have seen FI drink and enjoy.  Let them know what types of food he likes too. (food tastes may help them steer you towards a pairing)

some beer stores have a mix and match area where you can create your own six packs.  That could be good if you don't know exactly what to get, he can try a variety of things.  Also, some breweries do variety packs.  Magic Hat comes to mind, but i'm not certain.  You might be able to get a seasonal variety pack or something.

 

Good luck!!!

esstee33

I'm judging the shit out of his beer taste, haha. If he's a chef he probably has a pretty kickass palate, so I'm not sure how he can stand drinking Bud and PBR. I smoked for 20 years and my palate is wrecked as hell, and they taste awful even to me. 

pinkcow13

How about Brooklyn Brewery?

princessofgenovia

CaitTDid23 said:

PBR. I don't really remember what all else he's had, since sometimes it's a brand I've never heard of. He's had Sam Adams occasionally. 

Yeah, I've seen Abita around. Avondale (I think?) is in Birmingham, so we can get that. 

I may drag him to the local brewery instead. That way he can just drink what he wants.

ETA OOOH Fat Tire. He likes Fat Tire.

This actually sounds like an awesome idea. I took FI to a brewery once and it was seriously the best time he ever had. He wasn't really a huge beer fan, he'd drink it but didn't really care much about what he was drinking. But now he really thinks about what he wants, what he likes, what he doesn't like. It was a good time.

hellosweetie1015

He *likes* fancy beer, I just don't think he's willing to *pay* for fancy beer. Which is why I want to get good stuff for his birthday. Special occasion and all that jazz.

I take it those are particularly not-good very bad beers? I figured as much since they're cheap, but you know. Cheap shit isn't ALWAYS terrible. I like the cheap knockoff cheerios better than the brand name. 

I may go over there when it gets a little closer. I'm going to pester him and see if I can't figure out something that's a little more helpful.

esstee33

CaitTDid23 said:

He *likes* fancy beer, I just don't think he's willing to *pay* for fancy beer. Which is why I want to get good stuff for his birthday. Special occasion and all that jazz.

I take it those are particularly not-good very bad beers? I figured as much since they're cheap, but you know. Cheap shit isn't ALWAYS terrible. I like the cheap knockoff cheerios better than the brand name. 

I may go over there when it gets a little closer. I'm going to pester him and see if I can't figure out something that's a little more helpful.

Yeah, Bud and PBR are essentially water flavored vaguely like beer. Yuengling is slightly better, but still pretty basic with not much of a flavor profile. Try to do some more digging. Someone suggested Untappd, which is an awesome app for discovering new beers. Just figure out where to start. 

arrippa

mschristie123 said:

Allagash white is my all time fave.

Mine too. I am determined to go to their brewery this winter.