SB Party/beer question
 

I'll pose this as a straight up question rather than trying to convolute it into a poll format. Here's the deal:

Tou're going to a small SB party, your only assignment is to bring along a 12 pack of beer. You know little about the people attending, certainly don't know their beverage preference, just that they're all aged 35-54. What do you take?

FWIW, my personal beer preference goes something like Guinness, then other stouts/darks, then basically don't care much for it. I'll drink a Coors regular in the hottest part of summer maybe twice a year, otherwise I'm pretty meh about anything outside of my wheelhouse.


My eventual decision is here

I'd go Stella artois. It's palatable enough for any woman that might want a beer, but not bmc that will draw ire of the growing legion of beer snobs

Well damn, my hand lingered over Stella when I was picking last night. I honestly didn't know what it's exact perception was in the general public.

I'd say you did well to cover bases. I don't you really see you hanging out with somebody that would complain about not having some beer from some obscure brewery.

Yeah, you done good. I would have said a twelver of a domestic light beer, just because you'll know it will get drunk. But the six-and-six is a good call.

Def agree on the Miller Lite. I think you did well.

If I don't know what the crowd is going to be is usually grab a twelve of Summit Extra Pale Ale. Not expensive, from a popular local brewery, people who don't drink craft beers typically don't hate it and most IPA drinking snobs won't refuse to drink it.

Not something available everywhere as far as recommendations go. Would try finding regional equivalent elsewhere in the country, though if I had to go with national beer I'd probably end up with something from Sam Adams

I would go XX for the same reason Karlifornia said stella, but stella is a good choice too :)

The mix-and-match was a solid bet.

I agree with the mix and match, no one likes snobby beer guy.

I always think Sam Adams is a safe choice. Not in the bad range but not in the real fancy range.

+1

I considering doing a variety pack from (Athens-based) Terrapin for that reason ... that just felt soooooo trendy though

Summit is hardly trendy when it comes to breweries in Minnesota. It opened 28 years ago which makes in ancient when compared to the 40 or so breweries that have opened since the start of 2011 in the state (and their could be around a dozen more opening next year).

I would have definitely gone 6 pack american light, 6 pack import, so i think you succeeded.

Well, I was pretty much talking about Terrapin, not familiar enough with Summit to call it trendy or not.

12 pack of Guinness. Fuck those pussies if they don't drink it. More for you!

+12

Do people really like Guinness in a can? If you're gonna drink 1-2 I can see it, but 3-4 or more and I can't stomach Guinness - its just like drinking a loaf of bread.

If you're splitting into 2 6's, I think you hit it nearly right - get a very drinkable 6 pack (Blue Moon, UFO White, Stella), and then go for a 6-pack with a little more flavor, whether that's a dark beer, a winter seasonal, or a flavor pack or whatever. Up here, I usually go Harpoon/Shipyard/Wachusett/Sea Dog, but every region has it's own whether it's Shiner Bock, Ommegang, 21st Amendment, BBC etc. If I'm feeling fancy and want to throw down the extra $5 I might even go for the 4-pack of Dogfish Head 90 minute - imo that's the one mass-produced kraft beer that's consistently a notch above.

Bottles baby, bottles.

I'll do the cans in a bar setting where that's the only way they have it (happens occasionally) but that's about it.

Guinness cans are way better than they have any right to be, but they still pale in comparison to a bottle. Draft is by far the best way, but bottles aren't bad.

I would have done what you did, Jon.

So, considering the history between the two of us, I expect you to start second guessing yourself in anguish right about now. :D

Mike's Hard Lemonade!

Okay, well, that's what my dad drinks.

Makes me wonder if the 12 was for everyone.. :D

Currently Im on a health kick and going on 6 weeks without a beer. Otherwise I am a pseudo beer snob, in that I love crafts (especially a good IPA) but will also enjoy a cold Bud lite or natural light as well..

All in all you did good.
Though if Guiness is your BOC I would have brought a 6er of that and a 6er of cheap macro...

Heh. My theory goes, Bring Beer You Will Drink.

A twelver of Guinness woulda been just peachy.

Late to the "party" here. My only question would be to ask "how small?" If it's small enough that you're the only one bringing beer, then I think you pretty much nailed it. However, if there might be 3 or 4 people bringing 12-packs, then I'd go with something like 6 Guinness and 6 Miller Lite. (And yes, I realize that my definition of "small" may be different from yours, which is why I brought up the question. ;))

As far as I can tell, everyone loves Terrapin - even folks that don't drink fancy stuff - as long as you don't get Hopsecutioner or whatnot.

Heck, Sweetwater 420 would be a choice that would work for everyone, I'd imagine.

Also, I'll echo Sam Adams as a beer that appeals to all sorts. Beer snobs won't turn their noses at it and regular guys will be familiar with it as well.

When I drink beer, it's the crappy stuff. Miller or Bud - whichever happens to be on sale.

I weep for your alien taste buds.

Turned out to be very very very small ;)

(As in, bless their hearts, the hosts pretty much got stiffed by everybody but us for one reason or another)

Oh, just for the record, the host said that for future reference his favorite type of beer was ... cold.

:D

Seriously...who still buys beer in cans??

I like Guinness, but I know dark beer isn't for everyone. I typically will restock when my in-laws are around, and my FIL is one of those. He does seem to like Hefeweisens though, and our beer store usually has some variety of that available (Paulaner, Spaten, etc). So I'll get a 6-pack of that and maybe a variety 12-pack of something like Sam Adams. Or Fat Tire, or whatever. Occasionally I'll buy some cider (wife doesn't like beer as much, but likes cider). So I'd probably put together some mix of the three to come up with 12. Or I'd just bring more than 12. What the hell, bringing extra won't kill me.

It may sound weird, but some microbrews are going to canned beer - 21st Amendment is one.

Stupid hipster beers...

Guinness is better from a can than from a bottle. The little widget thing that makes it draught-like does the business.

Yeah I was confused by that too. I thought that was the only reason they put it in cans in the first place.

FWIW,

I also prefer Guinness in a can rather than bottle.
[As you said, draft being the clear #1 option.]

I brought Yuengling Bock to a SB party yesterday -- dark but very drinkable and not terribly snobby / expensive.

I think it also helps with penetration into liquor stores. Unless they do a weird setup, 12-packs of beer bottles are usually on the bottom couple shelves while 12-packs of cans are higher and more prevalent. I've started to see a lot of Blue Moon/Wachusett Blueberry/UFO White etc in 12-packs of cans now when I only remember seeing them in bottles until a couple years ago. Maybe that's a quirk of the area though - Somerville/Cambridge tend to be more hipster-ish (not a perfect comparison, but think the Brooklyn of Boston) and the liquor stores try to stock a lot of different beers in small stores, so every little bit of space helps. Plus when I worked in one we'd always have customers dropping and breaking bottles in the cooler, but never had that problem with cans.

It is interesting to see what's put on draft in other parts of the country. When I was in Charlotte I'd see Yuengling and Sam Adams everywhere, which I used to associate with Pittsburgh and Boston respectively (although now Sam Adams is getting dropped from a number of Boston bars because they charge more than similar beers and don't have that local cachet anymore.)

Forbes apparently had a article on this last year:

Craft Beers Say Hello Cans, Goodbye Bottles: An Aluminum Revolution - Forbes


I guess I can see it. Not worrying about broken glass is a good thing, esp if one can take away the metal taste.

You see this with mid to upper level wines too. Now that the technology has improved, a decent number are using twist-off caps instead of cork, even with the snobs still turning their noses up at them.

Gotta have cans when you are tubing down the river.

Bear in mind, though, you're meant to pour the Guinness from the can into a glass to drink, even with the widget.

Yeah. I pretty much always pour my beers into a glass when I'm at home, can or bottle.

The bummer about this is that you can't use cork v. twist-off and real cork v. synthetic as an easy indicator of quality anymore.