There's a reason for the similarity -- Budweiser uses rice in its brewing process, just like various Asian lagers.

Specifically, MORLAND Old Speckled Hen Ale? I had this at the Brickskeller down in DC as my last beer on the night. I was almost put off when I started it, but as it had a chance to warm up a little it certainly opened up into a damn fine brew.

I was pretty impressed with O'Dell's 90 Shilling on a recent ski trip: well balanced, warming, excellent winter beer.

coors is about as refreshing as ice cold dirty water.

I wish this was opened to cider...not that many people in the uni scene in england drink beer. Its all about strongbow, snakebite (which is half beer i suppose), and shots...oh and if you a rich student then magners or bulmers.

To stay on topic though i like fosters...

Hoegaarden.. I've only tasted it once. But it'll be on my tounge forever. Such a great beverage. Not as good as Mariestad or Stella Artois though. Even as a Swede, I have to admit those Belgium guys knows how to do it.

I've recently moved from Australia to England and have really been impressed by a lot of the English 'real ales'. Fuller's London Pride is one I'm particurly fond of, and fortunately reasonably easy to find in London pubs, and I've heard many good things about Timothy Taylor's Landlord (yet to find it though).

It certainly makes a nice change from Australian beer, which is pretty much all similar tasting lager (with the notable exception of Coopers).

Have you tried the Sammy Irish Red? Had some the other night, liked it a lot. Nice tart flavor.

90 Shilling is a pretty damn good beer, if you like that I'd recommend Easy Street to you.

Also if anyone is near the Denver, Colorado area, I'd recommend trying some Flying Dog, all except the Tire Bite, that one beer by them tastes like cooled piss to me. The Dog In Heat Wheat is a very flavorful beer for being light on the alcohol content, only 4.5%.

Flying Dog is definitely sold outside Colorado, as I've seen it plenty of times. I haven't tried it though.

I'm actually going to be in Denver and Fort Collins in 2 weeks (girlfriend is looking at CSU for grad school), and the internets seem to suggest there are a lot of good microbrews in the area. New Belgium being the one I've heard of. Are there any particular brands or brew pubs I should force her into for making me tag along on this excursion?

I wasn't impressed with it either, although it wasn't for that reason. It's just....I don't know, I just didn't like it.

We're talking the bottled version now. Were I to travel to Belgium, I'd definitely give it another go.

I hate you for comparing Mariestad to Hoegaarden.
Ugh.

If you want to compare Mariestad to something similar from Belgium try Bel Pils. Or just drink 3 bottles of duvels in 30 minutes and then stand up quickly.

It's avaible in Sweden if you place a special order from our alcohol monopoly store Systembolaget. I've tried some of the flying dogs and kinda liked them. But I don't remember what kinds.

Avalanche is out of Breckenridge and supposed to be pretty good.

New Belgium, full stop. Free tasting with tour. Free cases of beer for random trivia during the tour. I was just there over the Christmas holiday, and it was the highlight of the vacation.

Before the holidays, I took a trip to Bend, Oregon to visit some friends. I like beer as much as the next guy, but it wasnt until I toured the Deschutes Brewery (Deschutes Brewery | Bend, Oregon | Handcrafted Ales & Lagers |) that I realized how great a finely crafted beer could be.

I've had my fair share of American swill (Hi, Budweiser and Coors), but wasnt totally clueless. I even had a soft spot for several American beers that aren't total crap (Hi, Fat Tire Ale).

But after taking the tour of Deschutes' facility, and trying numerous generous samples of many of their beers, I feel like I got a much better idea of what it takes to make good beer (and why the American big boys like Coors and Miller usually fail at doing so).

I am stuck in on this Friday night, so to lift my spirits I've combined some chocolate ice cream from my fridge and a bottle of Vanilla Java Porter from Atwater Block Brewery. The beer was from the first shipment of my "Beer of the Month" membership that I got for Christmas from my girlfriend. The beer float is pretty good -- I'd try it again! (I've heard of doing it with vanilla ice cream and some Lindeman's Framboise, which sounds pretty good to my ears.)

Hmm, I suppose I had rose-colored glasses on since it was the first time I had ever toured ANY brewery. However, I am a big fan of their entire operation, not just the beer. And while it wasnt spectacular, maybe I'm just not as critical due to not even knowing what a decent beer was till last year :P

I am also going to the Bay Area soon, and hope to tour the Lagunitas facility. Looking forward to that!

And yeah, after 15 miles of riding, any beer thats cold would probably be welcome. Heh.

The Sam Imperial Pilsner is definitely worth it - they did an excellent job with it. Also, for those of you who drink cider - have you noticed Strongbow changing their formulation? I tend to drink it when I'm not in the mood for a buzz, and lately it's been tasting a lot different - sweeter and closer to the Woodchuck garbage.

Not saying it isn't available outside Colorado, just saying micro brews are harder to find.

For Fort Collins, visit the top 3 here for the beer, and visit the Bud plant for the tour.

Home of New Belgium Brewery, Fat Tire Beer, and the Tour de Fat

Fat Tire is a damn good beer, along with Sunshine and Skinny Dip(summer brew), and 2 Below.

Odell Brewing Co.

90 Shilling is a decent beer, pretty dark. Easy Street, a lighter beer, also very good.

Welcome to The Fort Collins Brewery

Only had the Retro Red, was pretty decent.

And of course Anheuser-Busch Brewery Tour - Fort Collins Brewery Tour

As for Denver: Realbeer.com: Denver - Breweries/Brewpubs

Far too many to list, and far to many to visit.

So now, here's my question.

I've never actually had a beer, just harder stuff.

If i could try, just one single beer.

What type should it be?

I'd try one single beer from each major style. A pilsner (Victory prima pils maybe), lager (Rogue maybe), pale ale (Sierra Nevada PA or Stone), IPA (Stone IPA or Ruination), Porter (Stone smoked or Sierra Nevada if you can find it), and Stout (Victory Storm King). Once you figure out your favorite style you can look for more brands along those lines and expand your beer knowledge.