Figured this would entertain at least one person here, it’s definitely entertained my parents.
Backstory: I don’t really drink alcohol of any kind, not a fan of the taste. I expressed my mild frustration at lack of drink variety (i.e., water and tea) to my parents, and they suggested I try a couple different beers to see if there are any I liked.
I then escalated things as I normally do, which has resulted in a spreadsheet built over the course of several months. So if anyone here is interested in the in-depth beer opinions of someone who doesn’t like beer, this post is for you! I mostly just went to a local liquor store that let me build my own six pack and randomly grabbed stuff that looked interesting.
For reference, filtered tap water is probably a 70/100 for me.
I added the beer advocate rating just to see how my scores compared to beer nerds for fun. The subcategory column is sourced from BA, if anything is wrong there, blame them and not me. The main category is me though, if I screwed something up in that column I will take the blame. I don’t really understand the differences between types of beer, other than stouts/porters being generally decent.
I added the Alc/Vol column early on to see if there was any correlation to my scores, but in the end there wasn’t. It’s kind of unnecessary at this point, but I left it in for the hell of it.
Lastly, I say I don’t like beer, but honestly the top 3 or 4 I would call “good.” Not sure if I’d ever buy a 4/6 pack of them, but I enjoyed the singles. With that in mind, if someone has a recommendation for me, feel free to send it. Maybe I’ll expand my spreadsheet in the future, lmao
If you’re dead set on getting to like beer, I’d suggest trying some of your top ones in the appropriate settings. Some beers are marvellous on a hot day, some with food, some to enjoy in a sauna or shower (it’s a thing), some as dessert and some on their own as a session drink (which I guess is how you tried your list).
Porters and stouts are often good for session, but also around food. The heaviest are sometimes good for a dessert beer.
IPAs are also typically for session, but some are nicely refreshing on a hot day.
Lagers are mostly allowed to exist because of how refreshing they are (hot day, sauna, with snacks).
There’s a lot of variety within them though, especially with craft beers, so do check with someone knowledgeable on how a specific beer is best served and enjoyed.
On the other hand, I’m just now exploring the world of iced tea. Tea is already a versatile drink, and with different techniques, mixes and ingredients I’ve found you can ruin a lot of tea.
Mostly it’s good though ;)
Oh, and in case you’ve only ever drunk sweet tea, there are many other ways to make iced tea. A classic one is to do a Turkish style strong, bitter, tea (let it cool) and mix with ice and cold water in a glass. Sweeten to taste, easiest with a sugar syrup, but any sweetener would work.
If you don’t like the bitter sharpness, I’d recommend cold brewing, even a yellow label comes out with a soft profile and you can add flavor afterward with fruit juice, squeezed lemon, dried fruit, etc.