I'm 34 and I don't drink. I've tried alcoholic drinks, but never really found anything that made me want to drink. Peer pressure never bothered me, if my friends tried to make me drink, I just grabbed a cup of whatever was on tap and just walked around with it. There are other reasons why I don't drink as well. First, there's alcoholism on both sides of my family. And Second, I have no willpower when it comes to stuff I like.
However, there have been numerous studies linking moderate alcohol consumption with good health. And recently, there have been studies that have shown Beer to be better for you than previously thought. (High in anti-oxidants, vitamins/minerals, and the alcohol of course.) I've always found Beer in it's many many types/flavors/brews/etc to be rather interesting, so I figured I could start drinking beer.
Ground Rules:
1: Only one beer per day. One beer will do nothing to me (6'4", 245lbs) and a hard limit will help keep this from becoming a habit.
2: No big factory beers (Bud, Michelob, Coors, etc.) If I'm going to be having only one beer per day, it better be something with a little more "heart" in it. And besides, I've sampled the big names before and found them boring.
So far I've been working on the Sam Adams beers (had to, I'm an ex-Masshole). I've tried:
Honey Porter (which I'll have to try again at some point, since it was my first), Cherry Wheat, Boston Lager, Oktoberfest, Dunkelwisen, Irish Red, and Brown Ale. So far, my favorites are Oktoberfest and Dunkelwisen, with Irish Red and Cherry Wheat close behind. Next on my Sammy-A kill-list is Blackberry Witbier, and Black Lager.
But I've got a couple recommendations from some friends to try first.
First is Smuttynose Old Brown Dog Ale. Apparently only available in the North East (just got back from a trip to MA), it's a Brown Ale and I'm trying it now. It's very interesting. It has a good smell and a brownish, only slightly cloudy color. The taste is surprising. First thing you taste is smoke. It tastes like it came off a grill. I bet this beer would be great for a cookout. Not as bitter as I'm told most Brown Ales are. Overall, a very smooth beer. I like it, but I think it should be paired with food. What I find interesting is that this beer makes the Sam Adams beers seem "safe".
Tomorrow is Sam Smith's Organically Produced Lager. This is HIGHLY recommended by another friend of mine. So I'm looking forward to trying it.
I started this thread to get other suggestions for interesting beers to try. So any ideas would be appreciated. I hope to turn this hobby drinking beer into eventually brewing it. I've always wanted to try brewing, but knew I didn't have the palate to do it right.