De La Tribe said:

And another real good one is the Ninkasi Total Domination IPA. Worth it for the name alone!

agreed! I went to school in Eugene, where it's brewed, so I've Total Domination many. many times. delicious and one of the best ipa names!

And another real good one is the Ninkasi Total Domination IPA. Worth it for the name alone!

I actually think Mexican beer is very underrated. XX is a good one. I like Pacifico and modelo a lot too.

I can barely do Modelo, idk it just doesn't do it for me, bro. I understand though, it is cheap beer, and our culture tends to take a lot of pride in whatever they produce, even if it isn't good to the rest of the world. The Indio, it rings a bell. Hope you can recall it. I'll ask around as well.

On that note, I guess I should use PUTS - "Beer" joint as a catalogue for trying some of their suggestions <img src="https://www.putsonline.co.uk/forum/my-plugins/bb-smilies/pfunk/icon_cool.gif" title="8-)" class="bb_smilies" />

ILikeBeer, I did pass by the actual Russian River Brew down in Santa Rosa. Yet to try their stuff, but a fellow friend who grew up their says it's overhyped. Anyhow, thank you for the suggestions. Will give some of the familiar ones more of a shot.

See, growing up in my familia, it was all about Coronas, Tecates, Sol, Modelos, Pacifico, and Budweiser as an exception :?, Only Mexican beer I'm down with today is XX. Even then, for a long time, I was turned off by beer. On the flipside, my culture puts it down on that Tequila tip, and that DeLa is what I will drink straight :-D. Still exploring that, too, though.

Anyhow, since the move from L.A. to Humboldt State, I'm in a county known for housing a sweet # of great microbreweries, so I should be in luck for drinking some good local stuff. We have an annual beer fest of our own every August. That said, I do see single beers sold at the Co-Op. Aside from Double IPAs, I've been able to expand my tolerance towards hoppier, and darker beers such as the Oatmeal Stout, but am still on the lighter side of the spectrum such as the Imperial Golden Ale , and Rasberry Lambic style ale, (A Belgian Dubbel brewed with 480lbs of whole raspberries, Belgian Ale Yeast, Begian candi sugar, Hallertauer Hops, and American Oak chips).

*Correction: as for 40s, I meant to write I only drink High-Lifes now. Ol' E, King Cobras... out the do' fo me!

i'm drinking a stone enjoy by ipa as write this post, groov, try one of these out while you're on the ipa hype! changes every three weeks or so.

"to my kidneys and liver, you're time is near/yall like hanging on twitter and we like beer!"

Visit your local brewery and make friends with them. They'll let you in on their passion. Those guys can articulate beer very well.

First, wherever you are, drink locally! Beer is better the closer it is to home. For example, when I lived in Texas I loved Shiner, but if you try to get it out here in CA it kinda sucks. That's because the beer I got in Texas was probably brewed and bottled the week before, whereas the Shiner in CA probably took a month get out here and then spent another month sitting on the shelves, all the while having gone through multiple temp changes, which when put together kills the beer's freshness.

This doesn't mean that you can only drink beer brewed in your county, just try to consider the time and distance involved in getting the beer into your hands. Luckily for you, (I think you said you were from Humboldt) you should have a great selection of CA and OR beers to choose from, CA and OR probably being the craft beer center of the world.

And for me, the best way to expand your beer horizons is to drink as many different beers as you can. Different types, different labels, everything. A good way to do this is to find a beer you like and then sample all the other beers that label makes. Then try another one. You'll drink some bad beers for sure, but you'll find some great ones too. And figuring out what's bad can be just as helpful as figuring out what's good.

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Lastly, drinking liquor straight (neat) is the only way for man to drink. And by liquor I mean whiskey. Sure you'll develop liver and stomach problems a lot quicker that way, but that's a small price to pay for manliness!

The best way to choose/decide which style you like is to simply go out and try them. For each beer you try, compare it to characteristics of the style you're drinking. Also, read the tasting notes on the beer label.

Here's a really good reference of styles:
gedaz.com/download.php/misc/downloads/styles

And here's a breakdown of some of the vocab in that list
http://www.borderbrewco.com/blog/2013/11/13/a-cheat-sheet-to-ordering-beer

So while you're getting a feel of the tastes/characteristics of each beer style, compare it to beers you've tried of the same style. What makes that beer different?

Once you've done that, you'll start to develop your "ideal" characteristics for each style. However, the craft beer world is always changing and your preferences will evolve too. That's my favorite thing about it.

Here's my biggest tip. Craft beer can get super expensive. If you really want to expand your beer horizons and not waste money on beer you might not like, I'd suggest not picking up a 6/12 pack and look for places that sell singles and buy a bunch of different kinds.

The most important thing is to have fun with it and keep it simple.

Lastly, here's some of my favorite west coast IPAs since I'm guessing you're around California

1. Sculpin IPA - Ballast Point Brewing
2. Racer 5 - Bear Republic Brewing
3. Pliny the Elder or Blind Pig (hard to find) - Russian River Brewing
4. Drakes 1500 or IPA - Drakes Brewing
5. Firestone Union Jack - Firestone Walker Brewing