When I am in the grocery store, I sometimes like to buy a six-pack of beer that I have never tried.
The experiment can go one of two ways: I can love the beer, or I can hate it. It's pretty simple.
More often than not, I find a beer that is so disgusting, I can't even trick my friends into drinking it. Buying six-packs of beer proves to be risky because if you hate the beer, you have five bottles left that will sit in your fridge forever.
But there are inexpensive, low-risk ways to explore and seek out new beers - all without the commitment.
Draft beers at brewpubs or restaurants offer the perfect opportunity to try something new with no risk of overstocking the fridge with distasteful drafts. Actually, the best way to get a taste-test requires no money at all. A simple question can seal the deal. Just say something like, "I would love to try something new, is there any way I can sample the (insert name of beer here)?" This is brilliant because it costs nothing. If you hate the beer, you can be brave and ask to try something else or you can play it safe and order a beer you know you already love.
If you're looking to try many different beers at once, annoying the bartender is not a good idea. Instead, stake out a place that sells a sampler. The Travelers Club International Restaurant & Tuba Museum, 2138 Hamilton Road in Okemos, is a great place to go. It offers the "Taste of Michigan Sampler." For a mere $3.50, the sampler includes five 4-ounce samples of beers brewed in Michigan. The selections range from New Holland's Sundog, Bell's Two Hearted Ale and Arcadia's India Pale Ale.
Many breweries also offer samplers of their own beers. Each ranges in price and variety, but offers a wide assortment. They are usually arranged from light beer to dark and many times have an accompanying detailed explanation of each sample. Grizzly Peak Brewing Company in Ann Arbor, for example, offers mix-and-match samplers. If you are very curious, you can try nine different styles of beer for only $10. That's 45 ounces of beer. If that sounds like a little much, they also offer five, six, and seven mix-and-match samplers.
When drinking a sampler, I always recommend a glass of water or something else close by to cleanse the palate. It is the best way to get each beer's individual flavor and texture. I also recommend eating either before or after the tasting; many of the beers offered in the sampler tend to have a higher alcohol content than more traditional styles.
Bottles, if done right, also allow for a taste-test. Many stores now are beginning to sell beer by the bottle. Cost Plus World Market, 427 Mall Court in Lansing, is one of the better locations in the area. It has a wide variety of beer, both microbrews and imports, and a lot of its stock is sold individually. Most bottles are between $1 and $4 and can be mixed and matched to create a six-pack all your own. They also sell 10-bottle, pre-assembled kits that range in theme and cost about $15. Two of the themes offered are Winter Ales or Beers From Around The World.
Michigan Brewing Company, 2582 M. 52 North in Webberville, also sells a sampler pack of its beer. These can be found at most stores that sell its brand. The packs are quite similar to those sold at Cost Plus World Market; each contains 10 beers of various styles. Quality Dairy stores are just one of the many places these kits can be purchased.
Restaurant and bars are other obvious places where individual bottles can be purchased. East Lansing bars and restaurants offer a fairly good selection. Most carry more common brands and styles, but occasionally do offer an opportunity to try something new - some more than others. Crunchy's, 254 W. Grand River Ave., has an excellent beer selection both on tap and in the bottle.
There are many more treasures I could mention, but if I took the time to talk about them all, there would be nothing left for you to discover. The places and ideas above are just a few starting points for your beer-tasting journey. Now go out and explore - and save the fridge for the beer you like. ?
Angela Mitchell, a hospitality business senior, is the State News beer gal. If you can balance more than 10 pints on your head, you've got talent. E-mail her at mitch314@msu.edu.
