If you could create your own variety pack for beginners

[livebigforever]

Some of you have helped me a lot already, and I thank you. I've been doing a lot of "research". One of the first things I did to get myself introduced to the types of beer was to buy the michelob craft pack. Now now, I know I'm going to get some heat for that, but I really wanted a variety pack so I could test all the different kinds and begin to tell the difference.

www.slashfood.com/media/2008/09/michelobfallwintersamplerpa.jpg">http://www.blogcdn.com/www.slashfood.com/media/2008/09/michelobfallwintersamplerpa.jpg

I noticed how they broke the beer into 4 different sections.

Now if you were to create a variety pack for beginners (as this is clearly marketed towards), how would you have done it? What beers would you include etc?

Thanks Again
P.S I also have been trying out real microbrews since buying the craft-pack.

[Ray Grace]

I think this is a great start in terms of styles, although I might substitute a wheat or hefeweizen for the marzen. So I might put a set together like this, a pale ale like Stone Pale or Deschutes Mirror Pond or Anchor Liberty, a brown ale like Moose Drool from Big Sky or Bridgeport Beertown Brown, than a porter like Deschutes Black Butte or Firestone Porter, and than a wit beer like New Belgium Mothership Wit or Avery White Rascal.

From there you can move on to other styles , if you like the pale ale you can try IPAs, if you like the brown ales and porters try some stouts or Imperial Russian Stouts, the skys the limit.

[Rob DeNunzio]

Only four bottles, eh? Wheat, pilsner, pale and porter. With the explicit caveat that the real world offers deeper iterations of all. (Fifth bonus bottle would have to be a lambic.)

[olllllo]

Trying to stay within the spirit of a four pack limit you might just go with American representations of classic styles, Pale, Wheat, Stout with the fourth being a wildcard (BW, Lambic, Brown, Porter). Probably a German or Czech Lager.

Actually, other than the lager and lambic, this is looking like the tap list of a chain micro.

As you can see from Ray's pale ale example, it's easy to get 4 within a style.

[Chipper Dave]

If I were to include certain styles in a craft beer starter variety pack I'd want to include the following styles:
1) Pale Ale
2) Amber ale
3) English ESB or Scottish ale
4) Porter or Stout

I'd stay away from IPA's, Barleywines, Sour ales or Spiced beers initially as they may be a bit overwhelming. I would be borderline on a Belgian style, Lambics or Wheat beers.

[livebigforever]

Hmm Interesting. I was a little confused by the marzen as I hadn't heard of it before.

[Virgil G]

marzen is also known as octoberfest.

[Virgil G]

a 4 pack of beers... as intro to beer...

1. wheat -- hacker pschoor weizen
2. pale -- sierra nevada pale
3. scottish -- dark horse skotty karate
4. porter -- great lakes edmund fitzgerald

those are all good examples of the styles

now for the advanced class

1. wheat-- same
2. pale/ipa -- hercules DIPA (porbably more available than say.. pliny the elder)
3. scottish-- 3 floyds robert the bruce, man, it's a whopper
4. porter/stout -- stone IRS.

[Rob DeNunzio]

Where is the lager love, people?

[olllllo]

Trying to build up some lager love here.

The Trilageral Commission

[John LeMasney]

I want to sign up for the advanced class, please.

[Ray Grace]

Ok, we can then add a lager to the mix, Sam Adams Boston Lager, or Rogue Dead Guy, Victory Prima Pils. I know all over the lager map, maybe you can have a separate lager/pils 4-pack.

[Leigh @ The Good Stuff]

nice idea - for me, it would depend what kind of thing my 'beginner' would want to start - I can certainly think of maybe one of as many styles as I can think of - so you'd have: SNPA, Orval, Aventinus, Fuller's London Porter, Hopback's Summer Lightning, Leifmans Kriek and maybe and Erdinger Wheat and Dunkel as a nice intorduction. This is actually quite ahrd question!!