Best Mainstream Beer

[BLADEMDA]

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Wallstreet Journal listed the ten best beers in America (large brands):

1. Yuengling Traditional
2. Blue Moon
3. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
4. NewCastle Brown Ale
5. Guiness Stout
6. Samuel Adams Lager
7. Modelo Especial
8. Becks
9. Heineken
10. Corona Extra

 

[BLADEMDA]

I like most of them and I must say it is a good list.

 

[BLADEMDA]

It may be about time Budweiser relinquished its title as "King of Beers." According to the recently released 2012 Harris Poll EquiTrend Rankings, there is a new batch of brews with stronger brand equity, customer connections and buzz. 24/7 Wall St. has examined the report, identifying the 10 beers with the strongest brands.
The beer brands with the greatest strength -- a measure of familiarity, quality, purchase consideration, trust and the ability to generate buzz -- are largely more expensive brews. Nine of the 10 are among the most expensive beers out of the country's 20 best-selling beers. The beer that is not one of the most expensive, Yuengling, is not far behind in price.


American consumers also are spending more on these beers. Dollar sales of every beer on the list has increased from one year prior. Yuengling, Blue Moon and Modelo Especial have had the largest increases among all popular beer brands. Meanwhile, many other brands, including Budweiser by Anheuser-Busch InBev, Keystone Light and Natural Light, experienced decreases over this same period. Sales of Bud Light Lime dropped nearly 7 percent over this period.

 

[countingdays]

Wallstreet Journal listed the ten best beers in America (large brands):

1. Yuengling Traditional
2. Blue Moon
3. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
4. NewCastle Brown Ale
5. Guiness Stout
6. Samuel Adams Lager
7. Modelo Especial
8. Becks
9. Heineken
10. Corona Extra

Wrong! Shiner Bock!

 

[sevoflurane]

The only beer I might drink that is "mainstream" is a Corona with a lime after I get done mowing the lawn. Besides that, my top 3 beers are:

Leffe: Just got back from Europe and had the privalege to drink this stuff on tap. Good stuff 👍

Victory beers: Golden Monkey and Hop Wallup in particular. Watchout with this stuff. 3 beers and I'm done for.

Chimay:

 

[loveoforganic]

Sierra nevada always tastes skunked to me. Also, no dos equis amber? One of the better productions imo

Edit: Local micro favorite

They put out plenty of good stuff

 

[SeminoleVesicle]

I love Guinness when I got a little coin in my pocket and Killian's when money's tight.

The list is pretty solid though.

 

[pgg]

It may be about time Budweiser relinquished its title as “King of Beers.”

First beer I ever drank was a Budweiser. Some frat guys gave me and a friend a six pack in return for watching their sofa for a couple hours while we were camped out for concert tickets. I didn't touch another beer for ... a year? Two? I thought all beer tasted like raw sewage.

To think all that time I was drinking bottom shelf vodka and $8/gallon "tequila" mixed with whatever we had on hand, I could've been drinking good beer.

But after choking down some Budweiser, I didn't have the stomach left to try any others ...

 

[G0S2]

Wallstreet Journal listed the ten best beers in America (large brands):

1. Yuengling Traditional
2. Blue Moon
3. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
4. NewCastle Brown Ale
5. Guiness Stout
6. Samuel Adams Lager
7. Modelo Especial
8. Becks
9. Heineken
10. Corona Extra

#3 and has been my whole drinking life. If you haven't yet, try Dale's Pale Ale. It comes in a can and is hoppy goodness.

 

[dhb]

sorry not really mainstream

 

[BobBarker]

Corona is awful. Dos Equis special lager for that category is far superior. PBR should have been on there. And no, I'm not joking. Heineken is even worse than Corona.

 

[nycitygas]

Sevo,
Leffe is my all time favorite beer. I LOVE IT.
One perk of New York City, is you can get it in almost any deli or corner store here-I've never seen it for sale in any other city

The only beer I might drink that is "mainstream" is a Corona with a lime after I get done mowing the lawn. Besides that, my top 3 beers are:

Leffe: Just got back from Europe and had the privalege to drink this stuff on tap. Good stuff 👍

Victory beers: Golden Monkey and Hop Wallup in particular. Watchout with this stuff. 3 beers and I'm done for.

Chimay:

 

[Frank Rizzo]

I still like the Bud Light... call me white trash, I don't care.

 

[Trisomy13]

Sevo,
Leffe is my all time favorite beer. I LOVE IT.
One perk of New York City, is you can get it in almost any deli or corner store here-I've never seen it for sale in any other city

They sell Leffe in the supermarket in Erie, PA. It's not *that* rare.

But it is that good. 👍

 

[lushmd]

Sevo, if you like Chimay you should try Leffe Brown.

 

[BLADEMDA]

Leffe Brown. Is that beer similar to anything on the list 1-10?

 

[dhb]

They sell Leffe in the supermarket in Erie, PA. It's not *that* rare.

But it is that good. 👍

Leffe is from Interbrew which became Inbev which is now Anheuser-Busch Inbev so it's not surprising that it should penetrate the US market.

I really like this one:

 

[dhb]

Leffe Brown. Is that beer similar to anything on the list 1-10?

No i don't think so but i've never tried the NewCastle Brown Ale

 

[nycitygas]

They sell Leffe in the supermarket in Erie, PA. It's not *that* rare.
But it is that good. 👍

Haha really??! My bad. I'm glad such a great beer is widely available. I've never seen it down south. I guess yankees have better taste

 

[badasshairday]

I still like the Bud Light... call me white trash, I don't care.

Coors Light >>>>>> Miller Light >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Bud light

IMO

As for my favorite large label beers:
Mickey's
Henieken
Corona

 

[BLADEMDA]

I'll be drinking a Leffe tonight. My wife called and is picking me up some at the supermarket. Thanks

 

[Dwindlin]

Coors Light >>>>>> Miller Light >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Bud light

This x1000.

My go-to's on that list are 1, 2, 4, and 6. Have never tried the Leffe, will have to look for it around here.

 

[Kahr]

Love that this is in Anesthesiology. 😛

Good list, I'd probably go for the pale ale, or the Modelo Especial, though I've actually only had regular Negra Modelo, which is awesome, never went back to Corona after I discovered it.

 

[sevoflurane]

They sell Leffe in the supermarket in Erie, PA. It's not *that* rare.

But it is that good. 👍

Yep. I get it here in my little BFE...

I've yet to see Leffe on tap here in the US though. 🙁

 

[OB1🤙]

1. Yuengling Traditional- A fine choice, though I have not seen it in supermarkets west of the Mississippi.

2. Blue Moon- It's not my favorite style of beer, but it's well done and is generally a crowd pleaser. The womenfolk tend to like this style, so there's that.

3. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale- I'm unsettled about this. It's the prototypical wide-release pale ale, but it's not even close to the best pale in any given supermarket you visit. If I'm handed a Sierra I'll drink it happily, but wouldn't buy any myself given the choice.

4. NewCastle Brown Ale- Sure, why not. Nice and smooth. To steal a phrase from Bud Light (which is the best American light beer by far, you chunderheads above have it all wrong)- it has drinkability.

5. Guiness Stout- The breakfast of champions. 'Nuff said.

6. Samuel Adams Lager- They deserve a lot of the credit for the whole people-actually-caring-about-the-taste-of-their-beer thing. The Boston Lager is still one of their best styles IMO.

7. Modelo Especial- Meh. Negra Modelo is better than the Especial. Pro tip: all Mexican beer is pig piss, with the exception of Negra Modelo.

8. Becks- I'm really not a bad German lager guy. So pass.

9. Heineken- I'm really, really not an absolutely ****ty Dutch lager guy.

10. Corona Extra- WTF is this doing on any list of beer worth drinking? This is swine swill.

Give me a nice hoppy local IPA anyday over the above. Stone, Lagunitas, Green Flash, and Racer 5 are my favorite examples.

 

[RT2MD]

Lot's of favorites... depends on my mood/weather. I like a lot of those on that list... especially Blue Moon/NewCastle/Guiness. If I have to choose between cheap crap beer its either Bud Light or PBR. I really don't like Heineken. I will have to try that Leffe, though... looks good.

Here is an IPA that I was recently introduced to. Pretty solid:

http://www.samueladams.com/enjoy-our-beer/beer-detail.aspx?id=40f052d8-81f6-4a7b-9a38-6806c0eeebff

I like local beers, so these are some of my favorite locals... probably doesn't help many, but Boulevard is expanding, and I think that New Belgium is pretty far reaching. Free State is still pretty local, although they finally started bottling in the last 2 years... it used to be only available at the brewery in kegs or growlers. 👍

Overall deliciousness:

http://www.boulevard.com/BoulevardBeers/tank-7-farmhouse-ale

In the mood for a nice stout:

http://www.boulevard.com/BoulevardBeers/dark-truth-stout

Hot as hell?:

http://www.boulevard.com/BoulevardBeers/unfiltered-wheat-beer/

Another one of my favorite ales:

http://www.freestatebrewing.com/beer/ad-astra-ale/

Can't forget about this:

http://www.newbelgium.com/beer/detail.aspx?id=7c5b394b-d7b7-486a-ac9a-316256a7b0ee

 

[RT2MD]

2. Blue Moon- It's not my favorite style of beer, but it's well done and is generally a crowd pleaser. The womenfolk tend to like this style, so there's that.

Not good to have this typed right before I did my post...

 

[Cinclus]

In case you guys know anyone who needs to eat gluten-free (or if you want to try something a bit different), I recommend New Planet beer; it's sorghum-based. That and Woodchuck hard cider (not a beer, I'm aware) are my go-to gluten-free drinks.

 

[OB1🤙]

I like almost all of New Belgium's stuff, but of all of it, the Fat Tire is my least favorite. A bit malty for my taste.

 

[okayplayer]

Big time IPA guy. My favorites in no particular order:
Stone IPA
Laguinitas IPA and Hop Stoopid IPA (my god is Hop Stoopid good)
Double Mountain IPA (Hood River OR)
Boundary Bay IPA (Bellingham WA)
Bridgeport IPA (Portland OR)
Deschutes Inversion IPA (Bend OR)

Some fantastic beer coming out of Bend OR right now.

I am a West Coast IPA snob. I almost can't drink anything else. I've traveled the US (and world) and this stuff is as good as it gets!

 

[countingdays]

 

[DrBeaker]

Corona is awful. Dos Equis special lager for that category is far superior. PBR should have been on there. And no, I'm not joking. Heineken is even worse than Corona.

I love me some PBR. Best keg beer.

I'm Irish, so Guinness wins for me. Good hearty breakfast.

 

[lushmd]

Leffe Brown. Is that beer similar to anything on the list 1-10?

Not really. Its similar to Chimay (not quite as good, but much cheaper). Hope you enjoy it.

 

[doctor712]

For me,

1) Boddington's.
2) everything else.

Boddingtons is my goto and favorite hands down. But it's def not common to all bars or markets. The perfect flavor.

D712

 

[lushmd]

Definitely not mainstream, but when I was in Portland Oregon last year I stopped by the Rogue Brewpub one night and the bar tender mixed a beer version of mole using 1/3 chipotle ale and 2/3 chocolate stout. That was some good stuff... Surprisingly, I find that its not too difficult to find both of these component beers on the east coast.

 

[RT2MD]

For me,

1) Boddington's.
2) everything else.

Boddingtons is my goto and favorite hands down. But it's def not common to all bars or markets. The perfect flavor.

D712

Ahhh, yes. Boddington's is an excellent brew. I will agree with you there.

 

[powermd]

Whenever I'm back in NY, I head to John's of Bleeker and order a mushroom pepperoni pie and a pitcher of Yuengling's. It all goes down soooo well.

I'm a big fan of Beer Advocate. I check their ratings before I buy anything nowadays. Anyone else check them out?

My first beer was a Bud... at the age of two! My dad used to fill my Peter Cottontail egg cup with beer whenever he'd finish up mowing the lawn. Man I loved it... so much so I helped myself to a whole can (or two) from the fridge one day. Mom took me to the ER freaking out. Good times!

Have to give a shout out to one of my personal favorites:

 

[MTGas2B]

Definitely not mainstream, but when I was in Portland Oregon last year I stopped by the Rogue Brewpub one night and the bar tender mixed a beer version of mole using 1/3 chipotle ale and 2/3 chocolate stout. That was some good stuff... Surprisingly, I find that its not too difficult to find both of these component beers on the east coast.

+1 to Rouge. Dead Guy is available at a decent number for west coast places outside of Oregon.

I'm a Northwest guy. Once I got started with Northwest IPA I was hooked on hops. Now I'm trapped in SoCal for a while. I have to admit, SoCal IPA, Green Flash, Stone, Alesmith, Pizza Port, it makes me cry when I realize I like them better than a lot of my NW IPA favorites. I even found an article in the Oregonian that argued San Diego was a better beer town than Portland. After actually being here for about a year now I hate to admit it, but I think they are right. Won't stop me from heading back north in a few years though.

 

[okayplayer]

There are some great SoCal IPAs. I would rate best WC beer cities as San Diego = Portland >> Seattle > Bay Area. I think the brewery scene is way stronger in Portland than Seattle for some reason.

 

[MTGas2B]

I would agree. Lived in Seattle, but always looked forward to my trips to Oregon for the beer. After being in San Diego for a while though, I think SD is a bit ahead. The IPA are even hoppier down here.

 

[countingdays]

I would agree. Lived in Seattle, but always looked forward to my trips to Oregon for the beer. After being in San Diego for a while though, I think SD is a bit ahead. The IPA are even hoppier down here.

At some point it's just too much hops. Some of these IPAs seem to think the more hops they can cram in a bottle, the better the beer. I disagree. Beer has more than one ingredient for a reason. Of course everyone likes what they like and there is no wrong answer.

 

[scudrunner]

Anyone tried Bells Hopslam? Love it.

Next up, a polar opposite, Dragon's Milk. Love this too.

 

[okayplayer]

For me it is all about the floral aroma/taste of the hops, which probably correlates pretty well with the IBU of the beer. But there are plenty of 55-65 IBU beers that I love and I am actually not a fan of the majority of the imperial IPAs and the double/triple IPAs that I have had. In general if it is poured in a weird glass and not a pint glass I usually end up not liking it that much.

I think a lot of the really pungent floral taste can come from dry hopping.

 

[MTGas2B]

Enjoying a stone ipa right now.


On the iPhone

 

[fakin' the funk]

If you define mainsteam as available-in-any-major-grocery-store, then I think Sierra Pale and Sam Adams Lager are among the best. I think the rest of that Top 10 list is garbage, outside of maybe Guinness. My go-to "piss" beer is Bud Heavy or Bud Light > PBR.

I also really like Sierra Celebration and Summerfest, for diffferent reasons, those seem to pretty available during their respective seasons.

Here in San Diego, we are absolutely spoiled for beer and most major grocery stores, pharmacies -- hell, gas stations -- have an excellent selection of micros in 4 packs, 6 packs, or 22's, with an emphasis on local, so "mainstream" is a little skewed here.

Since I first tasted it 1.5 years ago, Green Flash Imperial IPA has been far and away my favorite beer, displacing Stone Arrogant Bastard. Almost everything Ballast Point makes is excellent as well.

 

[fakin' the funk]

For me it is all about the floral aroma/taste of the hops, which probably correlates pretty well with the IBU of the beer. But there are plenty of 55-65 IBU beers that I love and I am actually not a fan of the majority of the imperial IPAs and the double/triple IPAs that I have had. In general if it is poured in a weird glass and not a pint glass I usually end up not liking it that much.

100% agree. I hate those weak little tulip glasses. The beer's usually over-alcohol'd and you look like a douche holding one.

 

[coldweatherblue]

a lot of these are just "name your favorite beers" not mainstream..

the best mainstream beer is living in Munich, drinking Paulaner Hefeweizen in the summer, and Salvator Doppelbock in the winter..

 

[bcat85]

Big time IPA guy. My favorites in no particular order:
Stone IPA
Laguinitas IPA and Hop Stoopid IPA (my god is Hop Stoopid good)
Double Mountain IPA (Hood River OR)
Boundary Bay IPA (Bellingham WA)
Bridgeport IPA (Portland OR)
Deschutes Inversion IPA (Bend OR)

Some fantastic beer coming out of Bend OR right now.

I am a West Coast IPA snob. I almost can't drink anything else. I've traveled the US (and world) and this stuff is as good as it gets!

Stone and Lagunitas are both top notch--haven't tried the others.

Would definitely add Big Sky IPA and Loose Cannon. Modus Hoperandi from Durango is probably my all time favorite though.

 

[vector2]

Whenever I'm back in NY, I head to John's of Bleeker and order a mushroom pepperoni pie and a pitcher of Yuengling's. It all goes down soooo well.

I'm a big fan of Beer Advocate. I check their ratings before I buy anything nowadays. Anyone else check them out?

My first beer was a Bud... at the age of two! My dad used to fill my Peter Cottontail egg cup with beer whenever he'd finish up mowing the lawn. Man I loved it... so much so I helped myself to a whole can (or two) from the fridge one day. Mom took me to the ER freaking out. Good times!

Have to give a shout out to one of my personal favorites:

Beer Advocate is just a fantastic site. I think everyone ends up there eventually when they finally realize that there's more to the beer world than the American Adjunct Lagers that are readily available on tap everywhere (bud, coors, miller, corona, dos equis, busch etc)


American Adjunct Lager

Description:
Light bodied, pale, fizzy lagers made popular by the large macro-breweries (large breweries) of America after prohibition. Low bitterness, thin malts, and moderate alcohol. Focus is less on flavor and more on mass-production and consumption, cutting flavor and sometimes costs with adjunct cereal grains, like rice and corn.



Anyway, here's some beers:

 

[sevoflurane]

Anybody brewing their own beers?

I've been tempted for years...

Interested in the quality of beers that can be brewed at home.

If it doesn't taste like the good stuff, I won't bother... of course I understand there is a learning curve to brewing your own.