Beer hopping

Are you in a beer rut? Drinking lots of IPAs or brown ales and reluctant to branch out? Or do you have a loved one who proclaims "I don't like beer," and you'd love to introduce her to the world of good beer? The surest way to find a beer you'll love is to choose one that features flavors you already enjoy. Here are a few foods and beverages that have parallels in the beer world.

Chocolate Quite a few beers use real chocolate or cocoa in the brewing process. Locally, your search for chocolate beers should begin with those from the Rogue Ales, which have wide distribution in Birmingham. As the name implies, Rogue's Mocha Porter is a mild, dark beer with prominent notes of coffee and chocolate (it's available in bottles). On draft, you can sometimes find Rogue's Chocolate Stout, Double Chocolate Stout, or Double Mocha Porter. The Chocolate and Double Chocolate Stouts in particular taste like bars of dark chocolate more than any popular understanding of the flavor of beer. One other to watch for is Cocoa Porter from Tommyknocker Brewery. It's a seasonal item available only in winter.

Fruity cocktails Are there any alcoholic beverages with a taste farther from popular American lagers than sweet and fruity mixed drinks? Typically, Cosmopolitans and PBRs are consumed by people who would never consider trading one for the other. But there are beers that would be appreciated by the Cosmopolitan crowd. If fruity cocktails are your thing, check out Lindemans' Framboise. It's sweet with just a hint of tartness, and exploding with raspberry flavor. It should be the first stop for almost anyone who doesn't think they like beer. Other fruit beers worth exploring: Sweetwater Blue tastes like a blueberry muffin, Great Divide's Wild Raspberry is fruity but retains a beery character, and Abita Purple Haze is a classic raspberry wheat beer that's readily available locally.

Whiskey Connoisseurs of whiskey often drink their fair share of beer, usually in the form of light lagers. Whiskey drinkers who resort to beer for volume drinking and reserve whiskey for special events need to discover the world of oak-aged beer. A potent oak-aged barley wine is quite similar to whiskey in many respects, but boasts added flavor complexity from hops and unique yeast strains. Unfortunately, most oak-aged barley wines are packaged in either 22 ounce or 750 milliliter bottles, making them illegal in Alabama. But Huntsville's Straight To Ale brewery occasionally sends Birmingham a keg of Unobtainium, a barrel-aged old ale. It's malty, boozy, and aged in used whiskey barrels, so it is a great bridge into the world of good beer.

Peated Scotch Whiskey While the U.S. has its fair share of top-notch distilleries, plenty of American drinkers would name smoky, peaty Scotch whiskeys as their beverage of choice. If that smoky flavor is up your alley, try some smoked beers. The beers come by their smoky flavor via the same process as Scotch: malted barley is smoked prior to going into the mash. Here again, Rogue comes through with its aptly named Smoke Ale. Another is Great Divide's Smoked Baltic Porter. And there's a new one in town, an amber smoked wheat ale called Boucanee, brewed by Bayou Teche in Louisiana. Smoked beers may be a little harder to find as they don't appeal to a majority of drinkers, but if you like peated Scotch, they are definitely for you.

Tart white wine If I've seen it once, I've seen it a thousand times: a couple goes out to dinner at a restaurant with a decent beer selection; he orders a beer, she orders a glass of wine. Anyone who has been to a beer tasting knows the world of serious craft beer drinkers is heavily dominated by men. It doesn't have to be. There are plenty of beers that would appeal to women who prefer wine. Whether you are male or female, if you prefer tart white wines over the sweeter stuff, take a look at the world of sour beer. Try Lindemans' Cuvee Rene. Unlike the sweet Framboise, Cuvee Rene is an accurate representation of the lambic style, which is to say it is quite tart. It also has some grape and pear notes which should appeal to fans of white wine. Another one to look for is Hanssens Oude Gueuze. For something less intensely sour but still tart, have some of Jolly Pumpkin's Bam Biere.

Bold red wine Though no beer truly mirrors the flavor of bold, complex red wines, there are beers that share some important characteristics. Many boast alcohol hotness, dark fruit flavors, and tremendous complexity. One style comparable to red wine is the Belgian-style quadrupel. Quads are revered by beer geeks for their flavor as well as the brewing reputation of the Trappist monks who originated the style. Most feature flavors of plums, raisins, caramel, nuts, and spices. They tend to be a bit sweet, but not cloying. The best example of the style you'll find with year-round availability in Birmingham is St. Bernardus Abt 12. Just as good is Trappistes Rochefort 10. On draft, look for The Reverend by Avery Brewing Company.