I'm serving what is in my fridge: Pretty much always in there. We had company last night for "taco night" at our place and we had a lot of different things. We started the night with a beer, then Champagne with dessert, then some red wine and finished with some scotch/rye -Laphraoig Quarter Cask and Bulleit. Twas fun.
Light lager or pilsner. Kirin Light, Amstel Light, Sam Adams Light, Heineken Light in that order. Know what sucks? Lagers and pilsners require refrigeration in order to make properly. Microbreweries don't bother with this, so you get nothing but IPAs and ales. And snooty hipsters that like drinking beer you've never heard of are happy to pay too much for Lagunitas IPA which means there's one store in a 5-mile radius that even has Kirin Light. The local grocery store has even stopped bothering to carry Amstel.
it's darkish for a pilsner, but Labatt Blue is totally legit as mass market brews go.
unfortunately, yes. But when I was in OH I could get bottles at some of the convenience stores. I don't know if it would be worth searching for, in comparison to some other Pilsners like Staropramen or Pilsner Urquell.
There are some breweries that still have Pilsners and such. Oskar Blues readily springs to mind.
Right - and if I go to Total Wine I can pay $3 a can. But as late as last year, I could get a sixer of Amstel down the street. Now? Frickn' Amstel is a Total Wine run. I can buy 13 kinds of cider, 97 different IPAs, four or five stouts and if I want something that isn't 300 calories a bottle, my choices are Sam light, Heineken light, Bud light or Michelob Ultra. And that's why I'm cranky. There are as many non-alcoholic beers near me as there are decent lagers.
Tonight we had samosas, so probably Muskoka Brewery's "Detour", or "Mad Tom"
Dinner tonight is flat iron steak, bacon wilted brussels sprouts and garlic cauliflower mash. Lets see.... I'd go with a hoppy Amber Ale. I like to have counterpoints to food, but I feel like most straight up IPAs that are worth drinking are best enjoyed by themselves, or with something flavor neutral. Amber ales provide a solid grain body to stand up to steak and garlic, and depending on the hops used, a good citrus or piney counterpoint. I'm a huge fan of Hop Head Red by Green Flash. I'll probably go grab some later.
We had company over Thursday night and we grilled pork tenderloin wrapped in bacon with a side of whiskey sours and Sculpin IPA. Our go-to beer choices usually revolve around whatever is on sale. :P