17 replies to this topic

[jbehmoaras]

I've come accross a couple sweet beers in my time but I really havent had a chance to explore much into it. I was wondering if anyone could recommend any good beers (US and international) with a sweet and less bitter taste... I'm not really interested in very syrupy beers but if you think its worth a shot, let me know.

Maybe if I let you know what kind of beers I like that might help too ... a couple are:

Chimay
Ommegang
Samuel Adams (Boston Lager, havent ventured out too much with the others yet)
Ithaca Nut

Edited by jbehmoaras, 12 July 2006 - 10:30 AM.

[s_sevilla]

walk into any german brauhaus/brewery, be it a biergarten or literally someone's garage (I've been in both), and ask for dunkel bier. Don't give a damn about the hops, how it was fermented, the filtration, any other additives, or how the barley was treated or what strain it was. Trust me, it'll be good, and usually pretty sweet. When I first started drinking beer and couldn't stand the bitterness (I love bitburger now, but when I was 16, it didn't fly with me), dunkelbier and Hefeweizen were the only 2 things I drank. Good thing I got started off on the right foot.

[lemniscate]

Try North Coast's Pranqster and Avery's Salvation. Sweetish, not hoppy or bitter. Alaskan Amber and Anderson Valley's Boont are tops too. I do not like hoppy, bitter beers also, so I tend to go with the Belgian styles.

[Kent Wang]

I love Ommegang.

For sweeter beers, I recommend Avery's The Reverend. It has Belgian candy sugars added to it. Delightful, without being cloying.

[cdh]

Well, bitter is a very individual taste sensation... Think about Campari... can you stand it or not? Some people have more bitter sensitivity than others, and can't handle the Campari bitterness.

I don't know what bitter sensitivity you've got. A beer will taste very different if we both have the same sweet receptors, but you've got double the bitter receptors I've got. But, it sounds like Belgians are probably up your alley. Try dubbels and tripels. Try Delirium Tremens. Try barleywines, particularly English barleywines... American ones tend to be very highly hopped. Try things labelled "Cream Ale", these use some corn in the mash that conveys a sweetness. Try bock beers from germany.

[cdh]

I love Ommegang.

For sweeter beers, I recommend Avery's The Reverend. It has Belgian candy sugars added to it. Delightful, without being cloying.

Belgian candy sugars are 100% fermentable. They will leave only alcohol and no residual sweetness. Residual sweetness comes from unfermentable sugars that grains can be coaxed into producing in the brewing process.

[Kent Wang]

Belgian candy sugars are 100% fermentable.  They will leave only alcohol and no residual sweetness. Residual sweetness comes from unfermentable sugars that grains can be coaxed into producing in the brewing process.

Thanks for the explanation. I always wondered about that but never bothered to investigate. Anyway, The Reverend is the sweetest Belgian-style ale that I like.

Edited by Kent Wang, 10 August 2006 - 04:00 PM.

[Carolyn Tillie]

I'm a huge fan of Moose Drool which my boyfriend claims is way too sweet for his tastes...

[jbehmoaras]

Well, bitter is a very individual taste sensation...  Think about Campari... can you stand it or not?  Some people have more bitter sensitivity than others, and can't handle the Campari bitterness. 

I don't know what bitter sensitivity you've got.  A beer will taste very different if we both have the same sweet receptors, but you've got double the bitter receptors I've got. But, it sounds like Belgians are probably up your alley.  Try dubbels and tripels. Try Delirium Tremens.  Try barleywines, particularly English barleywines... American ones tend to be very highly hopped.  Try things labelled "Cream Ale", these use some corn in the mash that conveys a sweetness.  Try bock beers from germany.

Sorry it took so long to reply ... I've been away and then moved back up to school but about what you said about Campari, I find it to be extremely bitter and have never been able to take more than a sip of it even when mixed in other cocktails that feature it.

[SheenaGreena]

hitachino lacto stout is pretty sweet ...I can't drink more than one of these for that reason alone.

try some pilsners...I find that they have a slight sweetness to them, especially the german style ones.

you can always go with a lambic

Edited by SheenaGreena, 13 September 2006 - 06:26 PM.

[Lilija]

I know this post is ancient, but I came here in a search for different barelywines.

I can add my favorite double stouts Southern Tier Black Water series, their Mokah, Jahva, and Choklat. They're not syrupy sweet, and not as bitter as I would have imagined, but real defined chocolate or coffee notes, still a little hoppy. I still can't find their Creme Brulee anywhere, but I'm dying to try it.

Flying Dog Brewery makes a barleywine, called Horn Dog that is pretty amazing. If you can find it, Weyerbacher 12 is incredible.

I'm generally into double stouts, imperial stouts, stuff like that, but in a recent attempt to branch out, I've been sampling barleywines, and other bizarre stuff. (I'm sipping some amazing Austrian malt liquor, as we speak. It's like if beer, tangerines and honey could have a beautiful sunshiny baby.)

[The Food Buster]

I have three you might be interested in:

1) Okocim Porter: Very cheap Polish beer that a lot of people hate, but that I love. So rich, sweet, chocolaty, and caramel-y that anyone with a sweet tooth should enjoy it. Very heavy, though.
2) Delirium Noel: Don't remember much about this beer other than the fact that I had it in Belgium (it's huge there) and it basically tasted like Christmas in my mouth - spiced gingerbread, etc.
3) Bourbon County: Actually infused with Bourbon, and it shows - this is quite possibly the richest, most decadent beer I've ever had. Very smoky and chocolaty, this sucker tastes more like bourbon than beer.

Hope that helps. Oh, and good choice on the Ommegang. I'm assuming you mean the Chocolate Indulgence - simply delicious.

[PetersCreek]

1) Okocim Porter[...]

I was going to recommend porters in general. They vary in sweetness but on the not-too-sweet side, is one of my favorite off-the-shelf porters: Black Butte Porter from the Deschutes Brewing. It'll give you a modest bite of hops and roasted barley, balanced with some caramel sweetness.

[ScoopKW]

I have about 200 cases of Imperial IPA that is about 1 year old. The hop profile has disappeared, leaving it a strong American Ale. It's pleasantly sweet.

Anyone who'd like to buy a case, and will be in the Las Vegas area, get in touch.

[Florida]

Virtually anything from Southern Tier.

Three Floyd's Apocalypse Cow is pretty damn sweet for a DIPA.

[Amplejacks]

I highly recommend Kwak if you enjoy sweet beers. You mentioned Ommegang; if you enjoy their Rare Vos then this one is right up your alley.

[Homebrew Guy]

Rogue Brewery makes their Nut Brown Ale, which is one of the sweetest I've had. It's brewed with hazelnuts and has a nice malty sweetness.

[DanM]

Doplebocks and Weizenbocks tend to be on the sweeter side. Also look out for cream or milk stouts. They are made with lactose, which is not fermentable by yeast.