Your favourite drink?

[NewEnglander]

I've always thought of "beer" as the stuff we have here in the U.S., Bud, Coors, Miller, etc. My dad always drank Black Label when I was a kid and he'd let me have a taste of it if I asked.
To me "ale" would be the stuff that you'd get over in Germany, Europe, England, etc. If I were to ever go overseas, then I wouldn't mind having a taste of a 'real ale' just to see what it is like.

It's sad to hear that you've never heard about or tried any brews of America's excellent craft breweries. Please know that there is much more and much better beer out there than what Bud, Coors and the like offer.

[jkane]

Guinness tastes like sour coffee to the beer newbie. Sorry, there will be arguments on that view, but it's true! Young's double chocolate Stout is a better first choice to get you into stouts. :-)

One more thing about Ales to help explain the confusion. In the US we have a beer tax system that is made up state by state. Each state defines words describing beer. Ale has become a legal term in some states that defines things like alcohol content. Another term is Malt Liquor in some states. To the brewer, they mean something very different. But to the tax authority they mean how much tax you pay. And to the bottle label designer, it means what word HAS to be somewhere on it to help the poor consumer be even more confused about what they are really drinking.

Ale and malt liquor usually mean the beers that have a higher alcohol content. Not always though. Each state can do what they want. Makes it hard to sell beer in every state unless it has 3.5% alcohol so it can be called "beer" everywhere!

[Dougald]

Yikes! to have to choose!
Fond as I am of a good IPA, and even fonder still of a good peaty Isla malt, I really couldn't do without a nice glass of red wine.
It's a good afternoon sip while prepping dinner.
It's great with dinner.
And it's great for a slow sip while watching a movie.
Day in, day out, it's got to be a nice Shiraz.
Ah, but what a choice to have to make!

[B. Somm]

It's sad to hear that you've never heard about or tried any brews of America's excellent craft breweries. Please know that there is much more and much better beer out there than what Bud, Coors and the like offer.

Actually, I'm aware of a few of the small craft breweries in my area and I've been to the one that's up in Prescott (north of Phoenix) that is supposed to have pretty good suds, but I'm just not a beer/ale person. I prefer soda pop with my meals and went to the brewery in Prescott for the food, which is pretty good in and of itself! (Not only do they brew their own beer/ale, they also make their own sodas.)

Some day I'll get up the nerve to try a "real" beer or ale just out of curiosity, but it's not a priority. As I mentioned, if I ever managed to get overseas, then I would definitely have a taste of authentic suds just to see what it was like, but since I don't drink, then the experience will probably be lost on my tea-totalling palate!

B.

[jdriskill3]

Bourbon and Single malt whiskey's are my favorites. For beer, its Guinness and Red Dog. Cheers.

[SteveB]

Favourite beverages:

Irish Breakfast Tea, when I rise. English Breakfast Tea at break time. Earl Grey at Lunch time. Barry's Gold at dinner. Lyon's in the evening. I will taste of the wine when I first open the box, the rest is used in cooking. Guinness or a single Malt when Tea is not available (very rarely). I am the walking definition of a Tea totaler. I total many a tin of Tea each year.
I just had to check "other"

Slainte

[DryFly]

I chose "Beer" since I usually have some cold and grab it without much consideration. Whiskey demands more deliberation for me. Scotch, bourbon, single malt, single barrel, blends, it depends on the evening, situation or mood.

Actually, there is one category missing from the poll: All of the Above

[KiltShot]

Beer, definitely, because of the TREMENDOUS variety of lagers and ales. I avoid the American Macro-lagers and instead enjoy American craft beers and German or Belgian imports. Think summer ales, Oktoberfest and winter lagers!

Why the spam attack all of a sudden? And why this thread?

[Nighthawk]

I voted whiskey. However, since mead wasn't an option, I didn't have much choice!

[Rob Wright]

I picked other. For me it is Tea. Irish Breakfast in the morning. A Jasmine white mid day. Either a red or white in the afternoon and a white in the evening. I still like my beer and single malt but having gone from a bottle and a half of scotch a week to two drinks a week, tea has become my drink of choice for health reasons

Rob