Trust me, I love a good cask-aged barleywine or a glass of imperial stout. But I usually save those heavy-hitter beers for special occasions and lazy Saturdays. For casual weeknight dinners, I keep one of these casual weeknight beers stocked in my fridge.
These beers are like old friends. I come back to them again and again, and I never seem to tire of their flavors. They have enough alcohol to help me relax, but not so much that I feel it the next morning.
• Racer 5 from Bear Republic Brewing Co. - A fantastic IPA and a fantastic addition to everything from Pizza Night to Taco Night.
• Indian Brown Ale from Dogfish Head Craft Brewery - Not too sweet or too bitter, this beer is just right. My pick to go with roast chicken and pasta dishes.
• Left Hand Milk Stout from Left Hand Brewing Company - This is my husband's favorite beer and I'm not complaining. Smooth and sweet, we like it with slow-cooked braises and stews.
• Amber Ale from Bell's Brewery - Totally balanced with bright citrus and mellow caramel flavors. I love it with burgers and big dinner salads alike.
What are your favorite everyday beers to go with dinner?
Related: Beer for Dessert: 5 Great Beers to End a Meal
(Image: Flickr member ktylerconk licensed under Creative Commons)
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I'm crazy into Rolling Rock because it's so refreshing in the summer especially. It's also super-light. And I also am a big fan of Hacker Pschorr and any citrusy wheat beer. Yum!
Troegs Hop-Back Amber...can't go wrong.
I'm a little ashamed of how mass produced it is, but a Blue Moon is almost never a bad choice on a weekday night. Widmer's Drop Top Amber used to be our houshold standard when we lived in Oregon, but it's harder to find since we moved, and too expensive to be an everyday beer when we do find it.
Anything by 21st Amendment tends to show up fairly frequently on weekdays as well.
For east coasters - Yuengling.
Currently loving the Mich Ultra flavored beer that came out with last year, as well as the new Bud Lite Platinum. :-)
I agree w/the HopBack and all the amber ales, and add to it Dogfish Head Raison d'Etre.
Call me a simple gal but a Fat Tire on any given day-weeknight or not-will never fail to disappoint.
Walt Whit, an unfiltered Belgian beer from the Philadelphia brewing company. Really good, and only $9 for a 6 pack at Wegmans (cheap for PA state-run liquor!).
lazy mag - indian summer.
My son introduced me to Sessions by Full Sail. It's from the northwest but my distributor could get it in the mid-Atlantic. Clean, smooth; like it says, a session beer. Plus you can play rock/paper/scissors with the caps.
http://www.fullsailbrewing.com/session.cfm
Founders from Michigan has a new beer called Everyday IPA. Great IPA taste with only 4.5% alcohol.
Any of my own homebrews from my garage. My absolute favorite is a dry, spicy saison that I call "Farmer's Daughter."
*guffaw* I just spit my casual weeknight beer which i keep stocked in my fridge all over my keyboard. thanks. (just thankful i don't favor one of those mass produced brews so i don't feel obligated to feel ashamed)
Not ashamed to say blue moon and yuengling
I bet the founders is a killer choice, having some homebrew on tap (no matter what variety) is hard to pass up as well!