Well, the winner is Jill, of course, because she get to try some awesome beer courtesy of B&WB. For those of you who missed it, I asked our friends and readers to suggest a beer for my friend Jill, who loves wine and is open to trying an interesting craft brew. Many great suggestions poured in, and there was a lot of good give and take in the comments.
So what beer did we ultimately pick? Well “beers” is more accurate, as I totally cheated and picked more than one…
Before I get into the picks, I’d like to thank everyone for your great suggestions. At one time or another I had just about every beer suggested in the comments in my cart, and I over-bought at the store, not being able to make a final decision at the shelf. This turned out to be a very hard thing to do. And while all of your suggestions didn’t make it into Jill’s bag of beer, most of them made it into my garage and I’m going to enjoy them immensely. I thank you for that, too.
Okay, so here’s what I picked and why…
Otter Creek Quercus Vitis Humulus
This was a suggestion by Stevie from BasicallyRed and it’s a smart one. She said:
I absolutely loved this brew. It is grape-y and hoppy, which sounds right up Jill’s alley. It is also very complex, with lots of hints of different fruits and a great oak undertone which makes it not super sweet. Lastly- since the ABV is so high on this brew, it’s a nice sipping beer, which means that Jill can slowly get used to the tastes and take her time getting acquainted with and enjoying what in her glass.
Who could pass up a suggestion like that? Plus my beer guy Kevin already had one set aside when I got to the store, another strong endorsement indeed. It also kind of covers off on Holly’s Allagash Curieux suggestion and, as a stretch, Bill’s DFH Midas Touch recommendation (at least in the sweet and wine-like department). I haven’t tried this one yet, and I picked up one for myself as well. So double thanks, Stevie.
Even after razzing Don about this suggestion and enjoying how Beer Poet worked him over a bit in the comments about it, I decided that a nice Belgian should be part of the mix. It’s a wonderful place to start. And why do a Dubbel or Trippel when you can have a Quad? So I decided to let the other brother (from the same mother) have his way here. I’m curious to see how Jill reacts to this beer and if Don, who loves this rather big Belgian is right, or if Beer Poet will win the day and Jill will turn up her nose at the funky and forward flavor of this beer. We shall see.
I chose this beer unilaterally because it’s awesome. I was having one last night and really grooving on its rich date flavors and the slight alcohol burn in the finish and thought “this is my favorite beer right now, Jill should get one of these.” Good thing I recently bought a case. It’s a bit of a wild card here, but good is good, and I’m betting Jill will love it, too.
Thank you all again for your great suggestions. I delivered these three beers to Jill this morning and she promised to try them over the weekend with her fiancee PJ and report back. I’m hoping to have thoughts from both of them to share early next week. Until then, I’ll be enjoying all the great stuff you suggested that didn’t make into Jill’s bag. There’s never a loser when it comes to great beer. Cheers!
Beer & Whiskey Brothers 
Awesome! What a brewtiful mix… (alright, alright, I had to do it!) Will we get to see Jill’s comments on these beers? So glad you liked my suggestion- hopefully we’ll get another convert- Ladies of Craft Beer Unite!
http://ladiesocb.com
Great reco, Stevie. I like to give beer noobs a taste of a wine-like beer to blow their minds a bit. This one covers lots of bases with grapes, oak, champagne yeast, etc. Beer like this really open peoples’ eyes to what beer can be. I can’t wait to try it myself.
Nice picks, Jim! Lucky, Jill. Thanks for letting all of get involved. It was fun. I’m intrigued by how Three Philosophers goes over, too.
It’s the riskiest pick in the bunch, Chad. My beer guy Kevin talked me out of a Chimay Blue Label here and into the Three Philosophers. It’s jumping into the deep end a bit, and it’ll be fun to see her reaction to it.
And I can’t wait to smash Don if he’s wrong…
And you shot me down when I initially suggested a Belgian, Ha!. I’m sure it was hard, yet fun work on your part – curious to hear the reviews.
Yeah, I thought it over and realized that lots of craft beer lovers (including me) started with Belgians. It’s a smart place to start, even if I’ve subsequently grown tired of them.
I would choose a Chimay here, but Don and Kevin both campaigned for Three Philosophers, which I’m not sure I’ve ever had. I have no idea what to expect, but it should be fun to see what Jill and her fella have to say.
Interesting selection, I have had the Otter Creek in my fridge for a while and for some reason, I cant seem to get myself to open the bottle. I really dont know why.
Well now I have one in mine, too, Bill. We’ll see who cracks first.