Beer recommendation for someone trying to develop a taste for beer (moving away from cider)

I started on cider when I was younger and when I switched to beer it was the fairly bland stuff like Miller at first, as said above drink it as cold as possible. I pretty much only drink Guinness in the pub these days and for bottled beer at home I'd go for one of the Munich Helles lagers like Spaten. Spaten could be an option as it's quite light tasting but it's strong enough at 5.2% too, if you drink these like water you will end up absolutely smashed. I still don't like hoppy beers like IPA and I'm pushing 40 at this stage, don't think I ever will.

+1 for Spaten.

I am out foreign. I have lost count of the amount of "non beer drinkers" who land out for a visit and look for cider (thinking its an international drink because they also have it in England) which isnt available , baulk at the price of spirits, and then hesitently try some Helles style beer and are stunned that its actually drinkable.

In Ireland Spaten is often at a reasonable enough price and because its part of the Stella/ Budweiser group widely available. If they have that in a shop they'll often have franziskaner weissbier (wheat beer, cloudy, actually somewhat fruity and quite sweet) from the same brewery, and if they have that then you may see Paulaner weissbier too which is available thanks to a tie up with Heineken group. All those should be pretty accessable to a cider drinker.

Another one thats widely available is Staropramen from Prague. Its not a helles but still fairly balanced. Also from Czech is Pilsner Urquell....... and that is a damn hoppy/ bitter beer and one to avoid (if thats what you are not into).

Corona with the usual slice of lime might be a good choice too.

May I suggest you get whatever you like each week or whenever you buy beer and then buy one can of something unknown or out of your comfort zone. Maybe buy a couple of different ones but don't go mad.

Drink as usual but set aside a time for trying out your new beer. Google it and see what its all about then drink it to see if you like it and also to judge it against the criteria that you have found online.

I'm part of a beer club that has tasted something in the region of 250 different brews in the last 3 years. Some I'd drink all day others I'd drink and think of as good or bad examples of what they are supposed to be. You don't have to drink many and give them an appraisal to start to develop your own particular style favourites. Knowing that little bit more can help inform buying beer you enjoy drinking. I can happily drink a beer that I'm not that keen on but its still a good experience as part of learning more about beer. Turns out I'm quite boring and go for a dry hopped IPA almost every time.

Oh, they're bloody everywhere here now too!

Little fawn by white hag, Ambush by trouble brewing and Rambler by Porterhouse are 3 of the easiest drinking beers I know, Should be available in most supermarkets.

Sours might be a nice in between drink, and i've seen a few cider drinkers get a taste for them, the puca series by white hag being a go to one.

Someone mentioned corona, Honestly if you get a taste for it you can guarantee that no matter where you go in the world, it'll be available and it'll taste the same.

Hoogaarden - Belgian Wit might be an option for the OP - sometimes fruited versions are available.

Never noticed that. We do research (or at least look up a few detials online) of all the beers we try in our beer club but I don't think we've ever had a juicy/hazy IPA where it hasn't been promenatly flagged on the can. For example you could hardly mistake this one as being both juicy and hazy.

That said while the can or bottle may tell you its juicy or hazy the names don't always give it away.

It's actually really common now. Ever have a Whiplash beer? Also, they keep coming up with new terms to describe hazy IPAs - like Mountain IPA or Cold IPA. It's getting ridiculous.

I now avoid any new IPA that isn't specifically labelled as West Coast or old school or similar.

I don't accept that I should have to look up a beer online, to have a basic idea of its style.

Franziskaner or Patronus Weissbier from lidl are lovely. I'm a Guinness drinker normally but find these two very easy to drink and I get minimal hangovers from them. Around €2 for a 500ml bottle, well worth trying. Same goes for the likes of Paulaner or Hoegaarden but they are a little more expensive. I can't deal with shyte like bud, Miller, Heineken etc but love the weissbiers.

By any reasonable metric, Desperados isn't really beer. It's more of an alcopop!

Although considering what sweetened, flavoured messes are considered beer nowadays, perhaps I should go easier on Desperados.!

There's hope for you yet. That one is marketed as being gluten free so it might not have all the punch of a traditional IPA - don't know not tried it?

If you stick with IPA's there are 100's to choose from. Try some of the more extreme IPA's to see if you like them Pliny the Elder would be one that comes to mind https://www.russianriverbrewing.com/pliny-the-elder/ If you probably have a taste for beer.

This is arguable. Just because Heineken produce it doesn't make it beer.

Similarly, I would not consider shandy/radler beer, either. They have beer in them but they aren't actually beer.

I'm not claiming that Desperados isn't beer because I don't like it, I'm claiming that because I consider it to be a beer based drink rather than a beer.

We will never have an agreed definition on what beer actually is.

It's all just opinions. I'll stick by mine, thanks.

Out of interest, do you consider radler to be beer?

You didn't answer my question.

Is radler (shandy) beer, and if not, why not?

If it isn't essentially opinion, please provide a widely agreed, legal definition for beer.

So you just want to be right and have no interest in delving into the meaning of what we are talking about?

You are a poor and rude debater. Good day to you.