Beerly Beloved

Beerly Beloved

December 15th, 2010 @ 3:19 pm by Ms. Sloth
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Months and months ago, Mr. S and I used a nifty party calculator to determine how much booze we need to buy for the wedding. We knew how much to buy, but we weren’t sure which brands to buy. Eventually, we decided that for the hard liquor we’d purchase premium brands, but not brands that were the absolute top of the line. That means Absolut instead of Grey Goose. Cuervo instead of Herradura. Dewars instead of 50-year-old Glenfiddich. Easy peasy.

As far as wine goes, we were considering just heading to Trader Joe’s and picking up some Two Buck Chuck. Then I actually tried Two Buck Chuck. I personally am not a fan. It would’ve been back to the drawing board until Mr. S’s brother, a wine and liquor rep down in Florida, volunteered to provide our wine as our wedding gift. We sent him our menu, and he said he’d pick out something great. We totally trust him. Done and done.

Then there’s the beer.

Beerly Beloved : wedding beverages philadelphia Anheuse anheuse

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We decided to go for bottles instead of kegs, but after that we’re stymied. What brands of beer should we buy? How many different kinds?

I love beer, but since I started dieting, I’ve completely given it up. So my interest in the beer we serve is all for our guests’ benefit. I’m trying not to let my personal tastes get in the way.

Mr. S wants Pabst. Good ol’ PBR. It’s his favorite cheap beer, it’s totally palatable, if not tasty, and he thinks it would be funny to serve it at our wedding. Pabst is trendy and kitschy, but I’m not sure if all of our guests would drink it.

I don’t think we’ve got many fans of the big three—Miller, Coors, and Bud—so those are out, too. But we need to find a simple, popular, and drinkable beer. Yuengling lager, maybe, or even Corona, which is a warm-weather staple. Other suggestions from friends and family for a simple, palatable beer have been Heineken and Stella Artois.

I also think it would be a good idea to maybe incorporate some local Philly beers into our menu. There are a lot of breweries around here: Yards, Flying Fish, the Philadelphia Brewing Company, and Victory, just to name a handful. Each of these breweries has at least one simple, fairly light, totally drinkable beer.

But then we’ll have some beer snobs at the wedding. Do we get something dark and hoppy for them and their acquired tastes? Or do we stick with lighter, more “friendly” beers?

We only want to choose two to three beers for the wedding. Do you have any suggestions, hive? What do you plan on serving at your wedding, and what kind of beer do you like to drink?

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44 Responses to “Beerly Beloved”

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Member

Tralala (message) 113 posts, Blushing bee

Oooh I wish we knew a wine rep! We’re getting married in Georgia and met in Boston, so we’re serving a Sam Adams Lager, a Georgia IPA (either Sweetwater or Terrapin) and something for the light lovers, maybe a Miller Lite or Sam Adams Light. We also considered Sam White if it’s available for wheat lovers.

12/15/10 @ 3:29 pm (reply)

Member

mrstilly (message) 1,399 posts, Bumble bee

We supplied bottled beer at our wedding. We went with three options - Yeungling (DH’s pick), Sam Adams Summer Ale (my pick) and Miller Lite (a more generic lite beer).

We did about a 45% miller lite, 33% yeungling, and 22% summer ale. The miller lite was almost gone, we had 2 cases of yuengling left and 1 case of summer ale left.

12/15/10 @ 3:30 pm (reply)

Member

Dragonsus (message) 1,194 posts, Bumble bee

Ugh,the alcohol nightmare!!!
My vote is to do Yuengling, One local craft beer and Stella. Covers a variety of tastes and you can always send the leftovers home with the bridal party

12/15/10 @ 3:31 pm (reply)

Member

MJogan (message) 124 posts, Blushing bee

Wait, wait, wait. You’re having a Pennsylvania wedding and not positive you’re serving Yeungling? LOL Just kidding, but really, awesome beer.

One thing I will say for PA, they have some GREAT brews! =)

Thanks for sharing this post and that really nifty calculator!

12/15/10 @ 3:42 pm (reply)

Member

cadesigner (message) 42 posts, Newbee

Completely depends on your guests. We had a keg of Delirium (an awesome Belgian beer that my husband loves and had to specially source), and a keg of Pacifico as a lighter refreshing option (just started being available last summer in kegs). My parents insisted on getting Coors Light for all the people who wouldn’t want the other two, and we told them that nobody would drink it. Guess what? Nobody did. And the Delirium was gone before the end of cocktail hour because everyone knew it was the good stuff.

We also had tons of wine that we sought out and specially chose, but no liquor (weren’t allowed, but probably wouldn’t have had it anyway).

I’d recommend something like an amber and a lighter beer like Pacifico. Local craft beers are definitely a good idea. Since you’re doing bottles, you can get the dark hoppier beers for the beer snobs in smaller quantities. But I probably wouldn’t offer more than three types - with all your beverage choices, there could be choice overload!

12/15/10 @ 3:50 pm (reply)

Guest

Raquita

I’m from MO so I am a fan of schlafly brews the Pale ale and the APA are great, and then there is Boulevard brews of which the pale ale and lunar are excelent..

I say go with something awesomely different! do a beer tasting that won’t blow your diet and will help you pick just the right flavors to go with your day!

Good luck!

12/15/10 @ 3:52 pm (reply)

Guest

Christine

I would go for two lighter friendlier beers (a couple cases each, depending on size of wedding) and then a few less cases of a dark hoppy beer for your connoisseurs.

Fun!

12/15/10 @ 3:53 pm (reply)

Member

ladyox (message) 831 posts, Busy bee

I don’t have any beer suggestions for you, I just wanted to say that Beerly Beloved might be my favorite post title ever. Gave me the giggles at work and I guarantee I borrow it next time someone I know gets hitched (I’m classy like that!)

12/15/10 @ 3:56 pm (reply)

Bee

Miss Panther (message) 1,046 posts, Bumble bee

Another vote for Yuengling here! I personally love Heineken and Stella, but I think some people might find them too bitter (is that the right word?). If you had other crowd-pleasers in the mix, though, I think they’d be a good alternative option!

12/15/10 @ 3:57 pm (reply)

10.

Guest

The IKEA Bride

If you get PBR, plus one Lager and one Ale… it should fit everyone’s beer-drinking tastes.

12/15/10 @ 3:59 pm (reply)

11.

Member

Kelly H (message) 61 posts, Worker bee

I would say Yuengling, Sweetwater, and PBR since it’s what Mr. Sloth wants. Yuengling covers PA, Sweetwater covers GA, and PBR is a nod to what Mr. S likes. Guests who don’t like these options have plenty of other non-beer options so I think you’ll be good!

12/15/10 @ 4:04 pm (reply)

12.

Member

Miss Munchkin (message) 48 posts, Newbee

I agree with serving Yeungling!! I suggest checking out breweries online like Magic hat and Harpoon they have delicious beers that fit a lot of taste buds so you can see what they have out for the season that fits your wedding and there you go!! That’s probably what i’ll end up doing b/c Mr. Munchkin and I are picky with our beer…

(one of my somewhat generic favs is Presidente…a Dominican beer, very yummy)

12/15/10 @ 4:05 pm (reply)

13.

Member

kirafiki (message) 68 posts, Worker bee

we had a lot of out-of-town guests so we really wanted to have local beers. We bought several cases of different kinds of beer so that people liking dark beers had that and we bought more lighter beers just cause it was summer and that seemed like the beer to have for an outdoor summer party. With the local beers, we figured that people would just enjoy trying something new to them.

12/15/10 @ 4:07 pm (reply)

14.

Bee

Mrs. Trail Mix (message) 6,328 posts, Bee Keeper

We served Heineken, Stella and Sam Adams and I think everyone was happy…One was light and the other two were regular…I wouldn’t worry about pleasing the beer snobs in your crowd, people aren’t there for a beer tasting, they’re their for your wedding!

12/15/10 @ 4:09 pm (reply)

15.

Guest

bjvl

Samuel Adams is a great flavorful beer, and they do seasonal brews too — light beers for summer, heavier brews for colder months.

Plus, I have to add a shout-out to my fave: Rogue Brewery (http://www.rogue.com/). Dead Guy Ale is tasty and funny.

12/15/10 @ 4:10 pm (reply)

16.

Member

MissLakeBum (message) 92 posts, Worker bee

Maybe some Dos Equis or Dos Equis Amber? A good amber is usually pretty popular. I agree with Panther about Heineken & Stella. Apparently Dos XX is a subsidiary of Heineken though!

12/15/10 @ 4:32 pm (reply)

17.

Member

sapphirebride (message) 1,747 posts, Bumble bee

I vote for the local beer, but a drinkable variety. We’re having a pale ale and a winter ale (our wedding is later this month) from a local Seattle brewery. Everyone should like the pale and many of the beer snobs should like the winter.

12/15/10 @ 4:35 pm (reply)

18.

Member

In the media (message) 1,568 posts, Bumble bee

I’m no help because I’ll be a St. Louis bride which means Bud! Bud! Bud! Goooo Bud!

I think you should go local. You can have more of the “friendlies” and then fewer of the dark ones.

12/15/10 @ 4:43 pm (reply)

19.

Member

ehh5000 (message) 87 posts, Worker bee

Victory hop devil is one of my favorites! I know it isn’t for everybody, but I absolutely love it!

12/15/10 @ 4:50 pm (reply)

20.

Member

icelara (message) 272 posts, Helper bee

Having the same sort of dilemma…my fiance is a beer snob, so he doesn’t really like light regular beers. We’re compromising by getting 5 beers (which may be too much!) but he wants some Pacifico, Sierra Nevada, Blue Moon (more as my choice), Newcastle (it was the beer I bought him when we first met) and then a light common one like Bud/Miller/Coors. But maybe we’ll do PBR like you!

12/15/10 @ 5:08 pm (reply)

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