IPAs tend to range from 6.5-7.5% ABV. So if you're drinking them at the same rate you'd plow through 4.5% Bud Lites, that might help explain the hangover!

Nothing wrong with liking what you like. I'm not a big fan of light beers just because I find them over-carbonated and light on flavor, and many people that are into beer have a similar reaction -- take a tour at Coors and you'll probably hear how resistant the brewers were to making light beer at first, since they didn't consider it "real beer." I wouldn't lump Coors Banquet or Budweiser into that category -- I think they're good American Lagers and hold up well against craft beers in the same category. The negativity aimed at them probably reflects that they were pretty much all that was available in the US for a number of years, and that they're made by mega corporations (which have fallen out of favor in recent years).

Good on you for continuing to try new stuff. Luckily there's a huge variety of beer available now, and even if IPAs aren't your thing, you may find that you enjoy some of the hundreds of less hoppy craft beers out there: pilsners, stouts and wheat beers for example. And in the end if you still just prefer Bud Lite, well there's nothing wrong with that, you're a cheap date and you'll come out a bit slimmer than the rest of us (assuming you're not drinking 2x as much Bud Lite, or course)!

As with most types of food and beverage, you can easily find mediocre or even bad craft beer, especially at the extremely local brewpub level. That said, if you're just starting out there are several dozen major "craft" breweries (New Belgium, Bells, Sierra Nevada, Deschutes, etc.) that simply don't make bad beer. You may not enjoy a particular style they offer, but you can be confident that they brewed it well and that it came out tasting exactly how they wanted it to taste.

Miller, Bud and Coors also have very skilled brewers who do an amazing job with consistency, especially since they have to make beer that tastes the same at different plants around the world working with the local water chemistry which will vary considerably and really does impact the end product. Anyone who knows anything about brewing would never disrespect those brewers.

It's amazing how the beer selection in Canada has grown over the past 10-15 years. I have a good friend in Toronto and I remember hitting up the beer store with him in the early 2000s and it felt straight out of Strange Brew, pick your variety of Molsen and they roll it down the conveyor belt. Now the LCBO has an incredible variety of beers, and as I understand it they do a nice job of making room for newer and smaller breweries, not always the case in the US where InBev and SABMiller distributors often buy up most of the shelf space for their dozens of brands.

That IS an issue, especially if you're drinking IPAs at 6-7.5% ABV. I'd prescribe Coors Lite if you're shooting for 2+ six packs in a sitting. Nice low ABV, hydrating, and the high carbonation will fill you up (and hence slow you down a bit).

Says the guy with the Al Bundy avatar.

Nice work! I love that a bottle of Rolling Rock photo bombed you on the lower left.

As seen in Repo Man?

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Elsinore! Cheers to a second Strange Brew reference in this thread.

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