Adios Pantalones said:
Have to say- if someone offered Bud Light or Yuengling- I would honestly ask for water.
In fact Bud Light is what we call a "canoe sex" beer, because it's F'in so close to water
Monty Python continues to yield great humor, even 30 years later.
I consume zero alcohol so take this for whatever its worth to you, but I've observed a lot of different beer drinkers over the years and have learned which beers to bey for my guests, depening on who is coming. We've had some alcohol problems in my family so our get togethers have been bone dry for some years now.
In my experience in buying beer for company, there are 3 kinds of beer drinkers. You've got your Bud/Bud Light crowd who are used to drinking (usually a lot) of the cheapest beer that they can buy in large quantities...they tend the most towards drinking till they cannot drink anymore because they're too drunk to hold a can...incidentally this crowd tends to favor cans over bottles..not sure why, I suspect its a cost thing or they've broekn too many glass bottles (thus losing the nickel deposit in this part of the country) and switched to cans. Then you've got your boutique beer drinkers...they only drink beer socially and will usually favor flavored beers only...so cherry beer, and seasonal brews are your best bet for them...these guys (and gals) tend to nurse a beer for a longer time and will probably have between 1 and 3 beers, almost always from a bottle or will pour a bottle into a frosted mug kept in the freezer. The last category are regular, daily beer drinkers are the regular drinkers who can't stand cheap, mainstream brand beers and tend to go towards Sam Adams, Guiness, New Castle, Grolsch (spelling?) and unflavored microbrews...this crowd will rarely get piss drunk like the Bud crowd, but will get a little more "lubricated" than the boutique drinkers. These people also usually drink from the bottle.
Micro brews are often a good choice, but if he's a regular beer drinker, I would avoid specialty, flavored or seasonal beers...in my limited experience, flavored and specialty seasonal products are usually most popular with people who only have those things for occasions, not daily beer drinkers.
If your friend is a regular beer consumer and he drinks out of brown bottles, grab a 6 pack or more of Sam Adams Boston Lager. Even if its not his preferred beer the odds are well in your favor that he won't spit it out all over your dining room table and will appreciate that you got something thats at least second shelf or higher and put some thought into what he might like.
For beef, serve a nice red wine...cabernet or a merlot. You mgiht get the best advice from the liquor store guy, or some brands actually put food/wine recommendations right on the back label. Figure a $15-20 bottle of wine is a decent drink but won't break the bank. I do not have any brand recommendations.