A friend asked me for some beers to try and I thought others could use the info. He likes cigars so some of this advice is based on that.

First resource is the show notes from the Podcast Jim and I did a few years back: http://yournextbeer.wordpress.com/

The audio isn't online, but, you can read the reviews. A list of 115 isn't much of a list. So here are some general thoughts.

Session vs. Big
First thing is to decide how you are drinking, one beer or six. You need different kind of beers for different purposes. If you you want one nice beer with a cigar look for beers labeled double, tripple or
imperial. If you want a few, stick with something lighter.

Malty vs. Hoppy
Hops are the bitter, malty is the bread like taste. I'm not a huge malt guy but it has it's place. Belgians tend to be rather malty so I avoid them. IPA's are the top of hop spectrum usually. Once you get hoppy enough they tend to get a little grapefruit taste as well, which can be quite nice. Hoppy beers are great with spicy food.

A few styles to try:

• Barley Wine. Almost like port, sweet alcoholic and all malt, unless it's been aged in barrels then it can get interesting.
• Amber or Double/Imperial Amber. A good hop/malt  balance usually you can drink ambers all night an imperial is usually going to be on the hoppier side.
• Porter (esp. Smoked). One of my favorite styles similar to a stout but less creamy and the smoked varieties would be perfect with a cigar
• Saison/Farm house/Bier de Garde. All slightly different, but all light, highly carbonated and refreshing. A cigar would kill these beers, but perfect or an afternoon out on the deck or with first course/appetizers

Some breweries to look out for:

• Stone. I like everything they do, their Smoked Porter should be a first stop
• Green Flash. Their West Coast IPA is my favorite and Le Freak is perhaps my favorite beer right now.
• Firestone Walker. Haven't had much as they don't distribute out East but have a great reputation
• Shiner. Obviously you know about Shiner Bock but their "Family" mixed case is usually a good value. Their Light is the best Light I've had and perfect for BBQ's or cooking with. Their Hefeweisen is also very good.

That should get just about anyone started. If your wondering what your next beer should be, leave a comment.