Well, with beer, it's much cheaper to get a variety of singles. After my wife and I did that a couple times, we had a very clear idea what styles we like. (And that we prefer beer to wine.)

Incidentally, West Michigan is one of the best places in the US for craft ales. There's Founders (http://www.foundersbrewing.com/founders/), Bell's (http://www.bellsbeer.com/), and the Hopcat (http://hopcatgr.com/main/About.aspx), for starters. :)