anything you could possibly give me...heard of them..but was wondering what exactly it was..how hard it was to get into one...etc..basic info..age req..
Pointstreak.com has a list of leagues, you could check to see if there's any in your area. Google might be able to tell you, too (look for "hockey league <your city here>").
In general, "beer league" is a name for any recreational (i.e. not competetive/travel) league. The name comes from the tendency to drink beer in the locker room after (& sometimes before
) the games. I'm not sure about age limits, although I know there are plenty of "older" leagues that have minimum ages (40-and over, 35-and over, etc); my local league doesn't have an age limit as far as I know although I bet over-18 is essentially assumed (and you won't be drinking beer until 21).
They vary a lot depending on local administrator, some are pretty casual, no-check leagues, some are really competitive checking leagues, etc. Most are laid out in divisions (for example, my local has AA, A, B, and C leagues, with AA being the highest skill level and C the lowest), but skill levels vary a lot.
Getting into one generally just means pay your money; there's very little requirement other than that (the local league admin just requires you to be a good enough skater to not be actively dangerous to anyone else). Ours has a new player skate before each season's draft so captains can check out new players.
The good ones (IMO) conform to USA Hockey rules (which you can get at their website, usahockey.com), but again the referees vary a lot. Some are good, and some are bad, some are really strict and some will let more things go.