I set up this blog to address a serious problem: I have developed a need to share beer tasting experiences with friends and family. Since my friends and family are scattered across the Country I decided that we needed a place where we could go and have a beer club of sorts, so here we go!
A little history:
When I was a kid, I drank to... well, I suppose there's no good way of saying it. Let's just say that I drank for the wrong reasons so I quit drinking all together for a couple years. When I got to my early 20's, I decided to start experimenting with different kinds of beer. The problem was that I couldn't predict whether or not I was going to like a beer, so I got frustrated and decided that Guinness would be my "go to" beer. I suppose that if one is going to have a single beer that they drink, Guinness isn't a bad choice. I had others, but many seemed like a glass of bitter Sprite, which just didn't satisfy. Oh, there were some Irish Reds and and a few Honey Browns along the way, but Guinness was by far my favorite.
Fast-forward about a decade and you'll find that my taste in beer has been utterly ruined. I "blame" (or thank, depending on my mood) my brother-in-law for this. He patiently opened my eyes to a world of craft beer, Belgian Ales and Russian Imperial Stouts that would forever change what I thought beer could be.
While a glass of Guinness Draught seldom disappoints, I have found a whole new world of beer that I never could have imagined. Some of this is because of the explosion of craft breweries all across the Country over the past 20 years. They experiment with and create amazing renditions of time-honored beer styles.
The beer that I drink is expensive, at least when you compare it to the myriad of domestic pilsners. But as one of my favorite people (and someone who I hope will blog here) would put it: "I'd rather drive a couple of Mercedes than a whole bunch of Yugos." I see it this way: most wouldn't think much of spending $10 on a bottle of wine. Many of the brews that I like are very comparable in cost to a bottle of decent wine. But what I like about beer is that for this $10, I can be drinking a world-class brew that has an incredibly complex taste and scent.
Now, as I sit here with a glass of Unibroue La Fun Du Monde, I have to accept that there's no going back. The American craft brewers got my attention and the Belgians made sure I could never go back.
When I was a kid, I drank to... well, I suppose there's no good way of saying it. Let's just say that I drank for the wrong reasons so I quit drinking all together for a couple years. When I got to my early 20's, I decided to start experimenting with different kinds of beer. The problem was that I couldn't predict whether or not I was going to like a beer, so I got frustrated and decided that Guinness would be my "go to" beer. I suppose that if one is going to have a single beer that they drink, Guinness isn't a bad choice. I had others, but many seemed like a glass of bitter Sprite, which just didn't satisfy. Oh, there were some Irish Reds and and a few Honey Browns along the way, but Guinness was by far my favorite.
Fast-forward about a decade and you'll find that my taste in beer has been utterly ruined. I "blame" (or thank, depending on my mood) my brother-in-law for this. He patiently opened my eyes to a world of craft beer, Belgian Ales and Russian Imperial Stouts that would forever change what I thought beer could be.
While a glass of Guinness Draught seldom disappoints, I have found a whole new world of beer that I never could have imagined. Some of this is because of the explosion of craft breweries all across the Country over the past 20 years. They experiment with and create amazing renditions of time-honored beer styles.
The beer that I drink is expensive, at least when you compare it to the myriad of domestic pilsners. But as one of my favorite people (and someone who I hope will blog here) would put it: "I'd rather drive a couple of Mercedes than a whole bunch of Yugos." I see it this way: most wouldn't think much of spending $10 on a bottle of wine. Many of the brews that I like are very comparable in cost to a bottle of decent wine. But what I like about beer is that for this $10, I can be drinking a world-class brew that has an incredibly complex taste and scent.
Now, as I sit here with a glass of Unibroue La Fun Du Monde, I have to accept that there's no going back. The American craft brewers got my attention and the Belgians made sure I could never go back.
Randall
Randall, this blog was a great idea! Thanks for all the work you put into its creation. Love the comment about the Mercedes vs. the Yugo - hahaha. Quality over quantity - amen. And, I'm with you on the Belgians, they make fantastic beer. Enjoyed your post!
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