Well I have realized the winter is a tough time to try and
give a daily account about my newest experience in Mountain biking. Also the
fact that I have a toddler makes it a bit tough to try and experience all that
the world has to offer in beer with actual taste…You know not the B.M.C.
generic beers of the world.
So today trying to compose in my mind what I should write
about I thought about how I see beer drinking now and how I saw it about 20
years (yes I just realized I graduated High School in 1991 so over twenty years
ago I used to sneak my warm ass beers to drink)
On the one side years (or Beers) ago it was whatever we
could get. Busch was usually the case of choice
since it was cheap and we had
to pay someone to buy it for our 16 year old asses. I know these days the SWAT
team would be at the door of that very person (what is the statute of
limitations on buying for a minor?) I big splurge would be something like Budweiser
or wait for it…. Rolling Rock, yes Rolling Rock and it’s pretty green
bottle.
In those days it was never about
the taste, to be honest I never enjoyed the taste, I just wanted the liquid
courage to act like a moron and talk to girls.
As I got a bit older and could legally buy, I found the
slight differences between Bud, Bud Light, Bud Ice (Beware the penguin…
remember
that ad? It was cool because I love Hockey GO BRUINS!!!) Miller Genuine Draft
and Miller light (sorry Lite) Also there were the late night runs and Milwaukee’s
best (or the Beast) cheap ass horrible beer.
Anyway.....
As time went by and I discovered the world of Craft beer
(thank you Sam Adams one of the granddaddy’s of them all) I also discovered a
whole world of shopping for something different. Before the days of Netflix and
iTunes I used to love the experience of shopping for movies or music. That
feeling that on any given day you could find a diamond in the rough an album,
CD or movie that you had never heard of but were willing to take a chance on.
Sometimes you found it, while other times you wished you could get your money
back. Well beer these days is the same way there is so much to choose from.
You
have all the different companies big and small like Sam Adams, Stone, DogfishHead, and smaller local brews (in our case here in St Louis Places like Schlafly,
O’Fallon, or 4 Hands) And a Liquor store (or
Packie for my friends on the East coast) like Randall’s that have beer ratings
much like wine has always been rated. Lagers. Ales, Porters, IPA’s Stouts and
combinations made in Bourbon barrels.
Long gone are my days of knowing I am
going in to just pick up a six pack or a case of the usual. Don’t get me wrong
there are seasonal beers I keep stocked in my fridge Sam Adams Octoberfest, or
Summer Ale, but grabbing a new flavored six pack or even a specialty 22 oz to
try with family or friends is a rush. It is the same feeling sometimes the beer
is a complete Album you can listen to from start to finish and other times you
find a lot of fat and very little meat.
Shopping
for a new brew is a great experience, in my 20 plus years of drinking beer, I
have gone from drinking to get drunk to drinking to enjoy the flavor and experience
of a brand new diamond in the rough. So the next time you are reaching for the
same old beer, be adventurous take a chance, start out small if your comfort
zone is Lagers, try something from another brewery. Then expand your horizons
try an Ale, than a Stout, etc….
There is so much beer out there to experience, why limit
yourself to the same bottle everyday?
Disclaimer: I am no expert in anything on this blog as it states it is a Beginners journey into Mountain Biking and Beer Brewing. These are just opinion and observation pieces through my eyes as things happen. It is my personal journal for the world to see, that is all. Anything technical I would always refer you to some sort of expert, be it a brewer, or bike shop.
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