Monday, 19 October 2009

• Beer!

   
  

  
  Oh, you tantalizingly sweet beverage, with your many variations of body and bitterness, color and subtle flavors. You make food taste better and women far more approachable. Where would we be without you?
  
  For men in many, many countries around the world, there is one fairly standard constant: the love of a good beer. Whether it's domestic, imported, some kind of strange micro brew, or a batch someone mixed in their garage, people can't resist a good swig of that sudsy beverage that causes as many problems as it solves. Of course, not all beer is created equally, and they come in many shapes, sizes and flavors. Some are bland, some are just plain bad, while others really know just where to hit the taste buds and the pleasure centers in the brain.
  
  What follows is a few beers I've come to love over the years:
  

   
  

  Guinness Draught - My first experience with Guinness was on a night when my college roommates decided on Irish Car Bombs as the drink of the evening. I decided I didn't want to get completely belligerent, so I stuck to just the beer, and I was pleasantly surprised. It was like a milkshake that gave you a buzz. Of course, most people from the UK say that the Guinness in America is nothing like the pints they drink across the pond, but even if that's true, it doesn't make the US version any less tasty.
  
  

   
  

  
  

  Sam Adams Boston Lager / Sam Adams in general - I don't think I've ever come across a Sam Adams I didn't like. If someone asked me to point them towards an excellent, truly American beer, I'd point them to Sam for its various, superbly crafted flavors and not-so-overwhelmingly bitter taste. I know some people swear by Budweiser, and think of it as America's signature beer, but I don't see anything special about it. To me, it's pretty run of the mill, especially when compared to that burst of hop flavor you get when drinking a Sam Adams. I apologize, I really am a fanboy.
  
  

   
  

  
  

  Hop Devil - Somewhat lesser known, I suppose, but I've seen it in plenty of liquor stores in the northeast. Now, if my first two choices were any evidence, I'm a man who likes my beer dark, bitter and flavorful. Hop Devil does what the name suggests: it contains an unholy amount of hops in order to give the liquid a truly unique, if somewhat overpowered taste. It's not for the faint of heart, but if you're like me and try to sample as many different kinds of beer as you can, this would certainly be worth your time, if only to say you've stomached one of the most bitter drinks on the market.
  
  There are of course, a few kinds that I dutifully avoid. Most notably, Coors Light, Busch, and Pabst Blue Ribbon. They taste like water, they all have the consistency of water. What's to like exactly? Busch isn't the worst thing in the world,  but the many hundreds of cans of it that passed through my many different dorm rooms have left its particular stench permanently affixed to the walls of my nose. If you're drinking this on a regular basis, you obviously have no respect for beer or for yourself. Or, maybe you're just drinking on a strict budget - that I can understand.
  
  
  So, ladies and gents, what's your favorite beer?
  
  
  

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