I like beer. Beer with personality. Beer that's not afraid to claim its heritage. Give me something dark, rich and meaty over anything associated with football and being a real American any day. I don't want bubbly water with real beer flavor added. If I'm going to drink a beer I want those empty calories to be meaningful. I'm not drinking it because I'm thirsty. I want real flavor. I want an experience. I want the type of beer you drink, not because you're thirsty, but because you're hungry.
The short list of favorite varieties would consist of Bocks, Doppelbocks, Stouts, Brown Ales, Porters, Dunkels, Pumpkin Ales, Winter Ales, Hefeweizens and other assorted wheat brews. That's just what I can think of. I'm sure there's more that I'm missing. Give me a Newcastle, a Lancaster Milk Stout, or a Shiner Bock anytime and I'm happy. I once brewed (the only beer I ever brewed) a Banana Brown Ale that was pretty delicious.
I don't do this anymore because it became more of a torture than a pastime, but I used to love going through all the high-priced specialty beers you find shelves and shelves of at decent liquor stores. I can't bring myself to pay $12 for a single beer except on very special occasions. Which I have done, though rarely, and had some wonderful beers. I had a beer in France made by the Amsterdam Brewery Company called the Maximator. A bock with an alcohol content of 11.6%. Wow! Talk about a heady drink.
It warms my cockles to know there is so much beer out there I haven't tried yet. It's like a liquid candy store for grownups, where all the sugar has fermented into cold (and warm) alcoholic bliss.
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