There are plenty of people who know more about beer than I do. But I know a little bit about it… In fact, I’ve become sort of a beer snob over the years. It pisses me off, for instance, when I’m in a bar with thirty microbrews on tap, and some shitkicker sits down, slaps the counter, and says, “Coors Light!”
It’s like being in Manhattan, or San Francisco, and going to TGI Friday’s for lunch. It’s almost a sin, in my book.
Anyway, I can tell you exactly when my beer snobbery took root. Well, not exactly — I can’t give you a day of the week — but I can tell you about the event.
It was 1991 or thereabouts, and Toney and I had only been dating for a few months. One day she told me she was planning to fly to Oregon, to visit her sister (Nancy!), and wanted to know if I’d be interested in going with her.
With the exception of a lightning-fast work-related California trip, I’d never been west of Tennessee, and Oregon seemed impossibly exotic to me. I told her I’d love to go, so we started making plans.
I didn’t know much about Nancy at that point, I’d only met her twice: at a Braves game, and for drinks at a bar called Aunt Charley’s, in Atlanta. She seemed kinda flaky and scattered, but nice enough.
And for many years my favorite beer was Rolling Rock. It was more of a brand loyalty thing, than any kind of real appreciation for beer quality. I liked the old-fashioned longneck bottles, more than anything else.
But on that trip to Oregon, everything changed.
In 1991 there was no such thing (as far as I knew) as a brewpub, or microbrews, or anything of the sort. Whenever we were feeling the urge for something “fancy” we’d grab some shitty import, like Foster’s — which cost more, but tasted exactly like what we were accustomed to.
On that trip, however, Nancy exposed me to beers that blew me away. Many had a bitter aftertaste, which was completely new to me. But, man, I loved it. I later learned it was hops, and I’d never experienced anything quite like it.
We also went to several brewpubs, where they made their own beers inside the restaurant. All incredibly tasty…
I remember sitting in one such place in Eugene, and a hippie came in with an empty orange juice jar. He handed it to the bartender, who filled the jar, and the hippie Birkenstocked his patchouli ass on down the road with it.
It was a beer lover’s paradise!
There were two store-bought beers, in particular, that were so incredibly good, they nearly brought tears to my eyes: Bridgeport Blue Heron Ale and Full Sail Pale Ale. Neither are available in the East, and I haven’t had them in years. But they almost made me cry in 1991.
The Pacific Northwest was way ahead of the rest of the country when it came to craft beers, and we landed right in the middle of it. I couldn’t believe it; I had no idea. And, thanks in part to Nancy, I’ve been interested in quality beers ever since.
In fact, just this past weekend Toney bought a six-pack of Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA. We’d had it before, but it had probably been a year. And when we took the first sip, both of us said at the same time: “Mmmm… tastes like Oregon.”
So, even now, we judge all beers against that trip. “Not exactly Oregon,” is something we say when we’re disappointed with a selection. It was a life-changing event, and that’s no exaggeration.
When we got back to Atlanta I went to a large liquor store in Buckhead, and talked to them about special ordering microbrews from Oregon or Washington. It broke my heart to go back to Rolling Rock.
There wasn’t much to choose from — none of my favorites could be shipped to Georgia. So I ordered a case of something unfamiliar, from Seattle, for some ENORMOUS amount of money. And it tasted like a liquefied whisk broom.
Toney drank one, and washed her hands of the whole exercise. And I choked them down (they were expensive!) over a three month period, or so. Blecch. Instead of Cascade hops, I think they used pee-soaked hay from a dairy farm.
And so, that’s how I became a kinda-sorta beer snob. It’s not something I chose, it just happened. My first encounter with that hoppy aftertaste changed everything.
Dogfish Head 60 Minute and Stone IPA are two beers available in this area that really “taste like Oregon.” Mmmm… I wish I had one right now.
And, in my way of thinking, there’s a big difference between microbrews and an everyday beer. There are plenty of great microbrews that I enjoy, but keep Yuengling Lager in the fridge for casual drinking.
It’s unfair to compare beers from different categories, with different purposes. It irritates me when people say, “You think Yuengling is a good beer? Have you tried <insert ultra-obscure brew from Vermont or New Hampshire>?”
Not the same thing, shitlips. I love all sorts of great microbrews, prefer Yuengling as an everyday beer, and used to drink Pabst during the “lean years.” PBR is always a decent, dirt-cheap option.
So, there you go. What’s the best beer you’ve ever tasted? What’s your everyday beer of choice? And how about the cheap-ass category?
You don’t like beer, you say? Well, maybe I’ll write about something that interests you tomorrow. I can’t make any promises, of course, because I have no idea what I’ll be writing about tomorrow.
But I’ll see you then!
Correction: The British cider was Woodpecker, not Woodchuck. Woodchuck is a U.S. brand, the name probably having been inspired by Woodpecker.
JDL-Rufus Taint’s Cornchip Blowhole Tumbleweed Stout sounds interesting, any idea on the ABV or the IBU’s?
mark0510 – Beer has the same effect on me – but with hugging. I describe it to others who haven’t experienced me as “all this, only louder”.
I’m with Metton.
Best beer ever WAS a Bud light draft… on a freakin’ hot sweaty day at Bushe Gardens in a plastic cup …but when that cold hit my hand and the condensation dripped down to my wrist and I took a sip of the amber goodness I was in pig heaven. It tasted like…more.
I have been laying off the beer. Makes me feel like a blowfish…and look like one. If feels like someone pumped air up my ass. Not fun. Not pretty. But even if I do break down and have one it’s a cheapy for me. Sorry Jeff.
I’m not crazy about the taste of any booze. Never was. However, of all things to drink when I go out it’s a Jack & Coke. Yes whiskey. Of all things to drink when I hate alcohol of any kind.
My boyfriend is a beer snob. He LOVES Three Floyds beers. The brewery is about 25 minutes from our house in Munster, Indiana, and he just can’t get enough of that place. I went there with him one time, (they have a bar in their brewery), to eat some food and have a few exotic beers. All the beers are over 8% alcohol, so I could only stomach one ‘Gumballhead” before switching to a tiny snifter of ‘Alpha Kong’. Alpha Kong tasted like a banana creme wine (14%) , and was music to my toungue, but only in very small doses. After that I very sheepishly had to switch to a PBR.
They have a festival there every year called Darklord Fest, where they have a beer called Darklord that they only brew once a year. Last year my boyfriend let me sip it, and it was nothing less then sipping furniture polish, but he would take a bath in it and drink it afterwards if he had the option. He also had New Glarus ‘Spotted Cow’ and ‘Nutty Squirrel” during our trip to Wisconsin Dells last year. He also had Dogfish Head during our Six Flags trip.
I’m not a beer snob, so I guess you wouldn’t like me. I drink Select 55 because I’m trying to diet, but I love beer. I used to be fascinated with Busch Light and used to buy the shit in 30 packs for 12 bucks. I can’t do all those crazy, hoppy, black liquorice beers, ick.
Butt, I commend those that can. I appreciate the fact that you guys know what good beer is. Trust me, I know Select 55 is not considered good beer, lol, but it’s all I can stomach!
Best beer ever – Goose Island Bourbon County Stout
Everyday beer – Sierra Nevada Torpedo
Cheap Ass beer – PBR or Naragansett
Full Sail is available in the South (New Orleans)
You should try Stone’s Ruination Ale. About $16/six pack, but high alcohol content and a great flavor and buzz.
dkline-Jesus man, G I Bourbon County Stout? A friend brought me one to try. I’m not a stout person but I do like bourbon. It was more than I could handle on it’s own so I cut it with Budweiser, took six of them to drink all 12 ounces of the stout. I hope that story doesn’t make you ill.
Budweiser gives me gas. It’s inevitable.
..and maybe I should learn how to spell… Busch.
I’m a marketing dream – I try new beers based on the commercial – dumb but it’s what I do:
– Gretchen mentioned “stay thirsty…” yup tried 2 x’s… it was ok but never bought any more.
– Heard about a Dutch beer “da vun vith da great tashte” – yup bought some Grolsch but didn’t like the waste that seemed to be the capping system.
– The only beer names I recognized when in the UK a while back were Stella Artois and Fosters so you know what I tried (Guiness just isn’t my cup of warm brown swill – sorry)
– tried Sleeman Clear and have been enjoying sporadically ever since.
I’m with Alice on this one, I remember the first time I kissed my xhusband, I was 12 and he was 14 and he had been drinking beer. Melted my heart. Hmmmm, also should have given me the hint he was an alcoholic, lol!! Nothing like a WV boy!
I know I will be quite unpopular when I say that I really like Miller lite. its my favorite however i have been branching out lately, i like some other beer now but not if its too hoppy. i hate the fruit beers like shock top and blue moon. can’t drink stout but am good with Amber beers, best beer ever is brewed by my friend who currently has 12 on tap that he brews i don;t know what he does to it but its wonderful.
I, much like our illustrious host, was a Rolling Rock fan, tried and true, until they sold out to the corporate whores that are Anheuser Busch. The taste of that pale ale definitely changed. I drank one bottle of the new recipe, declared it to be shit and haven’t had one since.
Everyday beer > Miller High Life, the Champagne of Beer.
Cheapest beer > Golden Anniversary, it’s like 8 bucks a case. Worked for a guy back in college, a raging functioning alcoholic that drank a case and a half a day.
Some of the craftier beers I’ve enjoyed > Grolsch Blonde lager. Some local micro brew called Fresh Hop. Also recently enjoyed a Samuel Adams Spring Ale, very tasty.
@Swami: Strongbows are the best! If I am not careful (and when I do get to drink them I am never careful), I can polish off a 6-pack very quickly. So the $10.99 per 6-pack generally means a $50 sale since I will buy several. I love them also because I never get hungover after getting seriously shit-faced off of them.
The only downside is how bloated I feel/look a few days after drinking them. If it weren’t for that I would proudly become a full blown alcoholic with my drug of choice being Strongbow.
daily beer is usually Rolling Rock. If I’m feeling fancy I pick up some Nimbus Pale Ale. Its local (Tucson) and delicious.
when times are lean, or its quantity over quality, we turn to keystone light. not usually a light fan of light….but the regular is awful. consider the red box to be a red flag of nastiness.
I drank something while visiting a friend at Ohio University in the early 90s called Hudy’s Delight. It was ridiculously cheap, like $6/case, and absolutely terrible. I swear it still had bits of hops, barley or something floating around in it. Anyone from Ohio know if they still sell that swill?
http://www.hudydelightbeer.com/main.html
oh yes Beer is good.
We dont get bitter in Scotland. If you ask for a pint of bitter up here you’ll get a dirty look. Honest. (its an England /Scotland thing). The staple beer here is McEwans 80 Shiiling ,or ‘Heavy’ as the locals call it.
This can vary from pub to pub, and you can often hear the phrase ‘ you get a great pint of heavy in there’. When you do get a good one though its worth the walk!
Deuchars IPA is refreshingly pleasant too. It really tastes of grapefruit, though thats not an ingredient.
We’ve got loads of wee breweries too, though the price of beer has almost doubled in the past few years, unless your into Bud and Stella, which seem to be getting cheaper!
I’m with Tyrosene on Browerij Het Ij in Amsterdam – Fine, Fine beers. There’s a beer fest in Amsterdam when they release all there dark beers (Bock Beers)in the autumn/fall. its a wonderfull place to be!
Sleemans honey brown is pretty tasty too!
I’m at work just now, and all this talk of beer has left me ‘choking’ for a drink!
‘Pish!’
We had a place here for a while called Iggy’s that served a beer called Bluesberry Hefeweizen and yes thats how it was spelled Bluesberry. and it was wonderful they served it with a big Ol slice of orange. for casual drinking beer I like Budweiser Select, and the worst skunk beer I ever had was Busch Beer
The #1 beer in my book (yes, I keep a book) is Founder’s Brewing Co.’s Kentucky Bourbon Stout. 70 IBU and 11.2 ABV. Stout ale aged for a year in oak bourbon barrels, brewed with coffee and chocolate. It’s the one that inspired me to keep a book. #2 is most anything from Troegs or Dogfish Head.
~Chuck in Belpre, try a lager from North End Tavern’s homemade selection. I think you’ll really enjoy it.
Holy hopback, Jeff, you’ve hit upon a subject near and dear to my heart. Asking which beer is my favorite is like asking a dad which of his children he prefers.
A few beers that have caught my attention lately are Sierra Nevada Torpedo, Weyerbacher Simcoe, Deschutes Mirror Pond pale ale and Coronado Islander IPA. Perennial favorites include Dogfish Head 60 Minute and Victory Storm King. Victory also makes a consistently excellent Belgian-style tripel called Golden Monkey; a dead ringer for Kasteel Gouden Tripel. There are many outstanding, authentic Belgian-style beers coming out of Ommegang in New York. Oh yeah, and the Cantillon Lambics are very good but hard to find.
@UF Monica, you may be interested to know that Lindemans Framboise can be turned into a really nice ice cream.
@TILLY, Shock Top and Blue Moon are not fruit beers; they’re wheat beers which are inexplicably served with a slice of fruit. They are both copies of Hoegaarden, or maybe ST is a copy of BM. Kudos to your friend who has the gumption to keep brewing; I lost said gumption years ago.
My beer snobbery began in the late 1970s when a bar in town offered a “world tour” via their excellent (for the time) selection of imports; I’m sure they had a micro or two as well, but there weren’t many in those days. Never did finish that tour.
Try Schlafy’s from St Louis, they make a good variety of micro-brews.
Wow, I’m surprised nobody’s yet mentioned (unless I missed it) that Jeff is giving Nancy(!) props for introducing him to a major interest in life. Who would have thought?
I just thought I’d take note that Sierra Nevada is mentioned as a favorite by five different Surf Reporters, above. Three times for Pale Ale, and twice for Torpedo. I’d say that makes Sierra Nevada the favorite beer of Surf Reporters. We do have good taste, now, don’t we. (No question-mark, as that was a comment, not a question.)
I like all kinds of beer, but it has to be cold.
At least, the first dozen or so…
I’m not a snob about it, I don’t think, but I don’t much like the major US brands, or the similar Canadian vanilla lagers, and their Lite variations, a little too light for me.
At home it;s Keith’s IPA, or Brava with lime, a local cheap mexican style lager in the summer, but when I’m out, I’ll change the station, not too much variety per night, but open to different styles.
I like Guinness, Waterloo Dark, Modello Negro, Grolsch, Harp Lager, Moosehead, and I’m willing to try local stuff anytime.
Haven’t been over the pond yet, but I’m told I’d enjoy it.
Wheat beers give me a headache, so I avoid those.
I’m not fond of Sleemans or Creemore, which are the big Ontario indie brewers, for some reason, but Steamwhistle’s pretty good.
Yeungling got high marks when I tried some camping in Western NY a few years back, good campfire brew, and I like the way the cans melt.. Anchor Steam, I didn’t like so much. I too, enjoyed the old Rolling Rock, which was an exotic import, here in Ontario, but they do not seem as good anymore, since the takeover.
A trip to Chicago not too long ago, had me hanging out at a brew on site place called Rock Bottom, they had some good stuff, and handy tasting sample sizes as well. The names escape me, but at least I can name the bar, unlike the brew pub in Vegas…
All beer tastes pretty good in the desert, I noticed.
Then there’s the perennial faves, free beer, and the next beer.
“Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son.” Dean Whoever in Animal House.
i keep shitty beer at the house. beast, bud, etc. i call it house beer. i love most by dogfishhead. cincy is seriously ramping up it’s brewing history resurgence. living in okc i can find some good beers, but you can’t ship beer cold into this state so new belgium is out.
rock bottom is actually a chain with 29 locations. they do give their brewmasters pretty good leeway though.
gretchen, i love you. hudy is back, brewed by christian moerline, as well as burger.
my facts may be off, but i love me a cincy beer.
http://www.facebook.com/posted.php?id=322706111953&share_id=110102555696465&comments=1#!/group.php?gid=101806339865901
Hey guys….
Sorry for my last post. No spam, I assure you. Please don’t boot me, Kay.
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=101806339865901
I’ve been in the “lean years” for a while now, so my everyday beer happens to be cheapshit beer: either Pabst or Natural Light. Both of them come in 30 packs and go on sale frequentlly (sometimes Pabst 24packs for $10.99) so that’s what I’ve been drinking. Lots of them, I might add.
Bell’s Oberon on tap during some happy hours has been a nice change of pace, as has Magic Hat #9. Yuengling is always a good go-to beer, as Jeff mentioned, though it’s not some beer-snob beer. I just don’t have the cash to stock it very often at home.
I also used to drink Rolling Rock; loved those old-school silkscreened longneck bottles. When they sold it off and started brewing it in New Jersey, I never drank it again.
@CHILL- those beers taste like perfume to me. I really don’t like them. I wish we had a good microbrewery around here because I really liek the stuff my friend brews. He made an Indy pale ale that was great but then I tried it at a restaraunt and it was awful. Who knows.
Loved fresh Shaeffer (sp) when it was brewed locally in NY years ago but I have to go with Tyrosine that Chimay red or blue fills your mouth like the best chocolate milk you ever had .
Oh man – I could spend all day talking about my favorite beers. I love Bell’s Oberon with a big slice of orange in it, and I’m also partial to Arbor Brewing Company’s Strawberry Blonde – both are seasonal, so I probably like them so much since I can’t get them all the time. I’m also a big fan of Franziskaner and Hacker-Psorr. I’m a big fan of wheat beers in general. Love Yuengling, but we can’t get it around here. I also like Sam Adams
When I’m broke, which is often as of late, I turn to Labatt – I hate it less than the other swill beer brands.
Jeff_in-SW-Ontario: It was Dean Wermer!
I’ve started becoming a beer snob too. I’m always trying new beers. The truth is that most of them suck. I had a 6 pack of firehouse (I think) last night and it tasted like it was fortified with rubbing alcohol. Many of the unusual beers I’ve tried taste like bottled ball sacks.
I am with Taiwon On, beer is not the most efficient alcohol delivery system. When I am in the mood for one, though, it is Breckenridge Brewery’s Oatmeal Stout. The husband’s fave is Fat Tire.
Ah, beer 🙂
I don’t have the afternoon free, so I’ll have to be brief.
If you live anywhere near Downingtown, PA visit the Victory brewery – wonderful food as well as ~20 of their beers on tap. Lovely place.
Couldn’t possibly pick a favorite beer, my Top 10 would difficult enough.
LOL at the Strongbow comments. As a teenager in England 2 liter bottles of Strongbow were the illicit drink of choice. I still have a taste for the stuff today…
Hey Limey,
Ice cold Olde English is even better than Strongbow, dryer and more crisp, and absolutely the dog’s bollox on a hot summer day, sat in the garden of a canalside pub. Wachoo think?
best beer ever:
I will put this stuff up against any beer in the world, even that Chimay swill. (just kidding Chimay is great)
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/323/41154
Ola Dub 30 year reserve. It is from Harviestoun Brewery Ltd. in Scotland. I have never had any better beer than this.
Great beer: I like the Stone Company’s Arrogant Bastard oak aged and all of the Stone Co. beers. Flying Dog makes a great line as well. Gotta also give props to Cleveland’s Burning River as well as Cleveland’s Buckeye line that you can obtain here…
http://buckeyebeerengine.com/
Oh, and any beer from Belgium and most Belgian knock offs. (Brewery Ommegang in Cooperstown NY, and Unibroue from somewhere in Canada to name a couple)
Utility beer: Rolling Rock, Labatt’s Blue, Red Hook ESB, Some Sam Adams, Old English 800, Mickey’s
Cheapo: Stroh’s is first choice, Then PBR, then Natty Ice. (Natty Ice has almost 6% alcohol)
I’m sure I missed something.
@TILLY – “Indy pale ale” is so named after they had to up the alcohol and hop content in regular ale because the mullets and sloping foreheads in Indiana made the regular ale go bad en route 🙂
@Mark0510 – both are very nice on a hot afternoon in the park. Better than school. I don’t remember, but I assume it was Strongbow because that’s what the offy who sold to children stocked. Probably the same reason I prefer McEwan’s over Special Brew.
Swami,
Funny you mentioned Heineken Dark….in the late eighties, my fraternity had a sign posted at our parties “As usual, Heineken Dark on tap”—it was really Yuengling Porter but no one knew the difference.
I would agree for consistent quality you can’t go wrong with Sierra Nevada. Another recommendation brewed here in New Jersey is Flying Fish–their Hopfish IPA is wonderful.
Mark0510, I wonder if that’s the same “Olde English” which is sold under that name in the US?
If so – or if not – the present company may enjoy the comprehensive taste tests of similar beverages at
http://www.drunkard.com/issues/03_03/03-03_forty_fury.htm
Or not.
Chill, had a look and I don’t think it’s the same. This does not mean I wouldn’t drink it though! Cheers for the link, it made me very thirsty. Desperately thirsty in fact!
Limey, prefering anything to special brew is God’s way of telling you that there is still hope in life. After 2 swigs you are obliged, under law I think, to pee your pants and argue with the little people hiding in your shoes. 3 swigs of the stuff induces the instant urge to fight a bus.
My beer pendulum: PBR, Miller High Life, Red Stripe, Ballantine, Sam Adams, Shipyard/Geary’s/Gritty’s (all from ME), Boddington’s, Pemaquid Ale (another ME local brew), and anything homebrewed. Fresh, homemade beer is such a different experience from store-bought – befriend a homebrewer today!
i didnt get to reading this post until today and what a coincidence…I got a case of 60 min IPA last night.
mmmm, so tasty…
I think I suggested it in another thread too but the dogfish head spring seasonal “Aprihop” is wonderful as well, but hard to find.
The aprihop is excellent. There’s at least one place in my hometown where I can get it (Marietta, OH). Also there are a few places in Cincy where you can get it. OKC, not so much.
My fave dogfish is Fort (Made with over a ton of pureed rasberries).
One of the cops on reno 911 – miami had a sixer of dogfish beer (Just saw it this morning).
The Dogfish 60 is great, the 90 sublime and the 120 is way, way too hoppy. You *can* have too much of a good thing.
If finances allowed Dogfish 90 would be a staple (not a treat) in my beer fridge 🙁
Yuengling is perpetually $16/case (bottles) at Total Wine in Cherry Hill, worth filling up the trunk with if you periodically drive by there like I do.
Dogfish 90 Minute is incredible, though I think it wise to find it only in four-packs… Stone IPA is quite good as well, but my favorite for years now has been Terrapin Rye Pale Ale, from a friendly Athens, GA brewery (though it’s still also brewed to spec in Maryland). Atlanta’s Sweetwater IPA is also mighty fine.