A Beerful Journey

There was a point in my life, especially in my youth, where I thought all beer tasted the same. I blame this, for the most part, on ‘party beers.’ You know, the cheap stuff. The tried and true. The you-can-find-this-beer-at-any-grocery-store stuff. I’m talking about Bud Light, Heineken, Coors, Rolling Rock, and the like. Let’s be honest, we all drank this beer at some point, and we did it for one reason: to get drunk.

One fateful day, I discovered a beer called Amberbock. I was amazed. It didn’t have that typical ‘beerish’ flavor to it; it was smooth, had an earthy taste, and was a bit sweet. There was much more going on in this beer than I was used to. What was going on here? Oh, it was an Amber Ale.
I did some more research into other beers, and started taste testing, and comparing different flavors. Trying to pull out the common denominators and really dig deep into what made each one unique. This journey led me, ultimately, to my tried and true favorite beer to date, Fat Tire.




Quite possibly the best Amber I’ve tried yet, Fat Tire is smooth, yet crisp, and has an almost nutty flavor. I never knew that beer could actually taste ‘refreshing.’ This was so uniquely different than other beers, that my search broadened into other types of beers, including IPAs (India Pale Ales) and Belgian Ales. Notice the common denominator, here? Yeah, Ales. That means hops. Belgians are less hoppy than the others, and IPAs are the most of the three, but they all have their own strengths. My palette had evolved.

With time, my appreciation for the nuances of each beer has grown tremendously. All those subtleties and intricacies have made the experience of drinking beer far richer and more meaningful than “just getting drunk.” I guess I’ve grown up quite a bit, since those days.

So here’s to a sense of exploration, and adventure, not just with beer but in all areas of your life. You might be surprised with what you find.