I hated beer the first time

I hated the first time I tried a beer. In all fairness I was probably around 8 years old and in the mid 1970's. This was time of Led Zeppelin and the dark ages of American brewing. Most of what was left was the huge conglomerate beers that had fizzled and watered down to a pale yellow fizzy drink. Of course as an elementary school aged kid I was oblivious to what status of the beer world was. I remember beer being a clear pale yellow with some slim white fizzy head. It was probably a Michelob or Schlitz as I remember those being the ones my uncles and their friends drinking a lot. I think it was one of my uncles who offered it to me(can't be sure though). I remember it having an odd smell and taste. Did not like it one bit. I think the grown ups that were around got a chuckle out of the yucky face I made. It did leave a lasting impression though. It was a long time before I had another one.

Even through my teenage years I never developed a strong interest in beer. I think I had remembered my sip so I wasn't that interested. I did have it a couple of times but it never stuck well. The few times I did drink to excess it was with liquor. A high school football game and peppermint schnapps(which I still can't stand the smell of to this day but that's another story) my senior year being my first not-so-memorable moment.

The funniest story from my teen years involving beer was in the case when we didn't even get to drink it. A friend of mine had an older sister who was cool enough to buy for us. A group of us pooled our money and went off to get it. The catch was that we had to use canoes to get there. We lived near the ocean with a river running through marshes. We used two canoes as I believe there were 4 or 5 of us. We paddled down a certain point. My friends sister went and got a six pack of Michelob which had a cone like bottle at the time with a gold label wrapping the top. We soon headed back. I'm not sure what triggered but just as we passed a wooden bridge both canoes tipped over. everyone and contents. I was not the greatest swimmer so I stuck near the boats. Fortunately we all made  it to shore. The our ill gotten beer did not though. Sadly attempts to salvage them were unsuccessful.

The time I went into the Army did help with my beer awareness a little bit but I was still stuck to the hard stuff although I'd still have a beer or two. It grew a little more aware being stationed in heart of old beer country Germany(then West Germany). I was introduced to terms like Export, Bock Doppelbock and so on. I learned it came in different colors and strengths. After awhile drinking them you'd go back to a Budweiser and swear you're drinking water.

When I came back to civilian life I was of course disappointed by the selection which hadn't changed much. The few German beer available like Beck's or St. Pauli Girl were not even close to same. Samuel Adams was still relatively new but that was about it. I soon just fell into a rut of just purchasing normal beer like Coors(which was new to the region.) , Budweiser or something like that.

For the next couple of decades I was really just an occasional beer drinker. Perhaps buy six pack or have a beer on a social occasion but that was about it. The only beer that made an impression on me in that time was George Killian's Irish Red. I still love it to this day. That didn't really do anything spark any change.

Around the year 2009 I decided to quit smoking and soon after I regained my taste buds. This included beer. It first I started with usual brew like Miller High Life and my old favorite Killian's Irish Red. It didn't happen until I spotted some miscellaneous beers in shopping basket marked for clearance at a local liquor store. One of them happened to be one called Anchor Liberty Ale. I was intrigued by it's pregnant pear shaped bottle. It's eagle and anchor adorning looked patriotic and yet had a rustic look to it. It even had a quick story about the beer on the label.

I brought this Liberty Ale home along with a few others. Something about the moment I poured it in the glass grabbed my attention. Had a pale hazy yellow body with an inch thick snow colored pillow top head. Had a unique, to me at the time, pine and grapefruit aroma. The taste had a mild citrus bitterness. It finished crisp and dry. It seemed like something clicked inside me.I didn't know beer could taste so incredible and different from mainstream football commercial beers.  It was from that point I was hooked on craft beer.

King of Golden Suds

I was feeling rebellious to craft beer community so I picked up this 25 ounce can of the golden suds  otherwise known as Budweiser! You might ask why 25 ounces? I imagine because this is the king of beers! Only mere mortal peasant beers come in a ordinary conformist 24-ounce can.  It's awesomeness just can't be contained in just 24 ounces.

In order to try and maintain my craft beer street cred, and to rebel against my first act of rebelliousness, I'm using my snifter glass which is the official glass of the fussy beer drinking snob. I got this glass at the most recent beer fest I went to which surprisingly I saw no Budweiser booth. I must have missed it. Maybe being the king of beers they didn't feel the need to bow down to the commoner types at the beer-fest.I thought they'd fit in between Samuel Adams and Sierra Nevada just nicely.I can hear the Clydesdale's fussing in the background as I pour.

Of course we all know if the Darth Vader had an official beer of the evil empire it would be this would be the one. It is the infamous symbol of big macro corporate beer. It even hurts beer snobs to say the word "Budweiser".

What exactly is evil about this beer? Is it because of it representing corporate beer? Is it the beer itself? Maybe the bully type of marketing and sales techniques they allegedly use? Maybe it's a combination of all of the above.

The beer itself is brewed to be pleasant and unoffensive as possible. It's golden color is crystal clear. Despite it detractors it a sweet and unoffensive beer. I've tasted far worse macro lagers including the hipster favorite Pabst Blue Ribbon which I found quite awful. It does have a fuller flavor than it's lighter sibling Bud Light.

It makes me wonder at times what exactly makes a good or bad beer? Is it how well it conforms to tradition or craft. Is it how many people enjoy it? It's very debatable to say the least.

It's brewed to be a beer for the masses. Just like a politician running for office anything offensive  is taken out as to not offend anyone. It's to be consumed in massive quantities. That's why pale lagers became popular. People loved it to drink it in great quantity. If you look at the history of the style it took a lot of work to get the beer this light and smooth in the beginning.


I do believe in celebrating all beer and don't believe in deriding those that drink a certain brand or worry about who owns the company, unless they are owned by Taliban,ISIS, Nazi's, child pedophiles, anti-vaxxers or something like that. It's about what comes out in the glass in the end. The care, quality and craft in the brew will come out of the tap in the long run. To get all your panties in a bunch because of a buyout is immature and jumping the gun. If the quality lags then I can see it. I can't see jumping ship on a hard working brewery and it's workers because beer snobs turn their noses on a product that has more than likely gone unchanged besides ownership and financing.

I have a hunch that it's unlikely that AB-InBev will change much in those craft brewers it decides to buy. They know that the core of the craft beer fan base are watching and waiting for any change in product so I kind of doubt they would change, at least not while anyone was looking. They know they failed gain credibility with psuedo-craft beer like Shock-Top so they have shore up their brand with craft beer that all the start up work and credibility have already been established.

Be proud of what you drink and don't worry about what corporate beer suits or beer snobs think. Enjoy your beer wherever it comes from!  

Brewed The Hard Way

As we all know beer commercials are king during the Superbowl and this year's with  my hometown team New England Patriots verses Seattle Seahawks was no different. I did happen to catch the Budweiser talking smack against craft beer in their commercial entitled "Brewed the hard way". Which has the heavy drum beat and horn section marching through dissing craft beer snobs and bragging about being Beechwood aged and all that. I knew this would make for interesting fodder for craft beer enthusiasts on social media. I wasn't disappointed when I checked on line either.

Here it is if you missed it:

To me it say Budweiser isn't ashamed who they are as a macro beer. It isn't a beer to fussed over or analyzed but to be enjoyed by people who like to drink beer. I know those in craft beer circles have been getting their panties in a bunch about this and  I'm sure that was to be expected.

I kind of thought this was a ballsy move by Budweiser. They actually acknowledge the existence of the craft beer movement and they're  not talking it lightly. I think this is a good sign in a way. It means the craft beer community has gotten the attention of the big guys. Welcome to the big time.

Yes I've drank it!

I know Budweiser is synonymous with its parent company AB-InBev but this was a commercial about the Budweiser beer itself and it's brand. It's been taking a beating over the years especially from craft beer enthusiasts(including myself). I've made fun of those that drank this stuff in the past.


I think I've come to the conclusion that the beer community has room for the fizzy water beers too. It actually suits the occasion at times. If people like to drink it so what? To each his own. We should be celebrating beer drinkers all around. Beer consumption has fallen in comparison to wine and liquor. So brewers are fight for a smaller piece of the pie. Of course competition will become fierce. Perhaps the real enemy are those turning to wine and hard liquor instead of beer. Craft beer has been gaining ground in a smaller piece of the same pie as Budweiser and the like.

I'd rather see beer drinkers banding together rather than fighting against each other. If the beer community and consumption grows it makes everyone happy. Infighting does no one any good.

Before I get craft beer nerds crawling up my butt I'll say that I'm a huge craft beer fan and drink lots of it. Nine out of ten beers I drink are of the craft variety. Occasionally I'll have a macro beer and I survive and so will craft beer. I'm through picking on those that drink the big beers. If you want to fuss over beer that is quite alright and if you just want to drink it that it's that's fine too. We need all the beer drinkers we can get.

Cheers!

10 Barrel's of Bud

Recently with 10 Barrel Brewing being acquired by Anheuser-Busch. You would think the whole craft beer community has turned a tizzy over this. Cries of "sell-out"and claims of quality going out the window now. Many claim they'll be boycotting 10 Barrel beer now. You'd think Darth Vader himself had bought this tiny rebel brewery and stormtroopers will now be making the beer.

Little do these doomsayers realize that when they wake up in the morning the same beers will be on the shelves tomorrow. The craft beer movement will go on. Beer will be made and beer will be drank.

Some don't realize these are business's that need to to make a profit too. Apparently this brewer caught Bud's eye as a way to expand AB's portfolio and a way to free up 10 Barrel to concentrate on doing what they do well which is make great beer. 

It would seem craft beer fans would like them to remain their own and small. Seems to think that if they stay local quality will be better. Not understanding many companies would like to expand and grow. It's like a local rock band making it big and now they've sold out. What nerve they had for wanting to be successful.

 

Maybe now people like us on the east coast will get a chance to grab some of 10 Barrel's offering's. Beer is beer. Enjoy it. 

To Bud or not to Bud

 If Darth Vader's evil empire had an official beer it would be Budweiser. To the craft beer geeks it's the symbol of the evil bland pale macro brew swill. It had also become a working class type of beer that was marketed as a an all-American beer. I doubt that there is any beer name that is more well known or despised. Does it deserve to be so? Is it really bad? Yes and no. 

At Beer Advocate it has a rating of  57 and RateBeer is at 0 overall and 3 for style(out of 100) with a weight average of 1.44 of 5. I rated it at 2.7. 

I picked up a 16oz single for sampling and a refresher for this commentary. It pours a fizzy straw yellow with a very sudsy head. Faint straw aroma. Faint hint of sweet malt on the taste buds. Remember anything offensive has been brewed out of it. I can see why it's popular. It's kind of a beverage that could probably go with anything as it. Serves as a social lubricant that doesn't require much thinking.It's not great  but it doesn't have bad qualities either.

Bud without beer coloring and carbonation.

It really is beer that became king through smart and aggressive marketing(for better or worse). I think this is where they've gained a bad name by playing the heavy against smaller upcoming brewers. The beer itself is unexciting and offending. Like politicians before elections it strives not to be too daring or different than the mainstream in order to get your vote (or in this case buy their product). 

Bud is what it is. I do try not to judge people who drink it. I don't think of it as bad but the the king of bland. One useful thing about this is that it could be used a bench mark to judge other brews. Enjoy it for what it is if you choose.