I was at my friends house tonight watching the Wild lose to the Flames in OT and we got to the discussion of our fathers and the beer they drink. He mentioned the dirty thirties of Strohs his dad buys. I mentioned that my dad just up until a few years ago wasn’t a beer drinker. This was over a tasty bottle of Boulevard Brewing Long Strange Tripel. It got me thinking. I think its safe to say that we as Americans aren’t known as beer connesseurs. Look at all the beer commercials that are out there right now. Beers known for “easy drinking” and “low on carbs”. I love the Coors Light vented wide mouth can. According to Coors it provides people to enjoy the “Worlds most refreshing beer.” Worlds most refreshing beer my ass. My roommate had a good slogan for them. “Coors light, FASTER!!.” Seriously. All that promotes is binge drinking. Which is what Coors Light is made for in the first place. The only company giving us hope is Sam Adams. It gives those who aren’t beer lovers a small window into the craft beer world. What separates craft brewers from macro brewers? Passion.
My friend had said how he is slowly showing his father what good tasting beer is really about. He’s opened him up to Leinenkugels and some Summit beers. My dad is starting to see the light. My brother has spent a lot of time in Germany and Austria and one popular style of beer from that area is the Hefeweizen. He’s embraced it. And he’s starting to open up to others. My youngest brother is only 21 and he can’t get enough of Surly Furious. Even my mom likes some styles of beer. I haven’t exactly pin-pointed her style but I think its Belgian styles. She really likes New Belgium Abbey. She hates IPA’s though. I once gave here a sip of an IPA as a joke because I knew she’d hate it. Her lips puckered up and she said it “tastes like grass”. Hilarious. Ya know what this is though? Progress. Small steps. Beer goes back to the times before Christ. Europeans have been brewing beer since the early 11oo’s. Even earlier. We as Americans are years behind. Prohibition put a big dent on our progress. Curses to the bastards who came up with that stupid law. But we are moving in the right direction.
I love spreading the word about beer. Each style comes with a story. Do people really know the meaning behind Oktoberfest? What does the term “Lager” really mean? Why do Belgian Ales have such a storied history? Why do they call it India Pale Ale? I think teaching people the story behind a style of beer makes them appreciate it that much more. Crack that beer bottle open, give it a nice pour, check out the color up against the light, give it a good whiff, then take a sip and think about all the time and effort into what you are drinking. Maybe you like it, maybe you don’t. But at least appreciate what went into it. I can only hope we get to the days of spending our Sundays enjoying a wonderfully tasty snifter of beer after church over a bland watered down cup of coffee.
