A Beer Anecdote

My parents do not drink beer--what a sad existence that must be for them.

Anyway, neither is particularly pleased with my intense passion for all things beer. As a result, any beer that can be found in their house has been banished to the basement.

I really wanted a beer with dinner, tonight, so I headed to the basement, where I was relieved to find a decent number of bottles of Sam Adams Boston Lager, one of the favorite beers of both writers on this blog. Sadly, the most recent of them had passed its prime, according to the label, in April. Ugh. One had actually peaked in October 2007. In short, the beer was just old.

I decided, therefore, to pour out the stuff that was truly undrinkable, being sure to taste each bottle when I opened it, just in case. When my dad realized what I was doing, he asked me to return the acetone-beer to the basement, so that someone "who is a little less of a connoisseur can drink it the next time someone wants beer."

Irritating, irritating, irritating. An appreciation of good flavor and a dislike of nasty staleness is not an issue of pallet or knowledge--I'm far from a beer expert, I just don't like beer that doesn't taste good. (Unlike Nick, of course.)

So, what's the moral of my little anecdote? People may call you a beer snob, and they may laugh at you or think you're being ridiculous. But if you know what you like, and you know what you don't like, don't drink the latter--nobody laughs at wine freaks for being too into their wine. Stand proud, beer drinkers! Drink what's good, and ditch what's bad.

PS. I ended up settling for an Anchor Steam that I had forgotten buying about two months ago. A really good beer that will certainly be reviewed here soon, along with my thoughts on how Anchor saved American beer.