What is good beer? – Revisited. Cheap beer and deserving good beer.

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July 22, 10:26 PM

by Charlie Papazian, Beer Examiner

 

 

You deserve it.  Photo by Greg Koch, June 2008

This is the 8^th and final part revisiting comments regarding my June 26 post, What is Good Beer?

Eli the Mad Beer Man says: If it doesn't taste good, I'm not drinking it… I went to college and did the whole college drinking cheap beer thing, but as I aged and matured (OK, maybe not so much on that one!) my taste buds matured (both for food and beer) as well… I have nothing against Coors, A-B or any of the other macro-breweries, but that is not good beer. I think of them as gateway beers... you have to cut your teeth on something, somewhere. I did... But GROW from that! There are so many great beers out there... you're only depriving yourself if you don't try them. EXPAND your knowledge!

            Eli speaks the truth.   It’s about the taste. It’s about realizing that YOU deserve to drink good beer. I too drank the cheapest beer I could find while in college.   I certainly wasn’t drinking it for the taste. I discovered and found salvation with homebrewing. Lucky me, it was even cheaper than what I was buying, but it had taste that became a winner. Remarkable, even in those early days of American homebrewing. 

            Taste buds DO mature.   Whether you develop a taste for hops, malt, fruity Belgian-style esters, stout dark beers, or even low alcohol English-style ales – everyone is capable of developing their tastes for both the good and accessible things in life. Right now we’re talking beer and you’ve got to believe in yourself. You deserve good beer.   Whether you consider yourself a veteran beer enthusiast or a brand loyal light lager drinker, extend the boundaries of your beer taste experiences. There’s a whole lot of stuff out there that you still don’t know you love.   Life doesn’t get any longer and tomorrow you’ll have one less day to drink beer than today. 

            It’s been in the mid to high 90’s here in Colorado this week. Cold cold refreshing beer doesn’t have to take the form you see advertised on television. There are some might satisfying choices out there. If you are convinced there aren’t, it’s time to start making your own beer. I do and today I enjoyed a chilled mug of homebrewed 3.8% abv English-style ordinary bitter, served cold. Yes, yes. The traditional English pint of ordinary would be served at about 50 degrees.   But it doesn’t get hot in England like it does here. Below 40 degrees suits me just fine today.  I’m happy. I keep shifting my own boundaries. So can you. We both deserve it.

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