How I came to really like beer

First let me explain that if you want to read a good beer blog, there are many better ones than this. I don't plan on writing articles, doing interviews, or doing any actual work. This blog is just my impressions of beers I've tasted– Why I think they're good, or bad, or meh. I'll try to make it interesting and fun.

Ever since I became aware of the Craft Beer movement, I started liking beer. Yes, as a young man I drank my share (maybe more than my share) of the American lagers like Budweiser, Miller, Coors, etc. I drank it, but I never really liked it like people like a fine wine, or a fine cheese. But these beers were cheap, my friends all drank it, and besides, I didn't know there was any other kind of beer.
I pretty much stopped drinking beer regularly throughout my 30's, 40's and into my 50's, preferring wine and cocktails in social situations. In about 2003 or so, I discovered a local brewery in Nashville, TN called Yazoo.

I tried their Hefeweizen. In those days you couldn't buy it in bottles. You had to go to the brewery and buy it in a tiny plastic "keg" that would sit in your refrigerator. I poured it into a glass and the first thing I noticed was that it was "cloudy". Is that right? Is it supposed to be like that? I took a sip. It was like no beer I'd ever tasted. It was fruity and smelled good. It went down smooth. It wasn't "fizzy". It was a beautiful color and had a creamy head. I thought, "Is this really beer?"

From that point on, I was anxious to try more kinds of these "strange new beers". I was all in on this Craft Beer thing (not even sure if they were calling it "craft beer" then).

Today there seems to be a new beer coming out every week. There are as many breweries as there are Starbuck's. It's impossible to try them all, but I'm going to give it my best shot.

I would also like to address another point. Yes, beer is an alcoholic beverage. Yes, if you drink too much of an alcoholic beverage it impairs your judgement, makes you an unsafe driver, can change your personality, make you fat, and I'm sure you can think of other things that are negative about beer if too much is consumed. I'm not talking about sitting down and consuming mass quantities of any alcoholic beverage. I enjoy beer strictly as examples of the brewer's art. I never drink beer with the intention of becoming inebriated. I find no joy in that. Where I do find joy is discovering that great tasting fine brew. There are wine lovers, steak connoisseurs, donut experts... All of these can be over-consumed with negative consequences. I like donuts, but I would never eat an entire box of them. Moderation is the best way to enjoy anything. Especially beer.

I'll be the first to admit, I'm no beer expert. I'm just a regular guy that loves beer. So I'll review each beer from the "regular guy" perspective. If the beer experts think I don't know what I'm talking about, well, they're correct! I don't claim to be a beer geek. I just want to share my love of beer with other folks that like beer, too. Maybe I'll recommend something you'll like. I hope you'll post some suggestion on beers you enjoy, too.