How I Became a Beer Snob

Humboldt Brews Taphouse, Arcata.

When I was growing up, my Dad liked Budweiser (the American version), so I thought that was what beer tasted like, hence I thought I didn’t like beer. Through college, my beverage of choice was wine coolers — Bartles & Jaymes (which now I believe is utterly undrinkable) and the favorite Matilda Bay (Australian accent: “Comes in a box, so it’s easy to pour!” — I also have a neon sign with lovely rasta colors).

But after Ken and Todd returned from England they introduced me to stouts and porters, and perhaps my taste matured a bit, and I decided I sort of liked beer, though the darker the better (don’t trust a beer you can see through) — I tend to prefer stouts, porters, nut browns, and the like.

My very favorite lately is Dogfish Head (Maryland) Raison d’Etre — the 90- and 120-minute versions cost around $7 per small bottle but taste to me like drinking a fine wine. Apropos, the best wine I think I ever had was from the Rhine river, where Amy and I stayed in a castle (at the top of a loooooong set of stairs) back before college; lately two-buck chuck seems fine to me though I do like a nice Chianti.

Reminds me of camping with Ken and Todd, when Ken proclaimed that we’d drink enough Jägermeister to “see the stag” — but we only ended up seeing the yak.