The debate rages on among beer lovers whether the 'faux craft' beers produced by the big beer interests like Anheuser-Busch InBev and MillerCoors are worthy of a place at the bartop alongside legitimate craft beers. As I've resolved elsewhere, my take on the matter is that several of these beers are technically pretty good, but are generally rated on a much less forgiving scale than true craft beers by virtue of the fact that they're made by the giant corporate interests who crank out the ubiquitous light American lager.

I was contacted by the folks at NBC Universal today about an upcoming special premiering on the CNBC network this Thursday night, July 17th at 9PM & 12AM ET entitled, "American Originals: Budweiser." The report is touted as a one-hour, all-access look at "this family-owned business and its fight for independence," according to the press release accompanying the email. I can only assume this special report was produced prior to the announcement this last Sunday that the InBev buyout was approved by the A-B board and the storied St. Louis company is no longer "independent" (subject to regulator approval, of course)?

Okay, I couldn't help but repost this video clip. Check out what Stephen Colbert had to say about the buyout of Anheuser-Busch by Belgian-based brewer, InBev. I feel your pain, Stephen!

With gas prices skyrocketing and air travel becoming more and more challenging and time-consuming, many people are opting to stay close to home to celebrate the holidays or take their vacations. With that fact in mind, Food Network and Here’s to Beer personality, Dave Lieberman, will host a special webcast on June 30th focusing on making your “staycation” the best it can be.

This is a synopsis of the information I received in an email from the media relations folk at Anheuser-Busch yesterday.

In addition to tips on how to live, eat and entertain in style – and on a budget – Dave will spend some time talking about summertime beer and food pairings. The initial webcast is by invitation-only, according to the email, and the members of the media who are invited will be able to ask Dave questions and have him respond online during the live webcast. Kind of a cool concept, I think. The beer and food pairings will in all likelihood be limited strictly to Anheuser-Busch products given the fact that the Here’s to Beer website is itself an Anheuser-Busch product, but that’s just fine in my book. The rationale behind the pairings can just as easily apply to craft beers as Bud Light Lime!

Here are a couple of the pairings Dave is slated to feature:

- Appetizer: Fresh guacamole with American-style lager (Budweiser, I’d venture to guess)

- Entrée: Flank steak fajitas featuring fresh cilantro and flour tortillas served with Bud Light Lime and beer simmered chicken and cheese quesadilla with a dark lager (hmmm … AmberBock, perhaps?)

- Dessert: Honey poached peaches with Greek yogurt paired with a Belgian-style wheat beer (my guess … Shock Top)

I’m glad to see that the media and marketing people at A-B are including “beer people” in their media selection for this event. If nothing else, it demonstrates that they know we exist and proves that there is some level of interest in taking beer beyond the “lowest common denominator” status it has suffered under in the popular media for so long. Like I’ve said before, the brewers at A-B can, and occasionally do, make good beer … they just purposefully don’t most of the time for financial reasons and the simple fact that the majority of Americans honestly don’t have the palate for much of anything other than the typical light, fizzy lager. Let’s face it; they brew what most people want to drink. Like ‘em or don’t for that fact – at least they’re making an attempt to elevate the discussion about beer in the public arena. If they want to use my website for that purpose, I don't see an issue with posting content that contains useful information for the readers.

Okay, soapbox over. Once the invitation-only webcast is over, the participating media will have the ability to repost the entire webcast on their respective websites for public viewing. This is, admittedly, a great way to gain some free publicity from the blogosphere, but it actually might turn out to be entertaining and even informative. Either way, I’ll post the webcast here after it becomes available on Monday morning. I encourage you to check it out with an open mind … and maybe an open beer too.

UPDATE: My apologies for the delay in reposting the webcast on the site. I've been working with the A-B folks to get an embeddable version of the entire webcast, but I've only managed to get a link that doesn't require a registration. This will have to do, for now. If you'd like to watch the webcast, just click here.

The likelihood that Belgian brewing giant InBev will eventually assimilate St. Louis’ own Anheuser-Busch is getting greater with each passing day, it seems. The rhetoric surrounding the story on the web is taking on more and more of a tone of inevitability of late. If you’re not inclined to believe everything you read online, you can take it straight from the horse’s (or perhaps more appropriately Clydesdale’s) mouth. In a rare quote from a Busch family member on the matter, Adolphus Busch IV, who is the uncle of A-B chief executive August A. Busch, said today that he believes “there could be a slightly greater than 50-50 chance” that a deal will happen. If it does, the impact that such a monumental deal will have on A-B operations, specifically, and the St. Louis culture and economy writ-large will only be ascertained in time. As most everyone knows, the Busch family has been a fixture in St. Louis for decades and “The Brewery’s” (to use the moniker commonly adopted by St. Louis citizenry when speaking of A-B)impact and influence on the city is both deep and long.

I am just not one to listen to local radio. I generally stick with CDs or tune in something on XM. I frankly can't tolerate the local advertising. I'm all about supporting local business, but so many of the local ad spots in this market are just agonizingly bad (poorly read copy, bad jingles and silly taglines/catch phrases). All of these elements conspire to nearly drive me crazy when I try to listen, so I avoid it as often as I can.

The one time I do listen in is when my SIU Salukis are playing away and the game isn't televised. Thankfully, this doesn't happen too often. I will also typically tune into the postgame radio show to hear the interview with the coaches and players. On these occasions, I try my best to keep my hand on the volume control so that I can tune out the commercials. I'm usually pretty adept at this technique, but during a recent post game wrap-up after a basketball game, I failed to crank down the volume control in time ... what do you suppose I heard right off the bat?

No, I didn't hear a local car dealer making a fool of himself as usual ... I didn't even hear a radio sales rep reading ad copy (badly) as I typically would ...

Instead, I head an ad for Budweiser (touted as "The Great American Lager" these days) that catches my ear. The spot basically is meant to extol the virtues of Bud over all these "trendy" craft beers in the market these days. I can't remember the exact copy, and I can't find the spot on the net anywhere, but essentially it's a narrator describing a few craft beer styles (in a somewhat disdainful voice), while positing that Budweiser isn't one of these silly, trendy beers. The spot even goes so far as to say something like " ... and it doesn't taste like chocolate" in an obvious ploy to make craft beer seem trivial and silly.

I'm not upset about the ad, because I think it really betrays the fact that A-B is nervous about the impact that true craft beer is having on the beer world writ-large. Heck, they even produce their own pseudo-craft beers in order to cash in on the popularity of craft beer. The spot just struck me as a bit odd, coming from A-B's corporate office ... if indeed it did?

Has anyone else heard this spot? If so, what's your take on it? I guess it's not beyond the scope of possibility that the local distributor paid for this ad, but I seriously doubt it was produced locally. I've heard local spots and this one ain't local! It sounded professional, the background music was nice, and the voice was clearly well-trained. No one from our local radio entities created this ad. I guess what I'm saying is that I finally heard an ad on local radio that I dislike for what it says rather that how it's said ... ...

Thoughts?

As I’ve previously reported, Anheuser Busch is taking steps to combat their competition, namely the new MillerCoors partnership, and steal market share back from the surging craft beer industry. The latest plan of attack seems to be to throw massive amounts of money into new TV and web ads designed to play up the brand’s history and heritage. Specifically, A-B intends to focus on it’s four top brands – Budweiser, Bud Light, Michelob and Michelob Ultra. Smaller, less successful brands like Bud Select and Rolling Rock will likely see significant decreases in ad spending.

If you're a regular reader of beerphilosopher.com, you'll already be familiar with the fact that Anheuser-Busch is expending a lot of time and energy to capitalize on the commercial success of the craft beer niche market. They've created several beers, under various labels, I like to call stealth beers. They're not truly craft beers at all (if, of course, you define craft beer in any way by the size of the brewery that produces the beer or typically the ingredients used), but rather beers packaged and marketing in such a way that the average Joe off the street might not have a clue the beer didn't come from a small-batch brewery tucked away in the corner of nowhere. They go so far as to exclude any (or nearly any) mention of Budweiser or Anheuser-Busch on the label. Sometimes the only semi-obvious clue is the little "St. Louis, Mo" in tiny print along the label edge.

Sometimes it appears that even true craft beer brewers feel the pressure to combine forces and take up a united front against the increasing "craft-like," or "craft-lite" interests of the big macro brewers. In the case of the Woodinville, New Hampshire brewer, Redhook, and the Portland-based Widmer Brothers, however, I don't know that we have a classic case of two brewing equivalents of David taking on the industry's Goliath ...

An interesting collegial conversation is going on right now over on London beer blogger Stonch's site. As regular readers know, I recently posted a piece about a well-known international brewer's new cinematic website because I found it to be impressive. The company will go unnamed here, as I've given them all the coverage that I planned to give them, but if you don't know who I mean you can easily find the previous post. This particular brewer is owned by the world's largest commercial beer giant, InBev.

Stonch's point is that beer bloggers ought not spend their time and energy covering the release of this company's new website, since they clearly have the wherewithal to pay for their own marketing to their target audience without enlisting the help of beer writers. Further, Stonch rightly asserts that we beer bloggers aren't, by and large, fans of this company's product, so why give them the free publicity they clearly seek ... or as Stonch puts it, "Don't get taken for a ride."

All of this is really inconsequential to most readers, but some of you may find the dialogue interesting. I think it's a great study in the varying attitudes and philosophies among beer writers and bloggers. Rather than elaborating on my position on the issue here, feel free to check out the comments on stonch's post. Mine are written, in brief, there.

At the end of the day, those of us who write about beer are clearly passionate about it and though we may disagree on fine points, we are all clearly of the mind that better beer always and in every way needs it's proponents. We need to be careful not to wantonly fall into every marketing scheme that the world's macro beer companies throw our way. Even though I disagree with Stonch on this one, I admire and respect his position.

Cheers to better beer!

Occasionally I'm reminded why I love to tell people about "better" beer and why I spend a great deal of time writing about it right here on BP. Watching people discover the wide world of beer, as if stepping out of Plato's cave of bad beer, is a very rewarding experience. I find myself living vicariously through those who are turned on by a truly good beer for the first time. I remember that feeling and I reallty enjoy seeing it happen to others.

The 12th annual Pinch Penny Beer Festival is in the books and the weather couldn’t have been nicer for a late summer’s afternoon. The cool, clear sunny day saw a lineup of 30 tables and over 180 beers, or other “malt beverages,” arranged throughout the outdoor beer garden. The cooler temperatures made the experience of drinking small 2-4 oz samples of beer much more palatable than it could have been had the weather been in the mid-90 degree range as we’ve seen in recent weeks in Southern Illinois. Trust me, I’ve been to beer festivals in the middle of the summer, on an asphalt parking lot … it doesn’t take long until you’re ready to trade your beer glass in for a cup of water and a place to sit in the shade! Thankfully, though, the weather was kind and the beer (and water) was plentiful.

Most every beer-producing country was represented in some way at the festival – everything from Australian lagers to …well … lagers from New Zealand. Sorry, that’s the best I could do for an A-Z example! The vast majority of the beers available were produced by the “big boys” of the brewing industry, of course – Anheuser-Busch, SABMiller and Molson/Coors – or one of their corporate interests anyway. I was pleased to find some beers from a few lesser known brewers, both foreign and domestic, like Franziskaner (Germany), Rogue (Oregon), Unibroue (Canada), Sprecher (Wisconsin), Butte Creek (California), North Coast (California), and Boulevard (Missouri). Other regional favorites were there as well, like Schlafly and O’Fallon (although the latter didn’t make it onto the printed itinerary, oddly enough).

I managed to sample a few beers I’d not tried before, which I always enjoy doing of course. Well, almost always. I tried the White Ox Wheat from James Page, a Chocolate Porter from Bayhawk and a Dry-Hopped St. Rogues Red from Rogue. Quite honestly, the first two were really just quite poor (I had to dump the chocolate porter), and the Rogue beer had an off-flavor I couldn’t quite figure out. I’ve had plenty of dry-hopped beers before, so I don’t think this is what threw me, but I’ll be the first to admit that a beer festival isn’t exactly the controlled environment you want for serious beer critiquing. So, I’ll give ‘em all a pass on this one, I suppose.

As with any beer event, though, there’s always room for improvement. I thought I’d briefly share my initial criticisms here and ask for any refutation or input if you attended and happened to think other than I do. A couple of things stood out to me:

- First of all, the venue has just become too small for the number of people in attendance. I realize there is a purpose to having a “full house” for the perceived success of an event, but when you have to elbow your way through a crowd of bodies, sometimes, 4-5 deep, just to get a sample of beer it becomes a question of “is it really worth it?” After all, once you fight your way in, you have to fight your way back out with beer in hand. There are beers I’m willing to do this for … none of them were at this festival.

- If you’re a beer “purist,” this event really isn’t for you. Beyond the fact that there were very few truly unique or unusual beers to sample (there really weren’t even any notable “test market” beers available, much to my chagrin) the median age was probably 22 and the vast majority of these were not Beer Advocate subscribers, if you know what I mean. These kids were there to drink as much as they could as quickly as they could and the beer they were drinking really was inconsequential, aside from the requirement that it had some alcohol content. This suspicion of mine was only strengthened when my good friend Dave and I overheard one of the mass of undergraduates exclaim, “Man, all this free %#*! is cool.” Referring, of course, to the beer samples and the trinkets many of the tables had available. Yes, all that free %#*! is cool, now quit making me spill my beer on my shoe.

- I thought it would have been great to have had people pouring the beer who actually knew something about the beer they were pouring. I’d say that 85-90% of the staff behind the tables didn’t have a clue about the beer they were doling out. I realize not everyone is an expert, or should be expected to be, but a little baseline training might have been nice. Part of the experience of sampling beer is learning something about it – this aspect, in my mind, enhances the appeal and helps to encourage people to sample beers that are clearly outside their drinking “comfort zone.” Further, those who were pouring ought to be instructed to give samples of equal proportion to all attendees … I can’t begin to tell you how many times I received a typical 2oz pour, while the attractive blonde and her friend next to me, got a nearly full glass.

I realize this is a University town and I realize that an event like this, in a University town, would probably not so much as break even if it weren’t for the kids. But it seems to me that there ought to be some workable solution that would make everyone happy. Moving the event to a location with a bit more space might just do the trick. Then the college kids can party all they want to and those of us who are actually there to taste the beer (as opposed to inhaling it), can sample in peace. It’s just a thought.

Man, I’m getting old.

Over all, I had fun and that’s what really counts. I had some beers I enjoyed, even if they were beers I’ve had before. I also very much enjoyed meeting the Illinois Retail Rep for Boulevard Brewing Company, Jason, who told me he's a regular reader of the website. Thanks Jason!

The bottom line is that if you’re looking for an authentic beer festival, this probably isn’t your prototype. Given the constraints, however, that the town and the venue present, I can’t say that I wouldn’t steer an event to the lowest common denominator too. It’s a tough call and at least Pinch Penny is doing something exciting with beer. That’s more than I can say for the other local establishments. Beggars can’t be choosers, I suppose. Here’s to another year and an even better one next year, for beer.

The folks at Stella Artois are launching a new fully cinematic website on Tuesday, September 18th 2007. What I've seen it terms of previews, to this point, seem very impressive. Clearly a lot of time and money were put into this project. I am not a big fan of the beer, but I do appreciate good marketing and a good story. The new Stella Artois website clearly has both.

No, I'm not referring to the food coloring-infused remnants of St. Patty's Day celebrations past. Rather, I am referring to a segment of the beer industry that is enjoying a great deal of attention as of late - organic beer. And why not? After all, organic products are a big industry these days and health-conscious consumers are buying organic food items like never before.

Beer is food. So, the emergence of organic beer really shouldn't surprise anyone, right?

So the CEO of the second largest beer brewer in the world, SABMiller, thinks that the growth and popularity of craft beer in America is going to fade. In fact, according to a recent interview with Fortune Magazine’s Matthew Boyle, “…it’s inevitable.”

Does Mr. Mackay know something that we, the craft beer drinkers of America, don’t know? Or could it be that this “inevitability” is really something more of a worried hand-wringing, will it into existence wish designed to ignore the clear facts and hope that Americans all of a sudden stop thirsting for better tasting, higher quality beers?

I’m thinking it is the latter.

After all, this comes from a man whose company just launched a new product called Miller Chill. Quite frankly, if you haven’t tried it, let me spare you the effort. Chill is a typical pale American-style light lager with flavor additives. Supposedly, these additives are supposed to consist of lime and salt. I get neither from this beer. In fact, I get … you guessed it … pale light lager with … what is that … maybe a splash of Hawaiian Punch? Yikes.

And this is supposed to endure while craft beer fades into oblivion? Almost laughable.

Mackay and his company seem to be oblivious to what even their prime competition is coming to realize. Craft beer is here to stay. In fact, year over year, craft beers like the very successful Samuel Adams beers of The Boston Beer Company, are gaining market share rather rapidly. The largest beer-maker in the world, Anheuser-Busch, has even come to realize that craft brewers are no longer just a nuisance or upstarts to be treated as mere ankle-biters, A-B has decided to launch its own line of “craft-inspired” beers to try to capture some of this growing market. Oh, and Molson-Coors is doing the same thing.

So what is the deal with SABMiller and their refusal to realize that American’s palates are changing for the better? More and more people are demanding beer with actual flavor and they’re turning to the only source where it can readily be found – the craft beer industry. I believe the day will come when this gamble will backfire and SABMiller will watch as their rivals gain market share by diversifying their product line and all Miller will be left with is truckloads of Miller Chill to drown their sorrows.

No one else is gonna want it.

"It's imported, so it must be better beer!"



Those imported beers in the green bottles you pay a little more for at the supermarket … sorry to say, they’re not necessarily better beers. Sure they’re marketed in such a way as to make them seem more sophisticated or chic, but really they’re the same ‘ol weak, light lagers you get from domestic macro breweries, only sometimes even worse. I say worse because a lot of these beers tend to be quite unapologetically skunky.

Skunkiness does not flavor make.

I think Yoda said that, or at least he should have. Anyway, by skunky I mean that the beer has been light-struck, due to the clear or lightly-tinted green bottle, and has an unpleasant odor that so many of these mass-marketed imports are notorious for exemplifying. Not what you're looking for in a beer, trust me.

Okay, I’ll name names here but only in the interest of protecting the innocent from a poor beer purchase. I feel it's my duty to do what I can to help people "just say no" to skunky, inferior beer.

Heineken.

Put simply, Heineken is not a good beer at all. This light "Euro lager" from Holland is one of the skunkiest I’ve encountered …ever. You’ll be much better off buying a six pack of Harp or even Peroni and calling it a day, if you're dead set on this style of beer. At least these two examples of the style are decent enough to show up in an amber bottle to thwart the light. Your taste buds will thank you for it.

Want another? Who can I pick on now … how about …

Beck’s.

Blecks! The same story as Heine, really. An over-hyped mess of a German Pilsener with little redeeming quality. Want a German Pilsener ... try a Bitburger or if you're lucky enough to live in an area that carries Victory Brewing Company's beers (yes, I know, they're from Pennsylvania) pick up a sixer of their Prima Pils - a truly stellar example of the style.

Finally, the classic example of bad beer that is far too often mistaken for a good beer ... that glorified lime wedge receptacle you know and (unfortunately) love ...

Corona.

What can I say about Corona, really. It's just flat out bad. That lime wedge does serve one purpose that I can tell - it masks the taste of this American style macro. Grupo Modelo doesn't even bother to go with the green bottle for this one ... no, no. Let's use the clear one so we can assure the most skunked beer ever. Americans will love it ... (insert evil laugh here). I'm hard-pressed to recommend an American style light lager, but if you must get one you might go with a Red Stripe or better yet, a Schlafly 1904 American Lager.

I admit it, I have a passion for the high-end, pricy, imported beers you just can’t find in your local convenience mart cooler. For me, nothing is better than opening a finely aged, cellar-temperature bottle of Achel Brune Extra or a Thomas Hardy’s Ale from a decade or so ago. There’s just something magical and a little exclusive about the whole experience – it’s sensory, for lack of a better word. The feel of the snifter in my hand, the amber glow of the liquid when held in the light, the bouquet rising up to the nose as the beer is gently swirled and sniffed, the interplay of the sweet malt and drying hops on the tongue … I could go on and on, but you get the idea.

At this point, you may be saying to yourself, “c’mon buddy, this is only beer we’re talking about here.”

Fair enough.

But this seems to be deemed perfectly acceptable behavior for wine-lovers. In fact, if I substituted a few beer-specific words for wine words, the description seems more fitting, does it not? Sounds a lot like what you think of when you think of a wine snob, I’d wager. I love wine too, but I’m definitely not snobbish about it. But like the fine red wines from the storied wine regions of France, world-class beers command respect and their subtle nuances are just plain lost on an unrefined palate. I analyze my beer; scrutinize it for its inherent quality. The more I know about my beer, the more I appreciate my beer. I am a beer snob.

I don’t set out to do it, but I find myself turning my nose up at what I consider “lesser” beers. I’m particularly wont to ridicule the ever popular American Light lager at every opportunity and scoff at the beer-swilling, forehead can-crunching images that are too often associated with the typical beer drinker in America thanks to mass marketing. I want to separate myself, and my beloved beer, from such low-brow associations as much as I can. I like my exclusive club. I have pure motives, I think. I genuinely want to promote the fact that there is far more to beer than what you find in the average consumer’s refrigerator. Beer has come a long way, and I think it deserves a place right alongside wine on fine restaurant menus, properly paired with food items, and celebrated with all the pomp and circumstance lavished only on the finest wines. Cheap beer, and all its accompanying connotations, is at odds with this mission.

Unfortunately, this zeal of mine often translates into an unintended attitude of superiority I’ve come to realize - a ‘my beer is better than your beer’ kind of thing. But if I’m honest with myself, and my beer, is this really accurate? What is “better,” anyway? I could make the argument that my beer is crafted from more expensive ingredients using time-honored brewing methods and traditions and that it almost always will have a stronger flavor profile, but does this guarantee that everyone will, de facto, think it tastes better than a can of Budweiser out of the garage fridge?

I haven’t taken a poll, but I’d bet the answer is a resounding “no.” Stronger isn’t necessarily better for everyone.

Beer, and what is deemed "good" about beer, is an exceedingly subjective proposition. One man’s dirty dish water is another man’s piece de resistance. Who am I, then, to say my beer is better than yours? I have probably (with several exceptions, I’m sure) sampled more beers than the majority of people reading this article, and I can likely tell you more about it’s style and ingredients, but I certainly can’t tell you to like one beer more than another by virtue of it’s origin, price, or ingredients alone.

This is America, and you can drink whatever the heck you want to drink!

So while I have the propensity to look down on what I consider “cheap beer,” I have to be careful to balance my personal passion and tastes with the pragmatic consideration that screams for attention – can millions and millions of “cheap beer drinkers” worldwide be so totally off base? Does the vast majority of the world suffer from some tragic impairment of the palate that has relegated them to drinking only bad beer, while I and the relative few like me are spared this horrible affliction? Have I been granted some divine insight into what is truly good, while others are left with the dregs?

I seriously doubt it.

The fact of the matter is that the big beers companies are just that …BIG … because people like what they produce. That’s the bottom line. At some point, we beer snobs need to realize that no one is holding a gun to the heads of millions of Americans, forcing them to drink the beers we’re so fond of cursing. They actually like them and that’s okay. Most people’s palates are calibrated to expect and enjoy a beer with a very light, clean taste that doesn’t club them over the head with heavy malt or hop profiles. When it comes right down to it, I don’t exactly look forward to popping open a 55º bottle of imperial stout when I’m sitting the ballgame or mowing the lawn. My point? The very same qualities that I often deride a beer for are the same ones that make them so beloved by others. Quite frankly, if these beers didn’t taste good, in some measure, would anyone drink them? The question is rhetorical, of course, and the answer pains me just a bit. Not so much here … or here, but right here. Right in the beer ego.

People actually like "cheap" beer – let’s get over it.

The big guys are good at what they do – very good. Anyone with any real brewing experience will tell you that it is much harder, relatively-speaking, to create a consistent light lager than it is to make a complex, dark ale. There is just no place to hide mistakes (off-flavors) in a beer with such a mild flavor profile. My beloved ales are considerably more forgiving in this regard and it looks like I need to be a little more forgiving too. I’m not on the verge of purging my beer cellar or anything (my apologies to those who this prospect might have momentarily excited) and replacing my stock with a couple of 24 packs of Miller Lite, but I do feel the need to call an ideological truce and admit that I shouldn’t (and can’t) impose my beer-drinking preferences on anyone else. There is a place for the American Light Lager, after all, much to the chagrin of many of my beer snob brethren. I think if we spent more time drinking what we like, and less time worrying about what the guy at the other side of the bar is drinking, we’d all be happier in the long run.

I will continue to promote “better beer,” and educate the uninformed whenever I can, but I’ll endeavor to do it in a slightly less Gnostic manner whenever possible. Who knows, next time I see you out, I might just toast to beer equality with you by hoisting a light lager in the air … or not, but it’s the thought that counts, right? Hopefully, one day beer will be granted the respect it deserves and beer-drinkers will learn to respect one another’s preferences as well.

That, or I really do have some super beer power after all! The jury’s still out on that one though ...