Until this year I was an alcoholic virgin. Hmm, that sounds way trashier than I intended, but I think you know what I mean. Although I’m well past the legal drinking age, I only started drinking in April 2012. There are several reasons for this, all of which are boring, so let’s just say that it boils down to the fact that I never started.
I was set to visit a land with a greater than average concentration of experts on the subject, so I decided that my trip to Ireland would be as good an occasion as any to start drinking. Since my first glass of Proseco in Dublin I’ve tried many different alcoholic beverages. I enjoyed most of them, but not beer.
A sip of a friend’s pint of Guinness at a pub in Ballycumber was my first hint that beer might not be my drink of choice, but then again lots of pople dislike Guinness so I wasn’t prepared to write it off just yet. Nevertheless, trying more beers fell considerably lower on my list of alcoholic explorations.
Then June I went to TBEX in Colorado and there was a reception for us at Wynkoop Brewing Company where I tried beer in earnest with a glass of my very own. They were quite tickled that my first beer was one of theirs. I wanted to like it and make them proud. But I didn’t. I started to feel weird after drinking half the glass, probably due to the combination of altitude, jet lag, not having eaten, walking all day, and being on edge after a run-in with a creepy dude just prior to the event. So I stopped and focused on making new friends instead.
I still didn’t feel like I’d given beer a fair shake, so when I went with friends to The 3 Brewers for a pre-TIFF dinner I was coerced decided to have their beer-tasting flight, featuring a white, blonde, amber, and brown beers. As instructed I drank them from lightest to darkest. The light one was supposed to taste fruity, and it kind of did. To me it tasted like I imagine it would if you took a pineapple and a load of old shoes, threw them into a washing machine, and then drank the rinse water. In the spirit of experimental enquiry I drank every one of the beers in front of me and kept hoping that the good part would come with the next sip, but it never did.
I have nothing against the brewers of the beers that I tried. No doubt their wares are delicious to people who enjoy beer, I just don’t happen to be one of them.
It’s official. I don’t like beer.
I use to hate beer. Now I love it.
I’m not sure why or how it happened – but I consider myself a beer lover. Maybe my taste buds changed or something.
Maybe one day you will love beer too, who knows! 😀
PS: Those beers look aweeesomeeeee. Looking forward to getting to The States especially around Portland/Seattle to scope out some of the micro-breweries!
Hey Tom, thanks for stopping by and commenting. You could be right. One day I may acquire a taste for beer and I will look back at this post and laugh at my folly. I always have an open mind about things, and maybe a circumstance will arise that will lead me to cultivate a taste for beer. In the meantime I probably won’t go out of my way to have it again. 😉
I am not a beer drinker myself & have never really enjoyed it. However, this year I have discovered 2 types of beer that I have actually liked! Fruli, a strawberry beer and Stiegl Radler, an Austrian beer. From one non-beer drinker to another, if you ever want to give beer another chance, give those a try!
Hey Natalia! Thanks for the tips. Someone else recommended Radler to me recently as well. Perhaps I’ll give those a taste sometime.
Its hard to imagine now, but I never liked beer for a LONG time. I also was one of the good kids and didn’t drink till it was legal, but even then I didn’t like drinking much at all, and certainly not beer.
Now Im dreaming of biking to every micro-brewery in the state. It’s amazing how tastes change over time. You never know, you might just end up loving it. PS, though I might not admit this while in Dublin for TBEX, Guiness is really not very good.
It’s funny how tastes change over time. One day I might look back at this post in dismay. I can’t imagine ever loving Guinness, though. I had a sip of a friend’s pint while in Ireland in the spring and it tasted like I imagine liquified peat moss would. We’ll keep that our little secret, though, since I am cooking up a hare-brained scheme that might take me to Ireland for an extended period next year. Delighted to hear you’re going to TBEX in DUB. I’m planning on it too. You will have a grand time. Maybe you will enjoy the “real” Guinness. Supposedly the water from the Liffey makes all the difference!
I used to not like beer very much and (I now understand that this next part is actually the worst part), when I did drink beer, I drank Budweiser.
Budweiser.
The shame runs deep.
Now I love beer. Give it time young Luke.
Ha ha! Yes, this padawan clearly has some more learning to do. Perhaps I just need to find the right beer. I’ll definitely steer clear of Budweiser. Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
Steph, you’re not alone on the beer thing. I was legal when I had my first beer, and it tasted like…. nothing. I wouldn’t say I disliked it… I just really didn’t taste anything. It took a bit before I really felt much from it too…. not sick or hungover, just nothing. My first Guinness was in Ireland, and I have to say I’ve liked it from then on. I like the taste, certainly have preferred the Guinness that I had in that wee singing pub near Cork (I believe), but I enjoy it at home too. Not really keen on any of the other darker ales I’ve tried. And, it is a good tonic – build up the Iron!!!