I've never understood the concept of being a beer connoisseur. I love beer and have been drinking it in copious amounts since I was about 13 but jeez, it's beer. We drink beer because we're NOT wine snobs. We drink it to get happy (referencing Ben Franklin) and we drink it because it's amazing it all it's forms and incarnations. Cold, warm, dark, light, imported, exported, ales, lagers, pilsners, whatever... I just don't get beer snobbery. What am I missing?
When I was first introduced to beer, it was "Bud, Miller, Pabst, Schlitz, Hamms". If we were really broke, it was "Old Milwaukee".
Then, I was introduced to Olympia and Coors, and the light went on. "Aha! Beer doesn't have to taste like dishwater!"
Then, Augsburger came along, and a new light went on. "Aha! Beer can have color and body!"
Then, Burghoff happened, and a new light went on. A local beer can have subtle flavors!
Then, in about 1981, a bar in Milwaukee (near my apartment) called "The Daily Planet" began offering a German beer called DAB on tap. My eyes were opened wide -- THIS was beer? OMG!
Then, about the same time, Randy Sprecher opened Sprecher Brewery in Milwaukee, and there was no turning back. Beer could have flavor, and subtle-yet-complex nuances.
Since then, I've made it a point to sample ever micro-brewed beer I could find. I've had hundreds of them, and liked most of them. ALL are better than anything mass-produced -- even the "bad" ones.
Throughout this lifelong process, another movement has taken place in parallel, but going in the exact OPPOSITE direction -- the "light beer" movement. While my friends and I were moving toward flavor, taste, and body, a huge segment of the beer drinking population was moving away from it.
I have never understood this crowd. But then, when I was a smoker, I couldn't fathom "low tar" cigarettes, either. What was the point?
So, to answer your question, it's not snobbery -- it's an acquired taste. Beer has become like bread -- available in dozens of flavors and textures. Given this fact, why limit yourself to Wonder Bread?
Still, on a really hot summer day, I will happily pound down a Miller Lite, and like it. It's not beer, any more than a Twinkie is "bakery" -- but it's still good.
That said, our current beer of choice is Shiner Bock. It's a great "every day" Texas beer -- not too heavy, and great served ICE cold. If fresh, it is quite tasty.
Still, if I could get fresh Sprecher Amber down here, I'd be drinking it. *sigh*
The one in my hand is most often is a Sam Adams Boston Lager or Summer Wheat.
