The Nectar of Gods

There's a certain connotation bestowed on the shoulder's of beer snobs and for the most part it's a valid and applicable label.

The thought that anyone who can drink, let alone enjoy, the watered down, false advertised (triple hopped!, Great Taste with Less Filling!) swill that that is associated with our big sporting events is a person living int he dark ages who has no ability to gauge what's good in the world.

Just like with anything in life there's a dividing line drawn in the proverbial sand.  On one side is the educated, well paletted beer aficionado who you see calmly and patiently perusing the beer store's wall of deliciousness.  On the other side is the beer consumer who doesn't want to make a decision, but wants to get the best bang for his or her buck (which they never truly do) and want to get away from the condescending glares of the snootier beers and their artistic labels.

Here's some beers and the "type" of person who drinks them....

• Bud Light - You're a wuss.  At least drink Bud Heavy.  It's not going to hurt you.
• Bud Heavy - You may have relatives from the South or you definitely enjoy Nascar.
• Miller Light - You're single, or your girlfriend is okay with the gas that this beer inevitably turns into.
• Coors Light - You have a tiny bit of taste but you don't want to indulge that taste with something that actually is good.
• Keystone/Busch/etc.. - You, like my grandfather, think medals won in the 30's mean their water's still good to drink.
• PBR - You lost all your matchbox car races as a Cadet and this is your first and only blue ribbon you're going to get.
• Any Churchkey beer - your attempt at drinking a beer in a hipster fashion is indicative of some deep routed problems

This could go on but you get the idea.

There are a number of reasons for the beer snob or home brewer (these terms are often synonymous) to think that these types of beers (and people) are sub par.

First we have the beer's own inadequacies:

• watered down
• lower quality ingredients
• no variety.  Americans drink lagers and pilsners.

Consequently this shows an inadequacy in the people who are content to consume these beers:

• Boring people who are scared of trying something new
• They have no flavor. No pizzazz.  They're plane janes.

Whether you agree with the stereotypes or not it is very hard to disagree with the reasons why people feel this way.  There's a quality that is present in craft beers that in this humble beer drinker's perspective is well worth the uptick in price.

I'm going to leave you with a couple of my favorite breweries and beers.

Breweries and beers they make: 

• Bells (Oberon, Two Hearted, HopSlam)
• Founders (KBS, Curmudgeon, Dirty Bastard, Pale Ale, Breakfast Stout, and many more)
• New Holland (Dragons Milk, The Poet)
• Left Hand (Milk Stout)
• Dark Horse (One, Two, Three)
• Lagunitas (Sumpin' Sumpin')
• Arcadia
• Shorts

Beers you need to try if you can get your hands on:

• Pliny the Elder and Pliny the Younger
• KBS
• Mine :)