Yesterday, Mama-Lu and I went to a beer tasting at one of the booze stores in town. First of all, I want to tell any other CCD teachers that if you're looking for a way to unwind after a hard morning's work, sampling 20 or so beers will do the trick.
(Actually, let me add that CCD yesterday wasn't that stressful. For most of the class we had just one student. The rest went to an optional all-CCD class on Latin. One of our students, however, thought that the class was just going to be for older students, and when she walked into the classroom and saw her younger sibling, she turned around and walked out and said she didn't want to do it. So she hung out with Mama-Lu and me for the duration of the special class. Some people just have their principles.)
Back to the beer. Usually there is some kind of theme to the tasting, but the theme for yesterday's tasting was "stuff they don't have much more of." This is one reason why the tasting was so broad. Normally they pour 6-10 beers, not 20.
Best of tasting for me was a bock from Wisconsin called Pioneer. It was chocalatey delicious! Actually, the real best was a home brew by one of the guys at the tasting. It was supposed to be a chocolate porter, but the chocolate never happened. The result, though, was incredible.
There were some other good ones, but about halfway through, I realized I was too new at this and was being too overwhelmed by the large number of options that I couldn't even remember what some of the first few we tried were like. Maybe sometime in the future I'll get serious and take notes when I go to one of these, but this first time around I think it was nice to just enjoy and see what's out there. I did come to the realization that I'm more of a dark-beer guy (small wonder considering my love for Guiness), although there are a few paler beers I have enjoyed (mmm.... Erdingers!)
The best part of the event was that the sampling cost just $3 each. That's an especially great price considering how many we tried. The biggest lesson I learned is how ridiculous Americans are in making Budweiser and Miller our top brands. I guess since most of them only drink to get drunk, it doesn't matter what you're swigging as long as you can get it down and keep it down. But there are so many good beers out there, it's a shame. I also feel sorry for people who think they hate beer because they tried an MGD once. If Miller Brewing company is your only idea of what a beer is, you have no idea what's out there.
