Since I turned 21, I’ve always been a beer hater. As my friends around me started turning, too, many of them became habitual beer drinkers. Being from rural Pennsylvania, I’m surrounded by more beer distributors than liquor stores. So many people in my life have been trying for the longest time to get me into the beverage, and I’ve never understood the appeal. I started calling it “bread soda” among friends, taking a hard stance against the drink. But I couldn’t help but feel jealous whenever I went out to a bar and my friends were able to order the cheapest things on the menu, while I was only entertained by a $15 cocktail.
Widely referred to as the world’s most consumed drink and one of the oldest alcoholic beverages, I was desperate to know what I was missing out on. If so many people sing beer’s praises, I gotta be missing something. I have set out on a summer-long mission to try and get myself to like beer. Here are my findings thus far.
How I Changed My Perspective
One of my first steps was sitting down with a certified beer expert. I met with Katherine Benecke from Treadwell Park, a chain of iconic New York beer halls. She took me through her history with the company, and how she began getting into beer herself. Her jobs have always centered around the beverage, allowing her to take her time getting to know different brands and types. She explained how complex beer can be, with all the different notes of a flavor and the deep connections they often have to the community they were created in. “Beer is so nuanced, yet accessible. It’s often made at a price point that most can afford, which is very intentional so a broader audience can enjoy this form of gastronomy.”
As she went on about brewing styles, my mind began to wander to one of my personal favorite hobbies — perfumery. Over the past year or so, perfume collecting and analysis has become an obsession of mine. The way Katherine discussed beer was eerily similar to the way I, and many others, tend to think about fragrances. Oftentimes people are able to get into the pretentious and expansive world of perfume through getting into individual houses. At the beginning, you end up wanting to try as many different perfumes as you can, even if you don’t like them. It’s all about becoming familiar with the individual notes, and being able to pick out what you specifically like, so you can better curate the types of scents you gravitate towards.
And that’s where my perspective started to shift. Maybe, just maybe, beer is like perfume. Hear me out! Maybe it doesn’t matter as much if I like each and every individual beer I try, or like every part of it. Maybe drinking beer is more about the experience, more about trial and error to see what best suits your individual tastes. Going into this, I thought all beer was just going to taste the same. But there’s a whole world out there waiting to be explored by those who are willing to push past the most popular basic, bread-y offerings. Bud Light is merely the Bath and Body Works of the beer world.
My Beer Recommendations
After talking with Katherine a bit more, I was gifted with some recommendations based on my typical palate. While I love a signature cocktail, I also adore wine. Particularly a nice red (whites are often too dry). With this in mind, her first suggestion was a brand called Westbrooke. I was particularly enticed by its founding flavor, Mexican Wedding Cake, but unfortunately the beer doesn’t seem to be sold in my state. However, I was able to find the next best thing — her second suggestion, Duchesse de Bourgogne. I got my hands on the Cherry Chocolate flavor. This was a very tart recommendation, to the point of almost giving off a vinegar taste. However, the chocolate notes kept it grounded, and I found myself shocked at just how much it felt like drinking a glass of a nice red wine.
Since I live in a town whose main claim to fame is a brewery, I wanted at least one local suggestion too. So I went to my local beer distributor and bugged the first employee who made eye contact with me. He was an incredibly nice man, who was more than willing to give me recommendations. I told him the same thing about my tastes, and he recommended a beer called Imperial Sorbetto, from Ever Grain Brewing Co. in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. This is a sour, a type of beer that leans more, well, sour. This was definitely my favorite of every beer I’ve tried so far. The can was undeniably pretty, the art representing all the different fruits stuffed into the drink. While it still had a bit of that bread-y flavor, it was sweetened by the fruit to make it more of a cheesecake note, like its description claimed.
With all of my hard earned knowledge, I wanted to finally try picking out some beers for myself. While I still wanted to pick things I would (hopefully) like, I also wanted to try a variety of flavors in this experiment. The two I ended up choosing were There’s No Crying in Baseball by Evil Genius Beer Company and Sweet Baby Jesus! by DuClaw Brewing Company.
There’s No Crying in Baseball was described as a hazy mango IPA, which I was a bit worried about. I didn’t think the mango flavor would be able to cover up the harsh taste I had been warned about in other IPA’s, but I was dead wrong. This was quite enjoyable, and the tartness of the mango offset the “beer” flavor. Sweet Baby Jesus!, on the other hand, I expected to easily enjoy. It claims to have a chocolate peanut butter taste, but the part that I overlooked was it being a porter. Porters are very dark beers, which I could tell off of the first sip. A month ago, I think I would have undeniably hated this drink. However, I like to think that I’ve grown since then, and this drink is the proof. I balked a bit at the initial flavor, but continued to drink, trying to focus on the notes. This instantly made it much more palatable, as I could pick out the peanut butter behind the strong alcohol flavor, and the soothing chocolate aftertaste.
While I now know that darker beers aren’t for me, I’m very happy with my reaction here. I don’t think I’ll ever be someone who can kick back with a can of Pabst Blue Ribbon, but I don’t balk at the idea of beer anymore. In fact, I’m excited to try as many different kinds as I can, to begin recognizing the individual notes and ways of brewing for myself.