The Armchair Quarterback’s Guide To The NFL: Week 2

The Armchair Quarterback Food/Drink/Tailgating Suggestion Of The Week

The Wonderful World of Craft Beer

This week’s suggestion won’t be necessary for lots of readers because you already know all about craft beer. However, there are a lot of you that are still missing the boat. The last thing I want to do is come across as some beer snob that’s insulting your taste in beer. If you love the taste of Keystone Light, who am I to tell you not to drink it. The thing is, I’ve known lots of people that swore up and down that they didn’t like beer at all even though all they had ever tried was Bud Light. I know a lot of other people that have the mind set that they’ll “tolerate” the taste of beer because they want to drink one with everyone else at a game or party.

That’s where I was a decade ago. I forced myself to choke down light beers that I didn’t really like when hanging out with friends. I assumed that since I didn’t like light beer, that non light beers would just have a similar taste, just stronger. Fast forward to present and I’m driving all the way across town to go to the liquor store where I can build my own six pack and sample as many new brews as possible.

Now if your goal is to simply drink as much beer at once as possible, craft beers probably aren’t for you. However, if you simply want a beer you really like the taste of, you need to give it a try.

Where do you start?

My advice is a Hefeweizen/Wheat Beer. The mistake that many make when making the jump from light beer to craft beer is that they start with a Pale Ale. Pale Ale’s are very popular, readily available, and the logic is “A “pale” beer will be most like a “light” beer, right?”. Wrong. A Pale Ale actually has a much higher bitterness rating (called IBU’s) than typical beers. A Pale Ale may take some time to build up a liking to. Oh, and FYI, those IPAs that you see all over now stand for Indian Pale Ale, which are typically even more bitter than the regular Pale Ales. A Hefeweizen/Wheat Beer on the other hand has one of the lowest bitterness ratings in the beer world. Basically, they’re no stronger than a light beer, just with a fuller flavor (in most cases). Nationwide, it seems like you can now find Blue Moon in about every liquor store, and it’s an okay wheat. In the midwest, Boulevard Wheat is very popular. I like the German import Hefeweizens (like Paulaner), but if you’re trying one for the first time I’d start simple.

From there you can start experimenting. Craft beer breweries often have a basic Lager that will be similar in style to your mass produced beers, but usually with a fuller/better flavor. This time of year Oktoberfest style beers hit the shelves and are pretty tasty without being overly strong. Believe it or not, most stouts actually have pretty low bitterness ratings. Most people psych themselves out because of the name and dark color, but many have a very smooth finish with a full roasty flavor.

So the next time you’re headed to a tailgate or game watch party and you’re planning on choking down a couple beers that you really don’t like. Stop by your local liquor store and get yourself something new. If you live in a big town, find a liquor store where you can build your own six pack and try several different types. Then when you go back, get a couple that you know you like and mix in some more new ones. After a while you’ll figure out what your taste is and will have multiple options that you know you’ll enjoy.

Cheers!

That’s it for this week’s Armchair Quarterback. If you read something you loved or hated, let me hear about it in the comments below.

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