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A concise history of beer and me
About 10 years ago I concluded that beer and I were not friends.
Prior to this conclusion, a shandy was the closest I'd come to drinking beer, though I cannot recall if this was because I was "young" (16 or so) or whether it was "unladylike to drink beer"; probably both. And since shandies are especially awful when made with plain label lemonade and the cheapest beer available, I'd decided I didn't like beer much.
When I graduated high school and went to the after-ceremony party, I just took some of Dad's beers. I didn't have an income so I couldn't get anything for myself. I think I drank one and a half of them then started to... how to put it... have chunky reflux. I wasn't sick as in retching, but I wasn't so happy either.
It was a year later before I tried beer again. I was at Uni and out with friends. We were waiting for a band to warm up at a pub and someone had bought a round forgetting I didn't want beer. So I ended up with a beer anyway and decided what the hell. A song or so in to the band's set, I was reminded why I didn't want the beer.
I've no idea why I was reacting to the beer like this, but I'd narrowed down the list of "stuff in beer and not in other stuff I'm ok with" to "hops". I decided I wasn't ok with hops went on my merry way.
A few months ago, I purchased some alcoholic ginger beer. It was delicious and after a few nights of drinking these I read the label. They contained hops. Wha? Wait. These ginger beers didn't make me... reflux. I wonder if it's the same for beer!
Well, I'm a wimp. It wasn't until last Saturday that I grabbed a beer to try at home, and it was fine! A honey wheat beer, and no upset! And delicious. Sunday I grabbed a different beer, this time an amber ale. It was drinkable but less delicious. Tonight I've got a porter which is much nicer, I think because it's a fuller bodied brew.
So that's it. Apparently I can drink beer.
Prior to this conclusion, a shandy was the closest I'd come to drinking beer, though I cannot recall if this was because I was "young" (16 or so) or whether it was "unladylike to drink beer"; probably both. And since shandies are especially awful when made with plain label lemonade and the cheapest beer available, I'd decided I didn't like beer much.
When I graduated high school and went to the after-ceremony party, I just took some of Dad's beers. I didn't have an income so I couldn't get anything for myself. I think I drank one and a half of them then started to... how to put it... have chunky reflux. I wasn't sick as in retching, but I wasn't so happy either.
It was a year later before I tried beer again. I was at Uni and out with friends. We were waiting for a band to warm up at a pub and someone had bought a round forgetting I didn't want beer. So I ended up with a beer anyway and decided what the hell. A song or so in to the band's set, I was reminded why I didn't want the beer.
I've no idea why I was reacting to the beer like this, but I'd narrowed down the list of "stuff in beer and not in other stuff I'm ok with" to "hops". I decided I wasn't ok with hops went on my merry way.
A few months ago, I purchased some alcoholic ginger beer. It was delicious and after a few nights of drinking these I read the label. They contained hops. Wha? Wait. These ginger beers didn't make me... reflux. I wonder if it's the same for beer!
Well, I'm a wimp. It wasn't until last Saturday that I grabbed a beer to try at home, and it was fine! A honey wheat beer, and no upset! And delicious. Sunday I grabbed a different beer, this time an amber ale. It was drinkable but less delicious. Tonight I've got a porter which is much nicer, I think because it's a fuller bodied brew.
So that's it. Apparently I can drink beer.