This Saturday I attended the World Beer Festival in Raleigh, North Carolina. Now I am not by any means a beer drinker but you can’t attend the World Beer Festival and sit by the sidelines, you have to at least give beer a try. [PSA This post is only directed to readers ages 21 and above] So strapped with my 2 ounce cup I traveled up and down the jam packed isles of three tents labeled “Beer Garden” to find a brew that my pallet could adjust to. Over 100 breweries were present to give you instruction on true beer tasting, process, and ingredients.
Beer tasting is a lot like wine tasting you have to look at it, smell it, taste it and let it linger around your mouth for a little while before you swallow and remember to taste twice to get a proper feel for the beer. Many guests love to assist a newbie in their beer selection. I have a dozen new vocabulary words from this experience that I need to master. Who knew beer could be nutty, chocolaty, biscuity, fruity, grassy, spicy the list goes on. Please don’t get me started on my ignorance to the use of hops. People kept saying it’s hoppy. Ummmm no habla beer!
So out of respect for the craft and lack of knowledge I won’t get into what I didn’t like. I will only tell you what I loved. I found some brands that could “get my money”. Thomas Creek Brewery makes a Stillwater Vanilla Cream Ale that went down smooth and had me asking for a second. When I went for the second round the vanilla was done, it’s that good…and a bonus the owners are very cool people.
The next winner was Mother Earth Sunny Haze German Style Hefeweizen. Don’t ask me to pronounce that but it was good. It was citrus tasting and once again went down smooth. I could definitely see myself having this stocked in the fridge for a “just because moment”. PS I absolutely love their logo. I honestly think that the logo invited me over then the beer made me stay a while.
The ultimate winner which is in a category all its own because it borders on the mix drink industry is Bud Light Lime, Lime-A-Rita! Margarita with a twist. This was hands down a winner. Now a real beer drinker would think I am crazy to have all these breweries from around the country at my disposal only to choose a commercial brand like Bud Light. What can I say it hit the mark closest to what I would normally drink. However I have a new found appreciation for beer! *Cheers* to the World beer Festival.
“Sometimes when I reflect back on all the beer I drink I feel ashamed – Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the brewery and all of their hopes and dreams. If I didn’t drink this beer, they might be out of work and their dreams would be shattered. Then I say to myself, ‘It is better that I drink this beer and let their dreams come true than be selfish and worry about my liver.’”
-Deep Thought, Jack Handy
