My wife thinks I'm nuts. In fact, she says I am obsessive compulsive. At least when it comes to beer.
I would have to agree.
When it comes to beer, I am downright weird. It all begins at the beer store. I walk the isles for what seems like hours looking for the perfect beer to buy. Since I live in Pennsylvania, and there are no good six-pack shops near me, I have to buy my beer in bulk; The Sam's Club mentality so to speak. I often weigh the outright drinkability of a lighter beer like Yuengling or ABC Wheat against the savory rich ales and stouts of "higher end" beers.
"Beer is beer" she says.
"No its not!", I reply
"Just buy MGD"
"I'm paying so I pick"
And the search continues. God's gift to the unfortunate ones who don't have access to bottle shops are the sampler packs. I finally decide on a Stoudt's Sampler Pack. This pack features Stoudt's Fest, American Pale Ale, Gold, and Scarlet Lady ESB.
I pay and we leave.
When we get home is when the fun starts. I already have 5 styles of beer in my little fridge. And to top it off, for some inane reason, I always have to have two of each kind in my fridge. The logic I use to explain it to myself is that if I enjoy that particular beer, I always have another one cold right away. Having only two limits me to two varieties at a time. That way I mix it up a little.
Try explaining that to my wife. She wonders why I have to have the entire top shelf of our small fridge filled with beer. Right now I have the following (remember, I have two of each) Yuengling Light Lager, Yuengling Premium, Pabst Blue Ribbon, Stoudts Gold, Fest, ESB and APA, ABC Watergap Wheat, ABC Mountain Lager, Samuel Adams Lager, Guinness, and four Erdinger HefeWeize Dunkle.
Article comments
1 - Mark Saleski
tom, does your wife drink beer?
my situation is only about 1/2 like yours...except that my wife is a "beer snob" too.
i think i've ruined her for the taste of a good old american swill.
for instance, as much as i love stuff like chimay or ommegang, i can still appreciate a nice cold blue ribbon or old mill.
not her, it's "swanky beer" or nothin'!
i guess i shouldn't complain, since the stereotype is that woman don't much like beer at all.
2 - Tom
Oh, she drinks beer. She likes the good stuff, and likes it, but doesn't have the taste for the lambics and Belgian abbeys like I do.
I also brew my own beer, and she drinks that sometimes.
Do you ever go to Beeradvocate? It's a pretty sweet site. Lots of beer news, reviews, reviews of beer bars, and articles.
Take a look.
3 - Tom
I've reviews over 200 beers at Beer Advocate.
You can see my reviews here
4 - Mark Saleski
oh yea...that's a good site.
lookee here everybody. me & tom now have two things in common.
we both sorta liked katie melua
we both brew beer
SCARY
5 - Tom
See, if we can all find something in common, maybe we won't kill each other.
haha
6 - Tom
Speaking of which Mark, where do you get your beer making supplies.
Since there is no place decent near me. I buy from Beer Beer and More beer.
Good stuff, IMHO.
7 - Mark Saleski
well, i haven't brewed in a while..but there's a pretty decent supply store right near me.
dang, all this beer talk's got me thirsty.
8 - JohnnyLunchBox
I hate sweet beer. Even the slightest hint of sweetness is offends me. What can you guys recommend? I like crisp, dry, and somewhat bitter beer. What are my options?
9 - Tom
yeah, I know what you're talking about.
Right now I'm drinking one of my Amber ales. I call it Buckeye Battle Brew, as it was brewed the day that OSU won the national championship.
10 - Tom
hate sweet beer. Even the slightest hint of sweetness is offends me. What can you guys recommend? I like crisp, dry, and somewhat bitter beer. What are my options?
Well if you like non sweet beer than you must like bitter hoppy beer. Most ales fall into this category. ABC has a good hoppy beer called Hoppy Trails. Look for a good IPA or ESB. They tend to be less sweet.
11 - Mark Saleski
the only sweetness i like in a beer is the hint you get that peeks out from underneath the piles of hops in a good ipa.
similarly, i can deal with the sweetness in a porter if the roasted nature of the brew is dominant.