Drink Smarter

[Chris Thornton]

I would drink a beer every now and then, but was not a beer drinker. I've bumped into some quality brews over the years and was interested in trying new things, but never went out of my way to look for a quality beer.

About a year ago, I was trying a stout in one of those chain brew pub/restaurants that have been cropping up over the past few years, and started to compare it to a local porter in my head. I was wishing I had the local brew, and I realized -why- I was, though I wouldn't have been able to explain it at the time.

It was sort of a one-trick pony: dark, nice head, but just one roasted malt scent and flavor. Nothing else.

After dinner, I began to look for other stouts and porters--including the local--and found that there were people who wrote about the beers, with their own jargon (there were multiple varieties of hops and malts!). Soon, I was trying Stone and Rogue brews, and in a month or two, I was reviewing my first Belgian.

I'm still fond of that local porter, I suspect. Yet to review it, but some folks have:
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/587/8583