Back in the days of my pre-legal drinking age, the beers I had access to were limited to the occasional drinks allowed by my parents. The variety was non-existent, as the only beer commonly available, at least in my parents house, was either Molson Canadian or Lethbridge Pilsner. Occasionally when an older brother would come home for a visit, Labatt's Blue might also make an appearance. I didn't much care for these beers, I found them to be nothing special, but a teenager in the 70's wouldn't refuse them either.
Once I was out on my own and legal, I discovered O'Keefe's Extra Old Stock, also known as High Test. Besides being a stronger 6% beer! I found the flavour much more interesting than the standard fare, and it was my standard choice for a few years. If it was unavailable, I would order Coke rather than settle for the standard three. Also, American beer at the time was weak and watery.
Then in 1985, something rather magical happened. Big Rock breweries came out with their Traditional Ale. This beer not only became my standard choice, but it soon spread far and wide as far as availability in Alberta goes.
In the same tradition, one of my favourite beers when I can find it available is Newcastle Brown Ale.
Once I was out on my own and legal, I discovered O'Keefe's Extra Old Stock, also known as High Test. Besides being a stronger 6% beer! I found the flavour much more interesting than the standard fare, and it was my standard choice for a few years. If it was unavailable, I would order Coke rather than settle for the standard three. Also, American beer at the time was weak and watery.
Then in 1985, something rather magical happened. Big Rock breweries came out with their Traditional Ale. This beer not only became my standard choice, but it soon spread far and wide as far as availability in Alberta goes.
In the same tradition, one of my favourite beers when I can find it available is Newcastle Brown Ale.
With the relatively recent availability of craft beers and European beers in the market, I am more and more able to experiment with new beers, but Big Rock Traditional continues to be my baseline. If I can't get Traditional or better, I'll drink water.
This year, my lovely wife has acquired for me a Craft Beer Advent Calendar. For 24 days in December I will have a new North American Craft Beer to sample. I am sure that there will be a few that I simply won't enjoy, as I do not enjoy the bitterness of hops in my beer. For me, hops is a delicate balance, and is the primary reason I will either buy or don't buy a beer for the second time.
I look forward to trying these 24 beers in December and I will record my impressions in this blog. At the end of the day, I will make a buy or don't buy rating for my future reference.
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