Day One - Slainte!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! It is the first day of my beer quest and I’m looking forward to the journey ahead. I feel like the marathon runner who’s been training for this event all his life and the starter’s gun is about to go off. I can't wait to begin. It's sort of like the movie "Run Fatboy Run!" Kind of brings tears to your eyes, huh?

As I mentioned yesterday, the first beer up is my favorite - Killian's Irish Red. One could argue, I suppose, about whether the Killian’s should count toward the goal, since I drink it on a regular basis, but I would counter that the quest is 524 different beers, not never tasted beers. Thus, I can only claim the Killian’s once even if I drink another one before the 365 days have expired (a sure bet I will). I'm sure you'll keep me honest, but you won't have to. It wouldn't be a hollow victory if I cheated. It wouldn't be a victory at all.

Funny, but last night after posting the Day Zero blog, I actually calculated approximately how many calories and carbs 524 beers would contain. The total comes to more than 80,000 empty calories and 8,000 unflattering carbohydrates! It’s a good thing I already look like a guy shoplifting a bowling ball out of a sporting goods store because my boyish figure would disappear in a hurry if I didn’t. But, hey, what serious beer drinker doesn’t resemble a pear?

Speaking of “serious beer drinker,” I want to be sure I explain what I mean by that. It occurred to me that someone might translate that to mean “he who drinks like a fish.” In foodie terms, someone like that would be labeled a glutton, not a gourmand. I’m more the latter. I drink every day, but not to excess. In other words, I drink for enjoyment, not to get hammered. I truly love the taste of a good beer.

Which is why I was surprised when I rated the Killian's. Other people on Ratebeer.com were less than kind to the brand, which is fine and fair, particularly since they probably have a wider range of experience than I do. As I've mentioned before, I don't claim to be an expert. But I knew going in that, since this was my brand, my score would be higher as I was predisposed to give it one.

It was, but not that much higher, which was the surprise. I did want to be as objective as I could by applying the tasting guidelines as fairly as I could, and the end result was a lower score than I had anticipated. This isn't to say that I'm going to change my regular brand any time soon, but my quasi-objective scoring showed me that there is plenty of room for other quality beers to score higher.

You might think I would be disappointed by the relatively low score (for me, not others), but I find it is quite the opposite. I'm actually excited even more by the prospect of exploring new beers and perhaps finding better ones. Using a rating system like the one on Ratebeer.com forces you to take a good look at a brew from multiple angles (appearance, aroma, taste, palate, and overall). I think it's easy to overlook some faults when you like a beer or focus only on a fault when you don't. The rating system attempts to keep you from doing that, forcing you to be more objective than subjective, which is what happened tonight.

Both times.

No, I didn't have a second Killian's (I wish I had), but I did have a second beer tonight. My better half and I went out to dinner at a Mexican restaurant (they have a couple of them here in Tucson, believe it or not), and so in the spirit of the atmosphere, I ordered a draft Dos Equis XX Lager. I have never had this brand before, but I have had Corona, so I thought I'd see how they compared. Same difference, to my way of thinking. They're okay, providing you add the lime they serve with it to mask the slightly off flavor, but there are better pale lagers out there.

So, I've got my first two beers and ratings in the bag and I'm feeling pretty good...no, not from the alcohol! From having begun the long marathon. You know...Run Fatboy Run? I'm off to a good start and I am very optimistic that I can do this. I've got a couple more "repeats" ahead of me...don't want to reveal too much too soon...but after that it is a wide open field. I've got a bunch of new beers to try and I'm looking forward to seeing where they land.

Slainte!