Day Three - Leftovers in the Refrigerator, Part 2

Friday…the end of the work week and the last of the “leftovers” – beers I had in the refrigerator before I decided to do this quest. The good news is that they count toward the 524 goal, but the anticipation of trying new beers has been on hold while I take care of these first. Starting tomorrow, I have seven new brews to try over the next four days and I’m really looking forward to it. Nearly all of them are ales.

For the uninitiated, a short lesson. There are basically two types of beers – lagers and ales. Lagers are fermented at lower temperatures and, since they undergo a secondary fermentation after storage (lager comes from the German word meaning “to store”), the result is a clearer, cleaner tasting beer. It’s the most popular type of beer. All of the BMC flagship brands are lagers.

Ales are fermented at higher temperatures, which means they ferment faster, and tend to have a fuller body than a lager. Stouts, lambics, and wheat beers are types of ales. I prefer ales to lagers, as evidenced in my Day Zero blog when I mentioned some of my favorite beers. Pelican Brown Ale, Bass Ale, Guinness Stout, Cherry and Golden Wheat, Belgium White…all ales.

But wait, you might say. You mentioned Killian’s Irish Red as your regular brand, which is classified as a dark lager. And this week, you had a couple of different pale lagers. So what’s up with the ale preference?

Good question. It’s sort of like asking a guy why he continues to date blonde cheerleader types when he says he's really looking for a smart brunette. Yeah, right, as if. Guys are such pigs, aren't we? But my answer is even simpler – I’ve always thought of Killian’s as more of an ale due to the darker color and relative fullness. By the latter, I mean that I can pound down a six-pack of Landshark while watching Mad Marchness far easier than I can the same number of Killian’s. So even though I knew it was a lager, I never really thought of my regular brand in those terms. The island-style lagers I consume from time to time are just a way of providing a bit of variety in my beer drinking.

My preference is ales. And I have a feeling that this quest is going to present a sea change in my beer purchasing habits. Instead of looking at a product and thinking “oh hey, haven’t had that in while, sounds good,” I think I’m going to be more conscious of the style of beer I’m buying. I also think I’m going to find new favorites and so will be purchasing them more frequently.

In other words, my financial support of BMC will probably drop and may even become nonexistent. Now you might be tempted to ask me what I have against BMC anyway. You sure are nosy today, but...

Alright, fair question. Actually I don’t have anything against them per se. They produce beer that appeals to the masses and they do that well. And, as it turns out, most of the beer I’ve been buying is from BMC. But there is a David and Goliath thing at play here as well, the tendency to root for the underdog. Buying craft brews instead of BMC brands is like supporting the local mom-and-pop store instead of shopping at Wal-Mart. There is a variety and quality evidenced in craft brews that isn’t available in the BMC stable of products. That all goes away if there isn’t enough support. And that would be a sad thing for a serious beer drinker like me. It’s just something I wasn’t really conscious of until I started this quest.

I keep saying how excited I am by this undertaking. The reason I am is very fundamental. This is nothing less than transformational for me. I’m looking at something that is important to me in a new light. I’m forcing myself to step outside my comfort zone, to turn away from the familiar, to expand my horizons and explore new realms, without really knowing where it all will lead. How cool is that?

You might be tempted to denigrate this a bit by saying something like “heck, it’s just beer,” but you would be missing the bigger picture. Undertaking a commitment of any kind has implications well beyond the obvious. There’s a sense of purpose in the doing, accomplishment in the achieving, and revelation hidden within the process. Who knows what the future holds as a result of this quest, what new paths my life will take?

Just look at Julie Powell, not just how her life was changed by blogging her way through Julia Childs’ book, but how it could have changed. She might have been extended a full scholarship to Le Cordon Bleu and became the next Food Network Star. She might have established a close personal relationship with Julia Childs, someone she greatly admired. But even if Julie hadn’t become a famous author and had her life cast upon the big screen for all to see, I’d be willing to bet Julie would have told you just how transformational the experience was for her.

How often do we get the chance to experience that? My wife and I took a chance and discovered true love. My wife and I took another chance and discovered how difficult it was to be a retail store owner (note to self: don't do that again - ever!). We took a third chance and wound up here in Tucson, Arizona (so far, so good). My point is that, good, bad, or indifferent, you grow when you invite change into your life. By remaining cocooned inside the womb, what adventures and self-discovery are you missing out on?

So, who knows what’s in store for me as the result of this quest? Maybe something, maybe nothing, but the joy is in the journey…and consuming a whole lot of new brews!

Cheers!