Saturday, November 4, 2017

Day 4: I'm a Beer Snob #sorrynotsorry



The day I started drinking "good" beer, was probably one of the best days in Mr. KK's life (right behind our wedding day, the birth of our son and the annual release of KBS).

In college, I drank beer: Molson Ice, Natty Light and Ice House. Post-college party days in Boston with my roommates were filled with Bud Light – Corona if it was pay week – and Harpoon on the special occasion we visited the brewery.

Mr. KK, who drank crappy beer in college like the rest of us, jumped on the craft beer wagon early on. I admit, I was intrigued by craft beer. Having a creative brain like I do, I was drawn to the well-designed labels and kitchy names.

"I think the coolest job ever would be to write beer names," I said to Mr. KK. It was 2010, before the true craft beer boom hit, and I was scanning the beers in our fridge: Heavy Seas Loose Cannon, River Horse Hop-a-lotamus, Firestone Double Jack.

"It's cooler to drink them," he replied. "Please. Just taste it." He poured a cloudy IPA into 2 glasses. We clinked. And I haven't looked back since.

I LOVED IPAs. The hoppier, the better. Unfiltered and cloudy? Oh, yeah. Bright and citrusy? Hells yes.

And, like Dr. Frankenstein, Mr. KK quickly created a monster. 



I wanted to try every IPA I could find. I scoured shelves for new beers. Made pilgrimages for hard-to-find limited releases. I bought tickets to local beer fests. We planned vacations around which breweries we could visit. We joined the mug club at our neighborhood beer bar.

As the years went on, more craft breweries popped up, the competition got fierce. Each new beer pushed the limits on hoppiness and taste. So many beers were good, you had to be GREAT to stand out. Eventually, the best beers were the ones you couldn't get in stores (or, at least, it was near impossible to find them). 

And as quickly as I tried a new beer and loved it, I grew tired of it and moved onto another. Pliny the Elder was tasty, but then I had Heady Topper. That was soon replaced by Sip of Sunshine. And then Bissell Brothers Substance. And finally – and most recently – the deliciousness known as Trillium...any of their Double IPAs.



When I was traveling for my job, I found myself in Charlotte quite a bit. Talk about a city with a great beer scene. Soon, my friend and I began smuggling (legally) beer to each other. I was officially a beer mule. And I secretly loved it.


Good beer comes with a good amount of calories, so I will only have 1 or 2 when I'm drinking. Plus, the high ABV keeps my beer count down, too. I won't "waste" any calories on "bad beer" – aka: all the stuff I used to drink.

So, Mr. KK, you now have a partner in IPA crimes, who makes finding hard-to-get beers her mission, and who turns her nose up at mainstream beer.

I hope you're happy.

I sure am.

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