Wine Snobs: Try a Beer

Hey wine snobs, try a beer. It always irks me the way some people think that going out to dine and drinking wine with their meal makes them refined. Most of them don't know jack about wine but they feel the need to present an image and impress their date, friends, and on-lookers. My advice, go out and enjoy yourself for a change, instead of trying to impress others. Experiment, find some bravado, and try one of the locally micro brewed ales.

Beer has been around for as many years as wine. It was not originally made for intoxication while eating hot dogs, chili, salsa and potato chips while watching the Monday night ball game. Beer was developed as a food source. It was developed for nutrition and a way to preserve the grains. From the days of its early beginnings it has developed into an art form. Brewers work on perfecting taste, aroma, and palatability, and like wine it complements food. There are many varieties of beer. Some brews are seasonal, some are for social gathering, and others are specifically brewed for a certain quality.

Still don't get the point? Try deep-fried Grouper and chips with 'Blue Moon', a Belgian-Style white beer brewed by the Molson Coors Brewing Company, then you'll know what I'm getting at. The flavor of the ale is somewhat citrus with an orange blossom aroma that so well complements the Grouper you'll wonder how this fish ever tasted so good and it makes the meal so much more enjoyable than with a wine. Or, you can try a barley wine ale that has a dryer taste with loads of hops and perchance a slight rose taste to go along with a garlicky dish like grilled mussels or even pasta but a word of caution, most barley wines have a bit of an alcohol content. They can make you a tad tipsy before you realize it. On a different note, a hearty stout with a toasted malt taste and a slight hint of chocolate goes agreeably with a steak or beef dinner, so well in fact, that you'll most likely forget about ordering wine with it forever.

While I am playing on beer, I must admit that there are occasions and food which I prefer wine but the desire and taste of wine is reserved for the rare fine dinning along with food to which wine complements the meal. However, for my casual dining out I find the taste and delectableness of beer many times to outweigh the selection of a wine. What amazes me is the fact that many people choose wine over beer because they think by choosing wine they present an appearance of sophistication.