Beer: A Love Story

My experience with beer has overall been negative. Up until a few months ago, beer brought to mind high school parties with warm PBR, college keggars with sticky floors, and overall a watery substance that makes me have to pee and feel a little bit fatter the next morning. I was not a beer girl. Vodka is the name of my game.

Things have changed though. In this country, beer is always the cheapest beverage on the menu. Costing usually between 75 cents and a $1.50. It is also just a part of the culture to sit down in a restaurant and wave off the waitress with "Pivo." You don't need to specify what kind. They will just bring you the cheapest they have on tap. And while in the States this usually means something horrifically watery and disgusting. Here, it's usually Budweiser Budvar or Pilsner Urquell both of which are rich and nourishing. Beer is like water here. Refreshing, cool, and plentiful.

My trip to the Pilsner brewery is also a highlight of my life with beer. The guided tour of the brewery is very informational and fascinating. But, by far, the best part is the cup of beer they give you in the end. Unpasteurized, unfiltered, amazing. It's rich, has a mixture of flavors and an almost sweet aftertaste while still holding onto the classic bitterness that one associates with a fine brew. Why can't all beer be like that? Well, it goes bad quicker. So for the sake of preservation, they take all the good stuff out. Beer at its core is far greater than we in America are led to believe.

Czechs are the number one consumers of beer in the world and they take the beverage seriously. It's a fundamental part of social life, meals, and czech culture in general. Today, I visited a brewery in Prague called Pivovarsky Dum (Brewery House). I sampled sour cherry flavored beer, coffee flavored beer amongst a variety of other beers and beer related food. It was so pleasant and already such a part of my life. I've never sat around drinking beers with friends so much in my life. The large beers don't even affect me anymore. I just LOVE the taste.

Beer needs a serious revamping in the States. We need to get rid of all these silly watery beers aimed at underage drinkers and embrace the flavor and culture that can be associated with fine beers. Most of all, the US needs to legalize drinking in public. Having a cool glass of beer in the park on a sunny day is by far one of the most pleasant summer activities and completely harmless. C'mon America, wake up and smell the beer.