After my medical issues a few months ago I was told that beer would no longer be in my diet. Not too much of a big deal, because I'm not much of a beer drinker. With the medication I've been on the last few years I'm not supposed to drink it, but I've fudged on that. A couple of brews don't seem to effect me too much. Can't get drunk, no, but I have never been the kind of person who enjoys getting sloshed. My vice of choice has always been pot, though I've had to cut down on that severely as well. But this time I respect the sheer amount of pills I have to take on a daily basis. There's surely no way I could handle even a swig or two of the good stuff with all those pharmaceuticals coursing through my veins.
Even though I am not such a beer-alcoholic that I've had withdrawals with this dietary change-up, I do enjoy the flavor of a good barley pop now and then. So, to compromise, I've been trying out some of the non-alcoholic variety. There's not a lot of variety available at Walmart, so my exploration has been somewhat limited to O'Douls, Busch NA, Coors & Sharps. I haven't tried the latter, having been warned that it may not be to my taste. I tried a St. Pauli Girl non-alcoholic the last time we ate at Old Chicago, and it was excellent. Had a skunky flavor to it that reminded me of Heineken. Would certainly like to have some more of that, but haven't taken the search to the liquor store yet.
I actually like the Busch stuff. The carbonation is heavy and that helps me get out those gassy burps that seem to get stuck in my chest, causing intense pain in the chest area. A few swigs of Busch and I'm good to go. I like canned beer, too, and this is the only kind I've found that comes in cans. It's a dollar cheaper than the other stuff Walmart carries, which isn't a bad reason to choose it over the others, but truth be told I probably like it best of all.
O'Douls is quite good. Weren't they one of, if not THE first non-alcoholic beer on the market? They've been around for a long time, so I don't know. I recall thinking that O'Douls wasn't very good...but you have to take into account that I was comparing it to alcoholic beers, and no, it doesn't stand up too well against the big shots, Budweiser, Coors, Miller, Michelob, etc. But if you stop drinking beer for a few months and suddenly get a hankering for one, it is actually quite a good substitute.
The Coors version is pretty damn good, too. Probably tastes a little more like it's namesake than the others. But now, even though I've only drank a couple, I already have a "guilt-by-association" issue with it...
I bought a 6-pack of bottles yesterday (as far as I know it doesn't come in cans). The first one was pretty good. Not quite as fizzy as the Busch, but it seemed like the taste might make up for it. But the second one...I noticed that the bottle didn't seem quite as full as most of them do when they are full. It was only a small amount of difference, so I figured there might have been a problem at the bottling plant. I didn't notice that the twist-off cap wasn't quite as snug as it ought to have been. Only in retrospect did I consider the possibility that it was loose. Even then I wouldn't have thought too much of it. But the beer was flat, so I decided I'd better check the other bottles before opening them.
The third one was okay, but the fourth had at least one-half of the beer missing. I knew, at that moment, what I expected had been the case with the second one. Someone in the store had wanted to see if non-alcoholic beers were worth considering and decided to taste test it in the store. The realization seemed confirmed by the fact the the twist-off cap on this bottle was even looser than the other.
"That's why you need to buy cans," my wife said, though I think she was more concerned with the dollar saved than with my predicament. "Wash your hands, there's got to be a lot of germs on that bottle." Indeed, she was right about that one. What I didn't tell her, though, was that I had taken a sip out of the first bottle that was in question. That's how I knew it had been flat.
Oh, man...I hate it when something like that happens. Something you know you would never do, but you accidentally wind up doing it, and then there's no way to take it back...what an awful, disgusting feeling. It doesn't do any good to wipe your lips or rinse your mouth, the damage is done.
I think the other two are fine.
No comments:
Post a Comment