102 in 1 month

Blurry hindsight: the top 3 things I learned from the first 100 beers:

1) I generally dislike the beers of Mexico and China. Sure, there was one experience with their beers that was half decent. The rest have just been horrid. And this is difficult to say from a man who dislikes generalizations.

Dear Mexico: You should not have to put a lime in a beer to make it good. I know, I know, by the time you run out of limes you don't care what the beer tastes like. That is very funny, and gets funnier every time I hear it. Would a Mexican want to buy weed grown in Canada? No, why would they? But Corona and Sol and Dos Equis sell like hotcakes (mostly to men wearing cologne) because of clever marketing. The cologne men can buy what they want, it's a free galaxy, but I'm not going to pay more to finance juvenile Dos Equis ads.

Dear China: A beer shouldn't taste greasy or like discount Canadian beer. Surely you don't think this is good, do you? Do you? You've got like forty quintillion people in your country, and not-a-one could come up with a half decent beer recipe? Would a Chinese person want to buy green tea imported from Canada? No, why would they? You know what this feels like, it's like being a kid and getting a bunch of cool birthday presents from your poor friends, and then getting a fucking Frisbee from the rich kid. Also, you don't need to shout, I'm right here. The Yanjing label reads: "Fresh, Smooth Taste for your drinking pleasure!" and "Using natural mineral water!".

2) My eyes have been opened, and my life has been changed by trying the following beers for the first time:

a) Chechvar (Budweiser Budvar) - for some reason I still have the lingering taste in my mind and I have begun to compare others to it like some first principle.

b) Both O'Hara's Stout and O'Hara's Red - I don't know what to say except to try them.

c) Lia Fail - makes me proud to be a Scotsman.

d) St. Louis Gueuze Lambic - Lambics. Know them. Drink them. Live them.

3) I have wasted my life. When I first turned 18 I bought micro-brews for $10 for six (when that was unheard of). I bought Big Rock Pale Ale, and Fort Garry when it was not a company so much as an old rusty bathtub.

That's fine. Then I went astray. I thought I would drink Molson Canadian. So I did, from about 21 until I was 26. From 26 to 29 money was tight and I could often be seen drinking Lucky Lager or Old Mil tall boys. Got the job done, but not pretty. Then from 29 to very recently it was Beck's and other available German Lagers.

The lesson: No person should have a "brand" of beer. That is stupidity. The worst thing I've ever heard a human being say was "I only drink Club". You may love, or you may hate an unknown or untried beer. Or you could drink the same old Molson Canadian, thinking nothing of the taste because you're so used to it. Just like you are used to the smell of your city and the taste of your drinking water, you will think nothing of it, and perhaps you will find happiness. You may find a new beer gross or offensive, or you may find a true love. But one thing you can be certain of is that you will be alive. LIVE, damn you, LIVE!