My previous beer-drinking life…

I often chuckle as I pass beverage centers or the beer aisle in the grocery store. My thought, “now that I’m long ago of age, I don’t drink anymore.” Seems that’s the way of things.

Beer was my drink of choice from the time I was far too young to be thinking about it. I drank my fair share of yucky beer during high school: Pabst, Schaefer, Utica Club, Rheingold, whatever was in a dad’s stash. Those were the days when you split two cans amongst 5 or 6 peers…or so I’m told…:::wink:::.

By senior year of high school, where due to my November birthday, I remained 17 years of age, my tastes had upgraded to Michelob and Molson Golden. As I matured, I grew to appreciate better tasting beer. And I made sure to try many varieties. I discovered weissbier, a heavily wheat-influenced beer. And I discovered dark beer which I enjoyed on occasion. I will admit that I’m not a huge fan of ale or pale ale, all the rage lately, but once in a great while, an icy Smithwick’s goes down a treat.

I’m much more of a Pilsner or lager fan. But now that I seldom imbibe, what difference does it make? My twenties, which coincided with the decade of the 1980s, was a beer-soaked mess of a decade. Early in that decade, my mental health issues were diagnosed. I continued self-medicating until I woke up one morning in the late summer of 1987 and resolved to stop. And I did.

Alcohol never impacted my ability to attend school or work. My tolerance was pretty high and I wasn’t one to have horrible hangovers. I didn’t consume alcohol on a daily basis. But when I did, I consumed a great deal. I liked it and it liked me.

Instead of binge-drinking, I became a binge-eater I’m afraid. I gained a tremendous amount of weight and have struggled with it since. Most of the reason I don’t imbibe is that I don’t need to nor do I really want to. I was never a wine drinker as it made my face feel on fire and gave me a terrible headache. I did enjoy bourbon and scotch on occasion, and drambuie. Can we say Rusty Nail?

I liked my drinks ice cold. I mean, ice cold. A trip to the drive-in meant bringing a can of my favorite beer at the time, a mini keg of Dinkel Acker. I shared but not a lot. I miss the beer-drinking life at times but not enough to revisit it. I’ve got enough problems, haha.

A nice lager I’ve tried within the last several years is brewed by Innis & Gunn, a Scottish-based brewery. If you say the name fast it sounds like “innocent gun” which appeals to the mystery writer in me. So, when, and if, you tip a cold one, smile and think of me!