Beer Doesn't Always Taste Like Pee?

Before I met Bryan, my experiences with beer were very limited. In college it was basically the cheapest thing we could find: Natural Light to Red Dog, to PBR to the occasional "40 night." Colt 45 being the usual go to. What can I say, we were party girls. The cheapest and quickest way to a buzz was just fine by us; taste didn't really matter. When it did, we stepped it up a notch with $1 cherry vodka sours (thank you Nine Flags Nacogdoches). Don't get me wrong there is nothing wrong with those particular beers. Growing up in a working class household, I watched my father and his friends kick back a six pack after a long hard days work. I know those brews can quench one's thirst. However, little did I know there was an entire world of beers beyond the grocery store favorites.  Beers with unique tastes and stories all their own. Beers that were supposed to be paired with certain foods. Breweries you could tour and learn about the process of making beer. Even fruit flavored beers! Suddenly drinking beer had whole new meaning. You mean to tell me I can drink a beer to simply enjoy the taste? This was a new way of thinking for me. Just hitting the peak of my "late twenties,"I was starting to discover a world outside of partying...starting. But to think that beer had any other purpose than to give a buzz or be chugged out of a bong was well, crazy talk! We all know when have reached that point of getting out of the party scene. It can be a hard transition. You know, when you start going to happy hour, literally just for one hour. Anyway, that's where I was at.


The night my husband and I had our very first face-to-face date (yes, we connected online, yes, it was on MySpace) we met at what would become one of our favorite Irish bars in Dallas, Trinity Hall. A couple of months prior to meeting him, my very best girl friends and I went to our college homecoming. There, reuniting with some of our old chums, one of my buddies was drinking a Maredsous 8. It was a dark and served in a goblet similar to a wine glass. Thinking it was red wine, I asked him to order me one. To my surprise it was beer, it was good...and it was strong. So back to the first date with the future hubs, I of course ordered one. Guys love it when a girl can drink a good beer, right? That's what I was thinking anyway. We met online, talked online, and had only seen what we hoped the other looked like, online. I was going to need something strong to get through this.


He ordered a Guinness, I, a Maredsous 8. The waitress brought over the drinks. Bryan stared at mine with intrigue. Yes! He was impressed with my order. Plan was working like a charm. He asked what it was, took a sip and was in. If we never met again, he would have at least discovered a new favorite beer. And I, well, had it not worked out, would have known never to meet up with someone off MySpace ever again. Keep in mind, this was back when MySpace was cool.


After a little awkward silence, a lot of sipping and nervous staring, the conversation started rolling like we had known each other for years. That night I met by best friend, my life partner the current father to our furry child (our dog, Texas) and of course the love of my life. We've been together literally almost every day since.


In our time together we have been fortunate enough to travel the U.S. and the world together. Along the way meeting great people, seeing beautiful sights and of course discovering new beers!


As the adventures continue, we hope some of our memories and stories will broaden your beer horizons and inspire you to try a new brew (to enjoy responsibly, of course).


Bottoms Up!


--Jessica