I like beer. Beer’s good, innit?

My taste for beer has led me to explore a wide range of the stuff in our local (but pretty well-stocked) liquor store. I wouldn’t say I’m especially knowledgeable or that I’ve tried most of the available kinds, but I’ve tried not to limit myself to one style or the productions of one region. And I don’t enjoy just one style, either: I love a nice malty ale, a burningly-hoppy IPA, a cool Belgian Wit, a proper stout, the odd lager. I enjoy local beers… Jailhouse Brewing is just a few miles away and does some great stuff… and some stuff that has to be imported… Innis and Gunn’s Original is my current favorite. I find myself constantly in awe of the thousands of styles and flavors and attitudes of the beers I’ve tried.

Which leads me to wonder how the most common of the American beers are so popular.

As props for a theme party in which I wanted to look stereotypically redneck, we grabbed a six pack of Budweisers to leave lying around as decoration. I actually forgot to do so at the time, meaning that afterwards I had six bottles of Bud sitting around. Since it seems a shame to just let beer sit, I’ve been drinking them. And I’ve been staggered that they have the bare-faced cheek to call it the King of Beers.

I mean I get the economics of it. It’s beer, and it’s cheap. That makes it the easy option for folks on the lower end of the economic spectrum, thereby giving it the reputation that makes it an excellent prop for a redneck-themed party. But it’s not the kind of thing you drink for the flavor. I mean it’s not flavorless, in spite of my oft-repeated crack about Budweiser’s Alcoholic Club Soda, but there’s not a lot to dig in to. If someone is trying to enjoy a beer (as opposed to get a buzz), it’s easy and not super-expensive to try other things, to find appreciation elsewhere. Nobody drinks this stuff for the flavor, or if they do, it’s only because they’ve never tried anything else. 

It’s a drink that’s drank to become drunk, and I should think it’d be cheaper to grab a bottle of bottom shelf vodka. Economics of blood alcohol scale and whatnot, you know.