Beer and the US.

Like most men in both the US and UK, as Friday evening approaches thoughts nearly always turn to plans for the evening (usually involving alcohol of some kind, I'd guess). Well, me being the social butterfly that i am (stop sniggering at the back), and also not having that much to do (i'm sketching out protocols for experiments but have done the first couple now so need to actually get my hands dirty and do the work), i duly got up off my ass (as they say here) and set off round the department on a recruiting exercise to get as many people as possible to come out tonight. The venue? A local bar named "Jean's Haufbrau" - an excellent venue given that it has an excellent selection of imported English beers (mostly all from Yorkshire, i should add). As a (reasonably) cultured Englishman, i feel it my duty to attempt to educate some of these US folk in what actually makes a decent beer (hard work, let me tell you).

I've mentioned before that Newcastle Brown Ale is reasonably popular here (in Charleston, at least). It's certainly pretty widely available in the big supermarkets (alas not in the mini one near me!) and is often a choice in the couple of other bars i've been too. However, it appears that the most popular beer in the US (if you can call it that) is Bud Light. That's right - Bud LIGHT! Not ordinary Bud (which, let's be honest, tastes like piss anyway) but the LIGHT stuff. Having had the unfortunate experience of tasting Bud Light, i've come to the conclusion that it must be just water. Actually, scrub that. I think it's the water that they use to rinse out the tanks that (weak-as-piss) Bud has been brewed in. And this is their FAVOURITE BEER? I ask you! This past week, having done a mini survey of some American colleagues in the department, i found that most of them are unable to stomach dark ales or beers. Give them a sip of Guiness or John Smiths and they're straight to the toilet to throw it back up again. Is this why the rest of us have to be subjected to these god-awful "light beers". I'm beginning to think that the person who said "Man cannot live by beer alone" must have been a Brit drinking a Bud Light.

However, as in all good cases, there are exceptions (and thank God for that). In this case, it's the women. When i visited here in Charleston, i was introduced to "Jean's" by Ashley, one of the other Doctors here (and a local girl at that) who can't get enough of the English beer. This week, i was kindly given a lift to the mall by Kellie who i bought a pint (near enough) of Boddingtons in a nearby bar (which she absolutely adores). Thank God somebody has some taste. So if you'll excuse me, i have a group of Americans to educate. Class is in session!