our drinking problem

Hey look, I'm a Guinness!

Guinness (66% dark & bitter, 100% working class, 66% genuine)

Okay, we all know Guinness is the best possible score on any "What Kind Of Beer Are You" test, so you can just go on and pat yourself on the back now. Like the world's most famous brew, you're genuine, you've got good taste, and you're sophisticated. What else can I say, except congratulations? If your friends didn't score the same way, get ready for them to say: Guinness is too heavy; it's an acquired taste; it's too serious--and they probably think those things about you at times. But just brush 'em off. Everybody knows Guinness is the best. Cheers.

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 50% on dark You scored higher than 84% on workingclass You scored higher than 34% on genuine

Link: The If You Were A Beer Test written by gwendolynbooks on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

I am in Canada until tomorrow morning and the liquor store by my hotel allowed a mixed six-pack, so MANY IPA reviews are on the way!

I was in Austin last week, and had the opportunity to try Chango's frozen pomegranate sangria. A little to red winey for me, and not enough pomegranate, but still VERY tasty. What a concept. I love slushy liquor.

I also had the traditional Shiner Bock, which was quite tasty. I attempted to take a photo of myself at SXSW wearing our Drinking Problem stickers, however, the lighting was weird and I was too busy drinking (for the blog, of course) to be able to do this well.

I also had a good kind of Pale Ale at Austin's Club Deville, and a great slushy Top Shelf Margarita at Iron Cactus. But mainly I stuck to Shiner Bock. When in Rome, and all!

Austin does have an excellent seeming beerpub, but I was sick, so I didn't get a chance to drink too much. Sad. Oh well, I will try to make it up in Vancouver, BC, where I am heading next week.

I went to a red beer tasting at my most local liquor store. Here was my breakdown of the beers I tasted there:

Okay
Mendocino County Red Tail--nothing special, like most Mendocinos, for me

North Coast Red Seal--Not bad, but more of a brown

Great Lakes Conway's Irish Ale--Eh okay.
Saint Rogue Red--This was okay, but I was kind of down on Rogue after that Chipotle incident.

Amazing
Founder's Red Rye--Always one of my favorites.

Avery Redpoint--Although I have always liked the Avery beers I have tried, this was AMAZING. The
tasting guy recommended the Avery Maharajah as well, which I bought but have not tried. The taster man agreed with me about these two being the best.

In addition, I have had these beers this week, in order of worst to best:

Elmwood Pale Ale--This kept foaming mysteriously out of the bottle. It was a little vinegary. I wonder if this had gone bad. It was gross.

Elmwood Nut Brown--Also not great. Apparently Central Illinois' only brewery is bad.

Monty Python Holy Grail Ale--I know this is totally a gimmick, but I tried it anyways. It wasn't good. Getting through it wasn't super fun.

Great Lakes Elliot Ness Amber--Amber's not my favorite variety, but this was good. I am starting to love Great Lakes.

Great Lakes Dortmunder Gold Lager--Lager is even less my favorite, but this was great! I almost never taste lager, but this was flavorful and refreshing!

Goose Island 312--I love this beer, and I have had it before, but it's a great hefeweisen!

Great Lakes Burning River--I love Great Lakes and they make a great Pale Ale!

This is 12 kinds of beer in 4 days. That's a tad excessive--but I didn't drink a whole beer of all of them!

I also tried Diet Code Red--awesome. Sadly I can only find it at the lunch truck near my work.

Reader Vanessa mentioned that Eric's beer bottle illustration comes from this Bosch painting:



Still, why is it on the beer bottle?