Author: George Leonard

Posted: Wed Mar 26 19:45:27 -0700 2008

Dark beers are superior to light beers.
Light beers, which taste of the cans they come in, do little more than turn your piss clear as water. Because this is a completely subjective topic I will start with the taste and end with the taste. 
What a taste it is, so rich and fulfilling. Sometimes I will be in the middle of a beer; I’ll lift the glass to my lips for a sip and when it hits my tongue I am likely to lose any thought that may have occupied my mind.  As the beer flows along my tongue I can almost see the hops or wheat in all there beautiful brown glory just before harvest, blowing in the wind; flowing almost like the beer running down my throat, in the distance the farmer, hard at work harvesting the crop. He takes a break and wipes the sweat from his brow letting his hand fall to his side as he looks over a hard days work. Ahh I share in his satisfaction.
	I once lived in a village just off the Shore of Bigfork Lake, Bigfork, Montana; a popular but still obscure vacation spot for wealthy golfers and such. The fact that it is a village means that there is no town government or police, this makes for a very interesting setting. The first time I went to a bar in Big Fork there was an average enough looking guy with a six-shooter at his side. This was, and still is fascinating to me; why would you need a six-shooter in this day and age? Taking the “Right to bear arms” a little too literally? Or maybe he was insecure with his environment? Should I be insecure? As these questions ran through my mind I was soon comforted by what is now my favorite beer to date Moose Drool, pure bliss. 
 	Also notable is that in Montana you could buy Moose Drool or any other real beer or whiskeys in a gas station if your heart so desired, but good luck finding Coors or Keystone light. 
     Although I did not get to see the six-shooter in action it set the mood for the rest of my stay. With the help of dark ales such as Moose Drool my stint in “Big Sky” country was amazing, never before in my life have I been so content sitting and watching something as I was the Swan River, as it rushes to its beautiful destination, Big Fork Lake. Just up the bank beautiful antique canal systems running for miles into the wilderness, built to supply the ancient hydroelectric plant miles down stream, meshing with the natural surroundings, almost hiding behind dense under growth and once young trees now large, and encompassing nearly all of the exposed sections. These and many other images come to mind when I drink Moose Drool. Now when I search obscure liquor stores looking for Moose Drool I am encouraged by recollections such as that one. 
	That also may be a contributing influence in my like of dark ales over “light beers” most of my light beer memories are not so beautiful at all and I do not wish to dwell on them in the least.
For many, light beers are in their very veins pulsating that cheap aluminum flavor all the way to their head, which is where it stays. Despite the much superior flavor and benefits that can be found in real beers. If one thing can be said for light beers such as Pabst or Coors is that they are cheap to produce and there for cheaper to buy, but I must interject that is still not a solid argument for drinking crap, because Moose Drool for example has 5.3 percent by volume to Keystones 4.2 percent by volume.  This may not seem like much of a difference, but if you where to consume six of each I can assure you the differences would become evident.
	There is much more that can be said in favor dark beers, drinking a beer should leave you feeling fulfilled and rewarded almost like a meal. On many occasions I have supplemented food with beer and I can assure you that dark beers are much better at this.
	Some of the darker ales can be compared to steak and the satisfaction that it gives you to eat, and you could compare drinking a keystone to something along the lines of a hot dog on a stale bun. The light beer drinkers are also generally the same type that like coffee in there cream (no that is not backwards) I need no cream or sugar in my coffee I am sweet enough. Just like there is no need for lime or salt in real beer.