1) In my younger days – by which I mean about three or four years ago – I was less of a beer geek and more of a beer snob. That dick who looked down their noses at people for drinking something I deemed unworthy? That tool who thought his choice in beer marked him out as a discerning person with fine taste? Yep, that was me. Totally me.
2) I still cringe when I think of the old snobby me. Because, really, it’s beer. It’s supposed to be fun. It’s supposed to be enjoyable. Why the hell should I care what someone else is drinking? If that’s what they like, then that’s all that should matter. Besides, it’s not like they’re going to have a favourable reaction to me trying to “educate” them. If someone put down your taste in something, do you thank them for pointing out the error of your ways? Or do you tell them to piss off? You tell them to piss off – of course you do. And that’s what the person being criticised for their beer selection would say.
3) One of the more frequent targets was Corona and the people who drink it. You know why they put a lime in the bottle, I would say before following it up with the zinger “so the beer has some flavour”. Oh, how I laughed, how I thought I was so superior. How I thought I would never, ever drink that piss.
4) Well, that was then and this is now. And I’m happy to say that I DO drink Corona from time to time. Not all that often but – as is the case with any beer – the circumstances around which you drink a beer can affect your enjoyment of it. So there I was on a hot day last month and I had a hankering for a Corona. Not just for a beer but for that specific beer. So I went and bought a six-pack of the stuff – and a few limes.
5) And damned if it wasn’t refreshing. Sure, it tasted like limes but it really hit the spot on a hot, hot day. And it did so in a way that I reckon water with a dash of lime could not copy. Of course, some beer snobs will now think less of me because of this admission, but I don’t care. I enjoyed myself.
Free or paid for?: The six-pack – and the limes – were paid for with money that came out of my pocket.
Categories: Beer of the Week
BEER IS YOUR FRIEND 
Many years ago, on my first visit to the USA I took some recreation leave in San Francisco (I was actually on a world study tour for an Australian brewery). I went into a Mexican restaurant on Fisherman’s Wharf and asked for a Corona. I was told they only served “good” Mexican beer. I told them it had taken off in Australia and having a wedge of lemon or line in the neck was all the rage. The waiter said “Why would they do that?” then walked away to get me a non-Corona beer. Nearly 40 years ago and I still remember that – except, of course, for the name of the beer I was served.