On Beer writing

It is quite fascinating how a human being’s palate changes. From the sweets-only tongue of a toddler, to taste buds that can accommodate bitterness, inflammatory spice, smokiness and fermented stench, I wonder how complex an interaction occurred between the biological (taste buds & neurons) and the cultural throughout those years. All those foods whose taste was “culturally acquired” e.g. Chinese stinky tofu, Japanese Nattou (sticky beans) and Gorgonzola cheese must be comparable to poison for my infantile self back in the late 80’s. I confess: I still can’t stand Nattou’s mouthfeel.

One of the most widely drank beverages across the globe – Beer – was also something I began to appreciate only recently. Thanks to my amateurish liaison with Whiskeys, I settled into the beer world (flavor-wise) with relative ease. With some help from Brendan, the comp-lit dept.’s very own beer aficionado, I have been discovering great beers at an alarming rate. It was also fortuitous to be in the U.S. currently, with the American Microbrewery/Craft-brewery movement going strong as ever – despite the economic recession – people still have to drink regardless, yeah? These breweries are producing a plethora of styles once completely oblivious to an Asian kid like me. The stereotypical Asian beer is a very light lager designed to be consumed with food, such as China’s Tsingdao & Yenching, Taiwan’s eponymous beer, Japan’s Sapporo, Asahi and Kirin, Thailand’s Singha etc.

Doubtlessly, traditional macrobreweries that gave American beer a nasty reputation have not shown any signs of fatigue, and neither shall they in the future. My beer writing will be primarily dedicated to American microbrews and the big names only occasionally. I would like to share my accumulated tastings and musings over these wonderful (and sometimes not-so wonderful) pints of liquid bread. As a strange side-note, the late Michael Jackson, before becoming prominent as a whisky critic – started his career of journalism in beer! He had a goofy, cute nickname: the Beer Hunter. It is odd that I had blatantly ignored an entire half of his career, until now: was I a whisky snob? Perhaps. Farewell to past ignorance, cheers!

1/14/09