Ryan's beer crusade

I mentioned in an earlier post that I'm trying to ease my girlfriend into appreciating beer. She's been a good sport so far, and I think I'm making progress. I started with a safe choice, Lindemans Framboise. This is a raspberry-flavored Belgian lambic beer. A lambic is a beer brewed using spontaneous fermentation in the Payottenland region of Belgium (thanks Wikipedia). If it's not made there, it's "lambic-style," sort of like Champagne vs. sparkling wine. Spontaneous fermentation means they leave the fermenting tanks open and wild yeast floats in from the woods. Translation: this beer is expensive. It turned out to be worth it because my girlfriend liked it. I like it too, but not because it tastes like beer but because it tastes like sparkling fruit juice.


My second attempt was Orange Blossom Cream Ale from Buffalo Bill's Brewery in Hayward California, found at a local supermarket. It tastes like a cross between beer and orange soda, and is a great refresher on a hot day. It's a bit fruity for my purist tastes, but an interesting change. I think it'd be great to bring to a cookout to pass around. My girlfriend said she liked it, but I wasn't sure. Validation came when I noticed, two days later, that she'd had one of the beers when I wasn't there. Later, when I asked about it, she said she "would drink it at a party, but it was still too 'beery.'"

This might be a dead end, but I'm not giving up yet. I think my next step will be Blue Moon or some other fruit-flavored beers. I'll keep you posted.

-Ryan