I finally went to the English Pub down here. I've known for a while that I could go (my friend's (more like my friend's friend's) mom works there, and they're very small and friendly, so they don't ID), but I've just now gone.
A lot of my friends were there, especially those who had graduated a year before me, which was a lot of fun. My friend Chris, who is great with things like this, had me come with him to the bar, and pick out a beer.
At first, I admit, I choked: I asked for a bud light, and both Chris and the bartender rolled their eyes. Chris says to me: "No, are you fucking kidding me? Look at your choices. Pick a real beer."
So I see a Heineken tap, and ask for that; I like Heineken, my friend and I drink it a lot.
More eyes get rolled.
"Are you kidding me? Try a real British beer or something...Boddington. It has a lot of head, and a lot of carbonation, but you'll like it."
So I open up a tab and order it. Wow, great tasting beer, but the carbonation is really something else. I'm not sure how much of it I could drink.
By the end of the night I had tried a Snake Bite (good, but too much like champagne), a Black and Tan (good), Newcastle (very good, I thought, especially as a followup to Stella), and some Stella (which I think I'd had before, and was very good.)
I mean, it's not like I'd never tried beers beyond Bud and Miller before, but I'd never tried such a wide variety of beers -- English beers, I guess. Before this, my favorite beer was Labbatt Blue. Now I don't think so.
So I open it up to you guys: what beers should I try tomorrow night when I go? What are your favorites?
Note that Cheez and Axon should STFU about small microbews that won't be available. Elitist jerkbags.