“Birthday Beer”

As many of you are aware, my birthday was just a few weeks ago. I'm certainly not ancient, but I'm far from being a spring chicken anymore, and most of the time I feel pretty good. I had a good birthday this year (gout attack aside), and while it wasn't a trip to Barcelona I certainly wouldn't turn it down again. 

The day before my birthday we were out walking as a family; I actually think we were on our way to our local diner for breakfast. We have some great neighbors next door that love to hang out on the stoop and listen to music, and Fred loves to say hi to them and mention whatever is on his mind (even if he's comparatively soft spoken and no one can actually hear him). This morning was basically the same.

We stopped briefly to catch up with the neighbors and meet the guests they had over that day. Eventually the discussion came to my birthday, and they asked what we were doing. We told them that we were going to have a little backyard gathering at a local watering hole, and while it certainly wasn't their style, they all heartily agreed that they'd love to buy me a beer for my birthday. It was a great gesture that I figured we'd never actually get around to doing, or that they'd just slide Amy a few bucks to pay for a beer I'd already had.

Lo and behold the day after my birthday when a knock came to the door and standing outside was one of our neighbors. He couldn't stay, but he had a birthday gift for me to enjoy, and it really was the nicest thing they've ever done (besides just keep an eye on the neighborhood and help us get to know people, as they've been here much longer than we have).

Then I opened the bag and saw two green bottles.

What was inside didn't shock me. My neighbors are famous for drinking King Cobra and Coors Banquet of all things. I honestly thought that the gift would be a few cans of their preferred malt liquor, and I certainly would have drank one. Instead, I think they classed it up in their eyes when they dropped off two bottles of Heineken. 

Heineken Lager isn't the worst beer I've ever had - far from it to be completely honest. It's a little bread-y but not too much, it's kinda crisp but not to the point of sharpness. It's sweet like it's had some corn syrup added but since it's Dutch it might not actually have that most famous of American additives. Heineken is fair and these days you can get it pretty much world wide.

Which is actually the one thing I love about beers like Heineken - no matter where I go in the world I know what one should taste like. It is the most redeeming quality of macro brewed beers, and craft brewers that can harness consistency like Heineken are the ones I appreciate most. This isn't to say that trying different batches of the same beer isn't fun (totally is), but sometimes you find a taste you love (not Heineken) and you simply want to have it over and over, not just on your birthday.

The verdict: 2.75 out of 5 (on Untapp'd - follow me there @slownumbers to see what I'm drinking)