# I'm 38 and I just had my first beer this weekend **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** beer\ **Created:** [November 15, 2010, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-38-and-i-just-had-my-first-beer-this-weekend/560713 "2010-11-15T07:53:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-38-and-i-just-had-my-first-beer-this-weekend/560713/1 "2010-11-15T07:53:35Z")
I’ve always hated beer. I’ve tried umpty different kinds. I’ve tried raspberry this and chocolate that and all the normal things. I take one sip and go “nope, I couldn’t drink that.” Then we were at a pub this weekend and I had a conversation with the guy next to me about how I could never be a good bartender like the guy serving us because I couldn’t name off the differences in the different on-tap beers they had like he could. The bartender overheard and gave me a taste of this one that he’d just described as having a coffee aftertaste and by golly, it did. And it wasn’t bad, either. He later talked me into ordering a something or other double-chocolate something or other and I drank it. The whole thing. All my myself. I even enjoyed it, though I doubt it’s something I’d ever drink regularly. But I’ve never been able to drink more than a sip of beer at a time out of sheer “yuck” factor. Until this weekend! I’m proud of me. I hope you are, too. ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-38-and-i-just-had-my-first-beer-this-weekend/560713/2 "2010-11-15T08:17:05Z")
As a self-identified discriminating beer drinker, I have to say I am. Kudos to the bartender for showing you a little bit of what it’s all about! And when the hell did you end up in Boston? Last time I saw you, you were Dixie bound, as I recall. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-38-and-i-just-had-my-first-beer-this-weekend/560713/3 "2010-11-15T08:21:33Z")
I grew up in Arizona, moved to the DC area for about 8 years, moved to Atlanta for about 2 1/2 years, moved to Cleveland for 2 years, and now I’m halfway through being in the Boston area for three years (husband in residency) after which we’ll move back to Atlanta again. I’ve been getting around 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-38-and-i-just-had-my-first-beer-this-weekend/560713/4 "2010-11-15T08:40:37Z")
Have you thought about changing “forever doomed to be #3” to “forever doomed to be up at 3”? ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-38-and-i-just-had-my-first-beer-this-weekend/560713/5 "2010-11-15T09:46:18Z")
Why stop there? I see the sun come up often as not ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-38-and-i-just-had-my-first-beer-this-weekend/560713/6 "2010-11-15T11:37:07Z")
WAG: You had a double chocolate stout, possibly [Young’s](http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/664/73). Decent chocolate level, smooth, not sweet. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-38-and-i-just-had-my-first-beer-this-weekend/560713/7 "2010-11-15T11:42:49Z")
I’m 48. Didn’t like beer at all through college. Then acquired a taste for it in grad school. Still, a 24-bottle case would last me almost a year and it was usually a dark beer made by Michelob. This past year, I’ve been drinking at least a beer or ale a week- trying out things like raspeberry, vanilla, pumpkin, ultra-strong, etc. Still have yet to have a chocolate one. If you can recall that coffee aftertaste one, I’d love to know what it is! ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-38-and-i-just-had-my-first-beer-this-weekend/560713/8 "2010-11-15T13:22:51Z")
The coffee aftertaste one was something or other’s milk stout. I’d definitely recognize the name if someone said it. Ferret Herder: It was a little sweet, to me, which is part of the reason I was able to drink it. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-38-and-i-just-had-my-first-beer-this-weekend/560713/9 "2010-11-15T13:25:24Z")
Thinking about it, “not terribly sweet” would probably be a better description. It’s not a wine cooler, but not Guinness either. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-38-and-i-just-had-my-first-beer-this-weekend/560713/10 "2010-11-15T14:18:12Z")
> [@OpalCat](#): > > The coffee aftertaste one was something or other’s milk stout. I’d definitely recognize the name if someone said it. Left Hand Milk Stout? Tip: When drinking a “thick” beer like a stout (they’re really not thick, they’re just dark, but that’s the perception by non drinkers), don’t sip it. It tastes much more bitter than it should when you sip it. Take a larger mouthful. ---
**Author:** ![Scuba\_Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-38-and-i-just-had-my-first-beer-this-weekend/560713/11 "2010-11-15T14:24:06Z")
**Opal** , IMO fruits and chocolates are wasted on beers. May I suggest a fruity mead instead? Also, what’s your intoxicant of choice? ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-38-and-i-just-had-my-first-beer-this-weekend/560713/12 "2010-11-15T15:03:05Z")
I’m kind of the same way; just never developed a taste for beer. If I’m travelling and it’s an indispensible part of the culture, I’ll give it a try. Had one hefeweizen at the Oktoberfest, for example. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-38-and-i-just-had-my-first-beer-this-weekend/560713/13 "2010-11-15T18:07:55Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > Left Hand Milk Stout? That’s the one! > [@Scuba\_Ben](#): > > **Opal** , IMO fruits and chocolates are wasted on beers. May I suggest a fruity mead instead? > > Also, what’s your intoxicant of choice? I generally drink things like Rum & Coke. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-38-and-i-just-had-my-first-beer-this-weekend/560713/14 "2010-11-15T18:19:39Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > Left Hand Milk Stout? > > Tip: When drinking a “thick” beer like a stout (they’re really not thick, they’re just dark, but that’s the perception by non drinkers). True, but something like a milk stout is going to be a bit “thicker” than your average beer, whatwith all that unfermentable lactose in it. (Also, the nitro pours of many stouts contribute significantly to that “thick” mouthfeel.) ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-38-and-i-just-had-my-first-beer-this-weekend/560713/15 "2010-11-15T21:07:31Z")
Opal, I take it you’ve had [Lindeman’s Framboise](http://www.merchantduvin.com/pages/5_breweries/lindemans_framboise.html)? This stuff is so good it shouldn’t be legal. Only beer I like, though many argue it should be classified as “beer”. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-38-and-i-just-had-my-first-beer-this-weekend/560713/16 "2010-11-15T21:44:12Z")
I can’t remember all the things I’ve tried. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-38-and-i-just-had-my-first-beer-this-weekend/560713/17 "2010-11-15T21:47:37Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > WAG: You had a double chocolate stout, possibly [Young’s](http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/664/73). Decent chocolate level, smooth, not sweet. My guess as well. It almost tastes like chocolate milk. At least in as much as beer can taste like chocolate milk. I actually think it’s fairly sweet. There’s another beer called Arcadia Cocoa Loco Triple Chocolate Stout that I don’t think is nearly as sweet as Youngs. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-38-and-i-just-had-my-first-beer-this-weekend/560713/18 "2010-11-15T23:58:25Z")
More related to the title than to the actual content of the OP, but I first tasted beer about a month ago (at age 21). Tastes like de-salted soy sauce, which is really not what I was expecting. And that certainly makes me rather mystified of what would entice one to want to drink it. (De-salted soy sauce plus chocolate? Ewww…) ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-38-and-i-just-had-my-first-beer-this-weekend/560713/19 "2010-11-16T00:15:10Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > More related to the title than to the actual content of the OP, but I first tasted beer about a month ago (at age 21). > > Tastes like de-salted soy sauce, which is really not what I was expecting. And that certainly makes me rather mystified of what would entice one to want to drink it. > > (De-salted soy sauce plus chocolate? Ewww…) What kind of beer did you have? There’s so many different tastes it’s not really fair to compare them to each other. There’s everything from so tasteless it’s like drinking water, to sooooo bitter you can hardly stand it, to so sweet/malty/dark it doesn’t even taste like what most people consider beer to so fruit flavored (lambics) it’s like drinking jello…and everything in between. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-38-and-i-just-had-my-first-beer-this-weekend/560713/20 "2010-11-16T00:19:19Z")
Ya know, people are always surprised to find that the town drunk (me) has never finished an entire beer in one sitting. It’s not the taste that gets me; it’s too damn filling! Every time I try to drink beer, I end up feeling very full, and very undrunk before I’m even half way through. I just can’t do it. This is not coming from someone who eat three bites of lettuce and declares herself full, mind you. I eat, but beer is way more filling than food for me. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-38-and-i-just-had-my-first-beer-this-weekend/560713.md?page=2)