Every once in a while you find a company that has a clue and perhaps has read the cluetrain and gotten the message. It seems Sierra Nevada may been one of those smart few.

If only more companies were that smart.

Recently I brewed a Maibock. Being a lager after it's long fermentation and lagering cycle I didn't much care for it, but immediately assumed I had lagered too short or done something wrong in the brewing process. This weekend in San Francisco I went to Gordon Biersch and while I had a great experience there I realized something more important. Maibocks are not to my taste preference.

I tried the Maibock Gordon Biersch had on tap and while I realized I may have some technical flaws in my process, I got the more general style profile correct. It was simply a style I don't like.

I can't feel too bad, I had another beer experience over the weekend in which we tried some Belgian beer styles. Now up to this point among my friends and the homebrew shop coworkers I was considered an oddball because I LIKED this sour stuff. This weekend I had the privilege to hang out with some great folks who also loved the style proceeded to buy some unique vintages never to be seen in Flagstaff or I'd bet the rest of Arizona.

I tried them with an inkling of what I was getting into but was no where near prepared. I have have some Lambics, Flemish Red Sours, and some stinky cheese. But these beers took funky to a new level, like comparing a Cool Jazz FM station to Parliament Funkadelic or 70s R & B. Mind you I am not complaining now or then about the experience, but I realized during it that my tastebuds had not progressed to level of dealing with such sour and tang as of yet.

My fundamental point? Experiment and explore, there is an amazing world of beer waiting for you. I promise you now not everything you will like. But only by exploring do we test our limits, find what will not appeal to us, and ultimately educate ourselves about the wider world. And in that we will find truth from our beer, our food, and our lives.