Passport to beer

When it comes to beer, I’m no Brett Kavanaugh, but I do enjoy a brew or two. Many years ago, I drank Milwaukee’s Best Light, which was the cheapest beer available. I’d invite friends over and offer them a beer. Everyone was like, um, no thanks. Dale said it was time to upgrade my beer.

I switched to Bud Light, and that was my beer of choice for years. After living in Germany and collecting those gorgeous steins, it’s safe to say I love regular beer, but I believed it was fattening, so I mostly stuck with lights. About 10 years ago a friend suggested if I really truly loved beer, I should consider drinking the real thing.

Real beer has barley, hops, water and yeast. No corn syrup, no rice.

Not that beer is a health food, but one does one’s best to heighten the pleasure and minimize the downside. Lots of commercially brewed beer includes corn syrup and/or rice.

Of course, I did not watch the Super Bowel, but I saw commercials for Bud Light bragging about not using corn syrup like Coors Light and Miller Lite. I think they all use rice. Not like it’s poison or anything, but I have come to appreciate the taste and quality of “clean” beer.

Dale was morally opposed to light beer anyway, so my switch was good news for him. We started buying microbrews, and there was no turning back. The interesting thing is I did not gain weight when I switched to the heartier beers. Maybe because you drink less of it? Or maybe light beer is like diet soda and can actually make you gain weight?

If I wanted a light mass-produced beer these days, I would go for Amstel Light, which is tasty and seems devoid of extra stuff.

For $15 each, we purchased beer passports, which encourage people to get out and visit local breweries. There are more than 70! Each brewery stamps its section of the passport, and after four stamps, you get a bottle opener. Sixteen stamps, and you get a pint glass. Fill up the passport, and they create a custom map documenting your travels.

So far, we have three stamps. We went to one brewery not far from our home and the other two within a 30-minute drive. Our practice to date has been to arrive around 2 p.m. and have one beer each. The breweries were great, the beer was delicious and we enjoyed talking to other beer aficionados. Our passports were quite the hit with some, although others were familiar with the program and have already filled up the pages.

While your area may not have a passport program, I’ll bet you have a good selection of local breweries. If you like beer, I encourage you to visit. Most have sampler glasses, and I was also surprised to see a good selection of beer in the 4 percent ABV range, which is quite nice for an afternoon beer. Another little retirement pleasure!

By the way, I totally get it if microbrews aren’t your thing. Beer preferences are often a mishmash of taste, culture, brand loyalty and memories. Do you have a favorite beer? What makes it special to you?