Originally Posted by Tophat665

The reason people started drinking Mexican beers with lime is that they come in a clear bottle. Doesn't make sense? OK, some elementary beer chemistry: The bitterness, flavor, and aroma of beer come from Hops - how long the hops are boiled with the wort (malt and water - proto-beer) determines to which iof those characteristics they contribute most. Now, the most stable chemicals in Hops, the ones that last longest, are the Alpha Acids. They are a yellow, waxy substance in the hops flowers. They are not soluable in water. However, when exposed to heat and water, they turn into iso-alpha acids, which are soluable. (Hence, the hops longest in the boil contribute most to bitterness.) Unfortunately, Iso-alpha acids are so constructed as to become a particularly foul aromatic compound when exposed to ultraviolet light for as little as 10 seconds. This compound has many of the same characteristics as skunk scent. Now, brown glass blocks ultraviolet light, but clear and green glass do not. Hence, clear bottled Mexican Beer is almost invariably skunked. Fortunately, it doesn't take a lot of iso alpha acid to make a beer bitter, and the clear bottle Mexican beers, such as Corona and Sol, are both watered down industrialized versions of the classic Czech Pilsner (lamentably frequently bottled in green glass) which is not particularly bitter. Therefore it is generally possible to cover the skunked flavor and aroma with citrus juice - lime. That's how it starts. If you like the taste, more power to you, but I think you're fooling yourself if you think you're enjoying good beer. You're enjoying cheap, spoiled beer with fruit juice. (Very similar argument for why Americans think sake is served hot. It's only served hot if it's stale.)

In any case, my favorite beer is one I brewed myself, and which recently took over first place from another I had brewed myself. My favorite is Defenestrator Doppelbock - a black doppelbock similar to Salvator (but made with love instead of Jesus), and certified as "Damn Tasty" by a BJCP certified beer judge. The one it eclipsed was Up All Night Extra Stout, an export style stout with espresso in the wort.

Commercially, my favorite beer is Arrogant Bastard Ale, partially because it's perfecly marketed to me (I am most certainly arrogant, and my mother and father were never married), but mostly because it is a mongo-hops monster well balanced with just the right amount of malt - not so little as to be overwhelmed by the truly staggering amount of bitterness and hops flavor, but yet not so much as to render the beer a syrupy sweet mess (like Dogfish head 120 minute IPA. Save your money on that one, folks). My favorite stouts are Old Australia, a vinous imperial stout, and Mackeson's XXXX Milk Stout. (Keep your Guinness. It isn't even the best Irish stout.) Far and awy my favorite barley wine is Old Dominion's bourbon barrel aged Millennium. Absolutely fantastic, and only available at the brewery. They made 200 cases of it this year, and are charging 100 bucks a pop. It'd be a bargain at twice the price. It really is that good. If you're in the greater DC area you should google them, get directions, and go there immediately.

However, my own beer is only available at my own house, Arrogant Bastard is not a beer with mass appeal, and Milennium is, as I noted, limited in quantity, so I have my favorite bar beer: Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.

Finally, swilling beer. Anyone with pretensions of dipsomania needs to find a beer that will load its feight of alcohol into one's grateful veins without dropping a lead-like freight of malt liquor in one's belly. For me, that's Budweiser. See, it really is useful for something beyond cleaning car battery contacts.