Atomic Playboy
Lifer
- Feb 6, 2007
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Originally posted by: zerocool84
No I live in a lightly populated city, Los Angeles. When normal people go to bars, we go to meet and talk to people. I don't want to be getting full on heavy beer. I only drink heavy beers at home. The only beers normal bars sell is the American's, Newcastles, Guinness, all the poular stuff. That's not what everyone here calls real beer. Real beer to people here is only Micro's.
Not necessarily, but I do think it varies an enormous amount by location. For example, I was born and raised in Portland, OR (where I still live), a city that boasts the most microbreweries of any city in the world. It is impossible to find a bar, market or liquor store that sells beer but does NOT stock local microbrews; at the very least, you'll find Widmer Hefeweizen. The local brewing industry is so large in Portland that some are as ubiquitous as the macros.
I also spent a few months living in Springfield, MA. The culture was completely different; Sam Adams was widespread (obviously), but there was little outside of that and European macros (Heineken and Guinness) to challenge the domestic macros. You'd have to go to a specialty liquor store to find any microbrews, despite a healthy number of microbreweries in New England. I have an easier time finding some New England micros in Portland than I did in Springfield.
So geographic location is important to consider. What is "normal" for LA is not necessarily normal for the rest of the country. I know I've been spoiled by the abundance of microbrews available in Beertown; I wouldn't expect everyone else to have enjoyed the same opportunities to sample such a wide variety of beer styles in their hometowns.