For the last few years, I have mainly gravitated toward the pedestrian beers: Bud Light, Corona, Michelob Ultra and the like.  About a year ago I was introduced to Shock Top (called Spring Heat – Spiced Wheat at the time), which is a Belgian Ale.  Since then I’ve also come to find out Blue Moon (which I also enjoy) is very similar.

With this new found desire to expand the palate, I headed off to Lukas Liquor at the corner of Manchester and Clarkson road to “build my own six pack” (for $8.99, if you’re interested).  Having never been there, I was quite impressed with the scale of the store.  If you are a beer or wine connoisseur, I recommend you check it out.

Here’s what I ended up walking out with (with tasting results thus-far):

• New Belgium Sunshine Wheat – Thumbs Up!
• Boulevard Pale Ale – Meh…
• Schlafly Hefeweizen – Thumbs Up!
• Shock Top (Belgian Ale) – Thumbs Up!
• Leinenkugel Honey Weiss – Would drink it if given to me, but most likely wouldn’t ask for it.
• Czechvar (Wikipedia article describing the relationship with AB) – Not Yet Tasted

So far the experiment has been a success, with a .800 batting average after trying 5 of the 6 beers.  I have high hopes for the last one, so I feel like I’ll end up in good shape.

I should also note that a couple of catalysts for this experiment was the InBev/AB merger (acquisition) and going to the Schlafly Bottleworks a few weeks ago.  It’s given me a desire to support the local/little guy a bit more these days.

Given the list above, what beers would you recommend to further expand the Danker beer portfolio?

Pizza: Their specialty is a unique twist on deep-dish…it’s a double-decker thin crust pizza.  Doesn’t sound like much, but trust me, it’s damn good.

Beer:  I’m not much of a beer aficianado, but I always had a soft spot in my heart for the AB spring seasonal brew: Spring Heat – Spiced Wheat.  Unbeknownst to me, AB has decided to make it available year-round and have given it the unfortunate name Shock Top.  Sounds like something I would drink while I airboarded from 20,000 ft on my way to compete in the X-Games.  If you get the draft variety, it’s served with an orange slice, which to me, is a great compliment.  Stupid name, great beer.