May 22, 2009: Beck's

Tonight I'm drinking a bottle of Beck's, an adequate German lager. Beck's has created a somewhat significant presence in the import beer market here in the states over the last decade, but has never been able to quite reach the level of a similar beer like Heineken. There really not much too Beck's; crisp taste, sort of bland finish, little to no lacing. Put quite simply, Beck's is your run of the mill, mass produced, European lager. Boring!

Tonight is one of those nights when I'm beginning to realize the drawbacks of being a beer snob. I'm sitting here in a restaurant with my grandmother and my girlfriend, my options for beer are limited, so my hands are tied and Beck's is my only choice. If I didn't care so much, I would be fine with Beck's. If I was able to just sit back, eat my dinner, shoot the breeze and not think about my beer then I'm sure Beck's would be a fine choice. Hell, I could probably run through a case of Beck's with one sitting and still be able to walk out of the place. Unfortunately, I've never found a beer that I was unable to pick apart, analyze, scrutinize and criticize. I can't just sit there with any old beer and just accept it for what it is. My God, could there be a beer more boring than this? I might as well be drinking a nice refreshing glass of sparkling mineral water. It confounds me that a beer like this could be produced on such a large scale, because it means that there is a definite market for this kind of beer. There are actually people out there who seek out bland, pale, boring lagers like Beck's, and I don't think I'll ever be able to really understand it. That's not to say that Beck's is some kind of terrible beer. I would simply list it somewhere near the bottom-middle of the pack; somewhere just beyond the range of beers that I would deem worthy of spending my hard earned money on. You can find Beck's pretty much anywhere beers are sold, so feel free to enter they abyss of blandness at your own risk.

Prost!
Ian

http://www.becksbeer.com