Surprised by Beer

Being surprised by beer isn’t exactly something new, but it happened twice this week. First, it was trying a New Belgium 2◦ Below Ale. In general, although they have a mighty fine brewery, I’m not a fan of their brews, with the exception of their 1554. So I wasn’t expecting to like this 2◦ Below. Having had my second bottle I’m still not sure exactly how to describe it other than, “I like it.”

The second beer thing that surprised me was going to a grocery store in Denver, IA (population 1,629) and finding a decent beer selection. Decent considering Iowa isn’t much of a beer mecca and as everyone knows, the smaller the town no matter where you are generally the worse the beer selection. However, this place had Leinie’s Creamy Dark, a couple of Sam Adams products and a cider. Sure, nothing great, but at least there was more than the big boys to choose from and when it come to small town selections that’s about all you can ask for.