Beer Geek 1st World Problems

As a beer geek I tend to fall prey to that beer, the one on the beer list that I've never had almost regardless of whatever other amazing beers are available to me. As an Untappd user I get waaaaay too happy about earning badges and I admit to badge whorin' at times.

One of those times happened this past weekend when we met up with a friend at a sports bar to catch the Timbers game. They didn't have a great tap list and the cream of the crop were ones I'd previously had. So I rather offhandedly ordered my first beer, one of their seasonal selections and one I'd had before. Shame on me because I relied on my faulty memory instead of checking Untappd and ended up with a pint of something that I didn't actually like as much as I thought I had. Beer geek first world problem, right?

Lesson learned and the next beer I chose more thoughtfully. Specifically I noticed a beer on the list that I knew had a badge associated with it, confirmed in Untapped that I had not yet earned that badge and placed my order. The beer wasn't great but I've endured worse to earn a badge. Yes, 100% badge whorin' and another beer geek first world problem.

Nearing the bottom of that pint it was once again time to figure out what the next one would be. Feeling like it was slim pickings I read more carefully and this time saw a beer from Kona that I didn't think I'd had before, probably based mostly on the style - a golden ale. Back I went to Untapped, confirming I had not tried the beer and thinking, "well, at least it will count toward my unique beers and maybe eventually to some badge." I found that globally Kona Big Wave Golden Ale gets a 3.48 rating over 141,000+ check ins, with my friends being a bit harsher with a 3.2 rating however as I scrolled through the ratings and notes there was one that said, "like the tropical notes." Intrigued, that sealed the deal and I ordered it up, finding the beer to fit that comment perfectly. Then I proceeded to enjoy the best pint of the night.

Moral of the story: I may be a beer geek who will chose a new-to-me beer over a long time favorite just to try something new and am not immune to badge whorin' (I was a Girl Scout after all) but sometimes I stumble upon a darn good beer that without my faults coming into play and using my Untappd crutch I would have continued to overlook.