Post #9 - What an Arrogant Bastard

   Deep within the early days of my passion for beer, when my brother was in his early 20's and I was just a teenager, one of my favorite brews I was encouraged to try was called Arrogant Bastard. A classic ale out of Stone Brewing just north of San Diego, Cal.
   Being around 17 or 18 years old, my taste was starting to shift. I stopped drinking Dr. Peppers every day and began to like regular black coffee. With this I was able to tolerate more advanced flavor combinations.
    Before I move on, Arrogant Bastard ale isn't a bad beer. I wouldn't be writing about it if I didn't respect it. To me, Arrogant Bastard was basically my first car. It was my 1996 Honda Civic.
    You never asked for the 20 year old car, but you had to deal with the cards life gave you. It stung sometimes. Mostly it felt unnecessary. But other times you enjoyed it and knew that once you could afford it, or once you were old enough, you could appreciate better quality products.
    This was my attitude towards the Arrogant Bastard. I didn't know better, and for an ale it tasted a lot more like a triple IPA. It was dank, harsh, but it conditioned me to appreciate better beer. And in all honesty, for the price, you can't beat it. It is available in almost every convenience store in California and is a benchmark to which I judge most other beer by.
   If you don't like beer, or have never tried it and want to get into craft brews. I recommend having two Arrogant Bastards every weekend for a few weeks. It's not that the beer is so dank and strong that everything afterwards tastes better. It's that it contains all the components necessary for recognizing the spectrum of flavors that are demonstrated with most craft brews today. The hops, the dankness, the malt taste, and the crisp and slightly bitter aftertaste can all be found in an Arrogant Bastard.
For now, this is the end, more to come. Drink responsibly.