At last a Quality thread! I would bet dollars to doughnuts that most folks wouldn't be able to tell any of the old line big name beers apart in a blind taste test. Coors, better known as Colarado Kool Aid does tend to stand out because it tastes something like diluted lemonade. However, you pour glasses of Schlitz, Bud, PBR, Miller (any variety), Carling Black Label (remember that?), Old Milawaukee, Milwaukee's Best (one is by Miller the other is one of the other big brewers), Sterling (another oldie), Strohs, and most beer drinkers won't be able to pick their favorite. Sam Adams is a step in the right direction, but your best bet for real beer is a brew pub. The local one here is the Flat Branch, and they always have a selection of real beers for a variety of tastes. Unfortunately, they may be changing brewmeisters, and if so I may have to start brewing my own again. Beer. Man does not live by bread alone. He has beer! I once asked a snivelling wine drinker why drinking fermented grape juice was so much more sophisticated than drinking fermented barley juice. No real comeback. Ever played the "how many beers can you name" game. I started one during a really boring seminar and we hit an incredible number. Of course, there were several foreign folks there who had totally different lists. On the other hand, one guy from Wisconsin named all kinds of local Wisconsin and Minnesota brews no one else had heard of.
Chuck