I get it. I was right there with you when I was younger – I didnโt like beer.
Hated it actually. It had this strange zing at the end of the flavor, along with all of that terrible carbonation. Bud Light, Michelob, Coors, Heineken. All gross no matter how many times I tried them. What I wanted was a sweet, flavored Zima Citrus! (lol) Or a wine cooler. (sophisticated right?)
Or maybe some kind of mixed-drink concoction. Mudslide? Lynchburg Lemonade? Oh yeah. Thatโs where it was at. But beer? I wouldโve been okay with it never being discovered in the first place. <— looking back now, that would be so sad!
So how did Mrs. Saturday and I get over our disdain for beer in our 20โs?
In 1 easy step – simply put:
Water deprivation while kayaking the Panama Canal.
I wonโt say that this will work for everyone (or should even be a goal), but it sure worked for us. When we take cruises, we always like to plan exciting excursions. So years ago while on a cruise in the southern Caribbean in Costa Rica and Panama, of course we wanted to take kayaks into the Panama Canal! It was life-changing to say the least.
We love the outdoors. When weโre out in the elements working hard and doing something that pushes our comfort zone a bit, itโs when we feel most alive.
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So here we are in Central America. It’s Thanksgiving Day and we’re away from our family, but it’s Part 2 of our Honeymoon Cruise so we wanted to live it up. Life so close to the equator is scorching. Our trip leader is a young 20-something (or maybe younger) machine. Mrs. Saturday and I shove off in our kayak along with the group and begin exploring the massive Gatun Locks near the Panama Canal (since you canโt actually kayak IN the canal where the ships are, we kayaked in the lake).
Impressive in person. How much would one of these weigh?
As we made our way around the locks, we noticed right off howย incredibly hot it was and we were going to be gone for at least an hour or so! We settled into a paddling routine and enjoyed the scenery not thinking how hard it might be to get back. Once we made it to the farthest point in our excursion, it was time to turn around, and there was a whole new problem. Our kayaks seems to be MUCH slower than everyone elseโs either because they were a different type or maybe they were taking on water, but they were so much harder to paddle than everyone elseโs!
Beforehand, they might have mentioned that we should bring water with us into the kayaks, but for some reason we were under the impression that the lead kayak had a cooler of water in it, but – nope, no water!
We started to fall behind and if we if we werenโt delirious we couldnโt tell since our young guide kept telling us made-up stories of mermaids and other eye-rolling tales about the locks.
Mermaids. Really.
After what felt like an eternity of paddling under the blazing hot sun, we made it back to the dock and dove into countless bottles of water. We had an insatiable thirst that we couldnโt seem to quench so finally we went inside to the bar. I asked Mrs. Saturday if sheโd care to try a beer and with the okay I asked the bartender for one of their best Panamanian beers.
They popped the top of a Panamanian beer named Atlas and passed us the brown bottle sweating with chilled dew. The feeling of that ice-cold beer hitting our lips and the way it went down seemed to quench our thirst and very lightly numb our tired muscles and burnt skin.
It was right then that our appreciation for beer began.*
Now when we find ourselves in a land far away from home, I insist on tasting what local beer is available and have been pleasantly surprised ever since! There are so many flavors and nuances that are unique in different beers all over the world. Beer can be an adventure in itself.
*Apparently, I’ve heard this can also work for foods you don’t like. Don’t like broccoli? Just go without food for the weekend. You’ll probably love it.ย ๐
Panamanian beer photo from Habla Ya of Panama City
Hahahaha, great story. Sorry you had to experience severe thirst to enjoy beer! I used to hate beer in college–sweet mixed drinks or wine were my thing. But I really started getting into beer when I met Mr. Picky Pincher. He was quite a beer aficionado and introduced me to some tasty craft beers that actually tasted like something–no Bud Light. ๐
But I do think it’s waaaay more affordable if you don’t get into beer in the first place. Hard liquor and wine still give you more booze for your buck, usually with less calories. At $8 or so for a 6-pack, some days I wish we still hated beer. ๐
Yeah not drinking in the first place is much cheaper, especially because I love the craft-style of beer that’s different.
But it seems harder for people to loosen up when we’re at a social event and they’re waiting for your first sip to start connecting with you. Liquor does seem cheaper except at the bar! I cringe at the price of mixed drinks and then get a cheaper beer instead. In the East, Yuengling is our cheap good beer.
Im glad we’re not big drinkers in the first place though!
Back at the start of college I hated beer. I’d been around it and wine my entire life (my father made wine and had a miniature kegarator). I joined a fraternity for a short while and they tried to force me to drink. I dropped the fraternity largely over that. Fast forward a few months later I fell in with a crowd that drank socially. It wasn’t about getting drunk and they didn’t care if I drank or not. Here we are a decade later and I’m a bit of a beer snob. I generally don’t drink to get a buzz but I really only drink craft beer. It’s funny how things flow.
We’re not big drinkers either. I can have maybe 2 beers at the most so I know what you mean on that one! It’s more of the flavor that I enjoy like having a nice Porter on a cold night. It’s not bad being a beer snob! Lol. Mrs. Saturday still loves her ciders though much more than beer, but the nice thing is if we end up at a bar, the cheaper options usually end up being beer. You get more actual liquid too than a mixed drink so it goes farther.
Haha love this. I used to not like beer. However, now that we are full-time RVers I have really come to love going to different breweries. Goses are my favorite.
Michelle! Good to see you. I had wondered what some of the adventures you guys were taking in that RV of yours. Breweries would be a nice thing to add to the list for road trips! I’ve never tried Goses but it looks like one I need to try some time. A German top-fermented beer. Thanks for the tip! ๐
OMG…I LOVE this post! Mr. MMM and I also did not like beer. And now, I wouldn’t say we LOVE it, but we definitely enjoy it and appreciate it. Our little hip town of Lancaster, PA – don’t laugh – the little city is really cool with tons of art galleries and microbreweries – no Amish – not that there’s anything wrong with the Amish ๐ Needless to say, we started to frequent some of these places and felt the need to try some of the microbrews. They’re fantastic. And the labels are awesome. We always try to pick something we’ve never had before. I’m glad to hear we weren’t the only ones who did not enjoy/appreciate beer until we were adults!
Mrs. Mad Money Monster
Thanks Mad Money Monster! I didn’t realize that bot of you guys didn’t like beer before. This micro & nano brewery revolution has been amazing for the huge variety of flavors we get to enjoy now. One thing I’ve loved to do is to take “beer flights” or ask for a sample of something I’ve never tried so I know what it tastes like. Once I had a sample of 3 different porters and I was shocked that they all tasted so different!
Oh yeah, the labels and names that some of these microbreweries come up with are hilarious! Cheers!
I have to admit that I hate beer and for that matter also broccoli. I haven’t found the right beer but then again I haven’t had the opportunity to kayak in Panama on a hot day ๐
I loved reading this post and might have to try another beer sometime ๐
Thanks Mustard Seed! Broccoli is very easy to hate since it’s so easy to ruin it, but I wouldn’t force that on anyone. That’s a sure way to hating it. Like with wine & food pairings, for me, it almost seems like I need a mood & beer pairing depending on what mood or environment I’m in. I guess that’s why different beer originated the way they did.
Here’s what I like:
Hot day – light lagers like Sol, Bud Lime
Relaxing or going out – All kinds – lagers or ales – Yuengling, Sam Adams, Blue Moon, Dos Equis, maybe a red?
Feeling adventurous for something different – La Fin du Monde (The End of the world) triple ale (Canadian beer that’s has a strange tanginess)
Cold night – Porters like Founder’s Porter or any Stout like a Guiness
IPAs – I don’t ever like these, way too bitter for me
There’s so many more, especially very different craft beer.
I hated beer as a kid ๐ but never as an adult. Started out with Honeybrown Lager and Killian’s Irish Red. Before long, I was socializing with colleagues at a local brewpub, and enjoying Strawberry Wheat and Milk Stout. Wasn’t hard to grow to love (craft) beer!
I know how you feel! I’ve had all of those and love them. I guess it depends on what kind of mood I’m in, but at first glance, I’d pick the Honeybrown Lager or the Irish Red. One of my all-time favorites though sitting outside on a cold night is Founder’s Porter. They start to get pricey, but wow, what a good beer!
Beer just doesn’t do it for me. I’ve tried and tried and tried. I’ve tried beers in India, the U.S., Germany, Netherlands, Spain and even Belgium. And if Belgian beers can’t do it for me, you know that I am a lost cause.
Oh no! That’s a tough one. Mrs. Saturday likes the Belgian beer Framboise Lambic which is a sweet raspberry beer, but it’s way too sweet for me though. No big deal. You don’t HAVE to like beer! ๐ There’s always wine, or if you’re really frugal maybe just skip the alcohol altogether?
All I needed to learn to like beer was my first sip as a semi-grownup.
A few years ago, we were enjoying a lazy family boat ride, and my younger boy (age 3) wanted a sip of Daddy’s “soda,” a beverage known as Big Red Coq from Brewery Vivant. I let him have a sip… he paused for several seconds.. and he blurted out, “Deeeeeee-licious.”
Like father, like son.
Haha!! That’s great. I remember being a kid and occasionally when my dad got off a hard days work, he’d go to the freezer and grab a frozen Big Gulp style cup that had frozen Coco-Cola or Pepsi in it. He’d shave it down with a spoon and eat it like it was a treat. So one day he let me have a little and on top of the soda taste there was another foreign taste. My face must’ve cringed, because looking back now I recognize the taste as Jack Daniels whiskey. Lol.
I still don’t like beer. I enjoy going to breweries with Mr. G and I’ll try any beer, but they all taste terrible to me. Maybe I need a trip to the Panama Canal?
P.S. Did Mr. Saturday’s feet get sunburned?
You can definitely find some interesting flavors with breweries. It’s so crazy that a switch was flipped in our taste buds. At least you still have Kahlua hot chocolate!
An yes my feet were striped for quite a while while wearing my Chacos! Probably not good but very memorable.