Beer. As Benjamin Franklin said, "Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."

While that's true, there's a problem. Lots of people in their early 20's hate beer. Way too many women hate beer. Way too many old dudes drink lovely beer.

If you fall into this category, it's almost definitely because you've been drinking lovely 40 dollars a keg frat party beer. Hell, even if you've been drinking good beer and don't like it, there are several other styles of beers you may love.

And if you've never been into beer, it's a very easy taste to acquire. While spirits like whiskey and tequila take real work to develop a taste for due to their high alcohol content, beer doesn't taste too bad the first time you try it, and a 6 pack in you should be able to start enjoying it.

There are oh so many beers for you to try: Ales, pilsners, bocks, lagers, stouts and wheats. Oh my.

Somebody after my own heart!

I am an avid beer nut, a home brewer, and I'm studying brewing science in college. I can't really say that I have a favorite beer, because I appreciate most styles, but my tastes are more towards the hoppier side. Hoppy = happy. Though, I quite love many of the Belgians as well. Here is my top list, in no particular order because that would be impossible.

Duvel
All three varieties of Chimay
Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale
Sam Adam's Imperial Pilsmer
Galway Hooker
Smithwick's
Beamish Stout
Thomas Hardy Ale (2006)
Anchor Steam Beer
Porterhouse Red
Porterhouse Oyster Stout
Porterhouse Plain Porter
Sweetwater 420
Sweetwater IPA
Pilsner Urquell
Bass Ale
Morte Subite (Framboise)

I love beer, but not to drink. Weird, isn't it? I was married to a guy who is a beer afficionado and brewed his own and I learned quite a bit about it from him. At one point we even brewed our own hard cider.... mmmm. The best hard cider I ever had.

I love beer for the many varieties and styles. I love that you can get a beer to suit just about every occasion and preference. I think it's more versatile than wine, in fact. I love to brine roasts in beer or use it in stews. I can drink some of the less hoppy beers but, unlike beta pleated sheet, if it's too hoppy for me I can't stand it.

I don't think beer is an acquired taste. You love it or you don't. My niece has loved the taste of beer since she was two and still loves it today (she's now 15). She doesn't get to drink it much, obviously, but she's learned over the years what constitutes a good beer (boo to Miller Genuine Draft, yay to Yuengling). I wasn't born with this love of beer. I've learned to tolerate the taste but it's still not my favorite.

That said, my favorite beers to drink are the ones that have been all spiced up, like the Sam Adams holiday beer (I think it's called Old Fezziwig). I also like the more fruity beers.

P.S. Anchor Steam is a great beer. :)

While I too love the Trappist ales, I'm primarily a wheat lover -- both Belgians and Germans. My favorites are all hefeweizens, basically everything that Paulaner has ever produced; I love Hoegaarden's witbiers too. Basically, if it's unfiltered, I will drink it and I will love it. I enjoy Blue Moon very much, even though it's technically a poser-weizen -- but I can get it at the grocery store or on tap at a restaurant, so. XD

I really don't think that beer is necessarily an acquired taste so much as it just requires the knowledge that all beer tastes differently. So many Americans (I was one of them!) assume that all beer tastes like Bud Light and this is a tragic crying shame. I consider it my duty as a beer snob to help educate people in the differences between Big American Breweries and Really Delicious Beer.

PS beta, if you like the Morte Subite Framboise I highly highly recommend anything from the Lindemans brewery. They pretty much only make lambics, and they are all invariably delicious. The Lindemans Cassis in particular is outstanding, and I don't even like currants.

I can only stand to applaud you. There are so many great beers out there -- why would anyone waste their time with the crap that comes out of a big American brewery???

Nodding along all the way through reading this. I was ambivalent about beer for years, having grown up like many Americans on Budweiser and Coors. It took years for me to stumble across good beers (or good anything alcoholic which was not a mixed drink), and thank heavens it finally happened.

My roommate and I drink Blue Moon constantly, Cal, so you're not alone. As you said, it's not the most fabulous thing ever to be fermented, but it's nice, it's cheap, and it's readily available.

I only just learned about lambics last month. It was like having a door which leads directly into heaven opened for me. And, funnily, the cassis is my especial favorite. Cherry is a nice second. I also recommend Buffalo Bill's Brewery for their orange blossom beer. It was great with summer in mind, although sadly not distributed to my home state. If any of you can get it, I would advise giving it a shot.

I don't mind the odd pint. It's generally cheaper than spirits, so love it, hate it.... it's the juice of university.

Personally, I find myself to be a Carlton Draught girl. Perhaps it's the advertising (check it out on You Tube... hilarious stuff. Big Ad in particular, and MORE HORSES! ... made from beer), and perhaps its actually a decent solid beer. But most people I know are divided into two groups:

CD drinkers, and VB drinkers. VB tastes like cat wee.

However, I did fall in love with Stella Atois. I had many, many, MANY of those one night. I also very much appreciate James Boag... a good Tasmanian beer. I like the St George brand, but I'll drink JB Premium, or whatever's going.

I find that with cheap beer, however, it tastes best on tap -- in a nice cold glass in a hot room. Something about that, that you can't beat.

I like good beer, but I hate cheap beer. People in America drink cheap beer because they want to get drunk, not generally because they like the taste.

I generally like Guinness and most Sam Adams.

There's that, but keep in mind that comparatively breweries like Sam Adams don't have the dollars for advertising and distribution that Budweiser may have. Micro-breweries are even worse off. A lot of people just don't know where to find the good stuff, or even where to start when they do stumble across it.

My manna from heaven is The Flying Saucer, which is absolutely my favorite place on earth in whatever city I may travel (I do have a plate in my home Saucer, in case you read that far on the site and are wondering). There is nothing in the world better for learning about different cultures' brewing habits than actually sitting down and tasting different beer from all over the world.