My Reputation Proceeds Me

First off, let me say something surprising. Fall is here (Well, no surprise there), and while this is one of my favorite beer seasons, I find myself continuing to buy Sam Adams Octoberfest. There's certainly nothing wrong with it (In fact, it's the ebst Sam makes), but I think I should be branching out a little. And it's not like Sam is even cheaper than other folks. I bought a six pack the other night for $8.99. Come on, Sam! Where's the love?

Anyway, that's not what I was going to write about. I had a funny experience at my friend's birthday gathering the other day. I was meeting the rest of the party at Mantra in Downtown Crossing in Boston, a fine Indian restaurant by day and apparently a club by night (which i only found out later.) I arrived first and so I hunkered down at the bar and asked what they had for beer. The selection was rather slim. I ordered a Taj Mahal (when in Rome, right?). It's a lager, which I tend to shy away from, but this one was good. Beer Advocate gave it a pretty bad grade, but I didn mind it. Not too big or small. Not too bitter. Tasted good, kind of thin. I'm not sure if it went with the Marinated Spring Chicken I ordered for dinner, but who cares?

The funny thing is that when the rest of my party arrived and I paid my bar tab, the bartender mentioned that he was looking into getting some new kinds of beer, and asked if I had any suggestions. I wasn't sure if I gave off some sort of vibe or smelled of beer, or if I have reached some level of fame, but it was kind of cool. I told him Sierra Nevada and he said, "Oh yeah. I've heard of them." I groaned and walked away.

I guess I am somebody.