I did a small job for someone and as payment I asked for a carton beer.  I didn't really care what beer I got, but I gave him the challenge of buying one I hadn't tasted before.  It might not seem like the easiest feat, but the bottle-o I go to still has plenty I've never tried.

But today he paid me $50 cash instead.  I was only expecting a $50 carton of beer, but a carton in my arms is worth a lot more than $50 to me.  So now I have $50 cash and I feel like I've been ripped off.

I think most beer drinkers understand beer economics.  Given the choice between $100 and a carton of beer, you take the beer.

On a side note, the other weekend I went to a Turkish restaurant and was quite excited to order my first Turkish beer, Efes, but was dissapointed after the first mouthful.  I've now tried over 80 beers and I've got to a point where many foreign beers taste much the same to me.  They have their subtle differences, but Corona, Amstel, Bravara, etc, are all mild flavored light coloured lagers and everytime I find another one I feel like I've drank it before.  I was hoping the flavor of a Turkish beer might reflect and compliment it's food and culture, instead I was left bored and wondering if these beer companies are intentionally trying to taste the same.

I've started reading a book about beer (only my second book on the topic) and my eyes have been opened to a sub-classification of premium beers called "craft beers".  I've already drank many, many craft beers, such as the James Squire range, I just didn't know they fit into their own sub category.  It has been craft beers that I have found most interesting so it will be craft beers that I look out for from now on.  Beers like the Bulgarian beers will also be of interest, such as Belle-Vue Kriek because it's brewed from cherries, or Hoegaarden because of it's milky appearance.  I'm bored of taste-a-like lagers.