Scott,

If you learn to like great-tasting beers you might enjoy the micro breweries. Seattle has some of the best. It's a ho nudder sperience.

German beer (in Germany) was so much better than their watered-down 3.2% exports. A world of difference! I believe beer in Germany pushes 8% alcohol with 6% being quite common. In German beers you can taste the yeast, a sort of "liquid bread." I can't imagine what upset your digestive tract but possibly you weren't used to it.

I drank Danish Heineken while stationed in Germany so I eagerly bought some when I got back to the States to treat my friends, it was awful.

Germans drink (and prefer) their beer at nearly room temp while US brewers recommend 40F. Below 40F, the flavor is camouflaged and our taste buds begin to shut down. The 40F thing was taught me by my brother-in-law, former GM of Rainer Brewery in Seattle. Test for yourself which has the more flavor 40F (5C) or ice cold.

Cute story: Our landlord came one hot summer day to collect the rent. Seeing that he was miserable in the heat, my wife offered him an ice cold Kesselring from the fridge. She had been heating a baby bottle on the stove so he stuck his beer in the still hot water and warmed it thoroughly. LOL.

Donny

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