Ma bière préférée

Earlier this evening, some buds came over to do a little pickin', grinnin', and drinkin' ... not necessarily in that order. This was our drink of choice:


I distinctly remember the first time I had a Samuel Smith's beer ...

When I was in college, I went on a "French immersion" trip to Montréal and Québec City. Montréal was a complete bust. My hotel was in a distinctly English section of the city, and I spent three-quarters of my time there speaking nothing but English.

While in Montréal, however, a couple of my traveling companions and I went into a charming little pub run by British expats. A little squat feller sitting at the bar was nipping from a bottle of something really red, which looked really good.

"What is that?" I asked. The little guy kindly told me that it was "Sam Smith's Pale Ale," his favorite beer.

"Gimme one of those," I told the bartender.

Bold with an almost fruit-like finish, Samuel Smith's Pale Ale was unlike any beer I'd had to that point. I think I'd consumed three Victorian pints of the stuff before mes amis and I got up to leave that little pub.

As my fellow travelers and I stepped out into the street, I turned to one of 'em and said something to the effect of, "If I can't get Samuel Smith's back in Nashville, I don't know what the hell I'm going to do. That was the best damn beer I've ever had!"

Well, it didn't take long for me to discover that I could indeed get practically every "flavor" of Samuel Smith's in Nashville. I've tried 'em all, but I enjoy none of 'em half as much as I enjoy pale ale. And every time I take a nip from a big bottle of Old Brewery Pale Ale, I can't help but say a little thanks to the guy who introduced me to the stuff in a Montrél bar.