Sunday, February 7, 2010

Drinking with Strangers


"Without question, the greatest invention in the history of mankind is beer. Oh, I grant you that the wheel was also a fine invention, but the wheel does not go nearly as well with pizza."
-Dave Barry

About a week ago, one of the people who runs Denver Six Shooter – from here on out known as the Colonel – sent me an invite to a beer stunt at Ernie’s (a bar on Federal that has 30 beers on tap). The idea of this beer stunt was we’d break up into two teams of three, each team would choose a side of the line of taps and move their way to the middle. Two teams, three people, thirty taps, five ten-ounce beers a piece. (Don’t worry; it was over a couple of hours.) Keep in mind that I had never met these people before.

The night beforehand the Nuggets beat the Lakers – without Melo, in L.A. after a couple of bad games. And Kyle wanted to go to a gig at the Meadowlark that night. So I drank a bit more than I had initially intended. The next morning I wasn’t hung over, but I was tired. And I wasn’t eager to get up to go drinking with people I didn’t know, even though I was excited to meet them. Yet someone insisted I go drinking with these strangers, more or less pushing me out the door of my house. And I went.

And here’s the purpose of this post: beer brings people together. It’s not something I expected.

I love my life in Colorado, but after so many years of living in different countries and different cities, I’ve had a difficult time of putting together a social circle. I have a few key people here: my best friend, my boyfriend, some other characters who keep my life entertaining (you know who you are). But I’m a social person, I feel most comfortable with a group of close friends. And I’ve been looking for that since I came home.

I’m not saying that Saturday fixed this for me, but I find it remarkable how easy it is for people to unite over beer. This wasn’t the first time. I’ve been in an incredibly diverse group of people, who had nothing more in common than the people who brought them there, and watched as the topic of beer united all of them. It’s an amazing social lubricant, not just as an alcohol that puts away social fears, but as one that creates a conversation topic where there may have not been one before.

I’ll post more about the beer stunt later, but for now, those are my thoughts.

1 comment:

  1. Beer Girl,
    What's the deal with Fat Tire?
    People love this beer and I frankly don't care for it. (though I do like 2 Below)

    Do you like Fat Tire?
    I mean, every time I try it I am disappointed.
    Is that just personal taste, or is Fat Tire in fact a mediocre beer?

    Yours,
    Anonynomaly

    ReplyDelete