I once exclaimed (somewhat truthfully) to my flatmate that “I like my women like I like my beer: bitter.” His (somewhat truthful) reply was “well, I like my women like I like my food: bland.” 

As an avid beer enthusiast, I generally try to encourage others to share my passion. Sadly, all too often I come across people who aren’t keen on giving beer a go, usually because they find it too bitter. I can understand why the bitterness of beer might put people off. Personally, I love the taste of bitterness. I once exclaimed (somewhat truthfully) to my flatmate that “I like my women like I like my beer: bitter.” His (somewhat truthful) reply was “well, I like my women like I like my food: bland.” But I digress.

When it comes to beer, there’s actually a wide range of flavours available, including beer for those whose tastes lie within the realms of sugar and spice and all things nice. A fantastic example of a sweeter style of beer is the Lambic fruit beer of Belgium. Lambic beer is interesting in many ways, including its use of wilderyeast rather than specific cultivars, and the way it blends together young and aged beer to get the right flavour. But for now, my focus is on the addition of fruit to the brew.

I grabbed a bottle of Kriek Boon from the Mt Eden Foodtown. It had a beautifully fruity aroma, as one might expect, and the cherries really added a lot to the flavour. It was sweeter than your average beer, but retained a complexity of flavour that was immensely enjoyable. The sweetness was balanced by a slight acidity, preventing the beer from being overpowered by one sensation.

This might be a good place to start if you aren’t normally a beer drinker. From there you could try new beers and discover tastes that you enjoy. I know that my interest in beer began with Belgian brews and my preferences developed from there - maybe one day you’ll even love beer as much as me. Oh, and for the guys out there who would shun a cherry beer because it’s too girly: Get over yourself! Stop basing your preferences on image and base it on what tastes good. Lambic beers are fantastic, and you should give them a decent try. If you can’t find Kriek Boon, Belle-vue and Timmermans both do good renditions of the style, and can be found at Belgian beer cafes and good supermarkets.