Inaugural beers

For the last year or so, my friends and I have been flirting with the idea of trying to complete the Mug Club Challenge at Bukowski's Tavern in Inman Square. The deal goes: Drink all 135 of their bottled beers in six months from your start date and you get your own 25 oz mug that you can fill with any draft beer at the cost of a pint. For us, the mug is less important than the journey. We're thinking of it as a course in beer education. I probably wouldn't even give most of these beers a chance otherwise. The challenge is free, but you pay for the beer - not a trivial amount of money! I'm also putting myself on a running regimen so I don't blow up like a tick. Here we go with the first round:

Beer: Schlitz

ABV: 5.0%

Home: Milwaukee, WI, USA

Slogan: "The beer that made Milwaukee famous"

Our inaugural beer for the mug club challenge, we figured we'd just knock this one off the list right away. I learned that this beer is best enjoyed when it’s cold. I dislike tall boys because of the urgency similar to eating ice cream outside on a hot day. The beer tastes light and cheap with its place being in dive bars and sporting events.

Beer: Sam Smith's Brown Ale
ABV: 5.00%
Home: Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, England, UK

A dry and very nutty beer brewed with water that, according to its label, comes from the original well dug in the late 1700s. I also learned that brown ales are a specialty of northern England - never knew that before. Delicious brew, but one is plenty!

Beer: Ballantine Ale
ABV: 4.85%
Home: Newark, NJ, USA

Two tall-boys in one night. We can do it because we know the rule - drink fast before it gets warm. Not a whole lot more to say, though. This is just your average light, canned lager, but nothing too memorable.