the ruination of beer

 Where have all the good beers gone?  Hopefully, they've just gone into hiding.  More likely, they've been abolished to the sea of the forgotten.  And I'm not talking about really good beer.  Any chap can go to their local bar(hopefully) and find some good beer on draft or in the bottle, maybe a local craft beer.  What I'm talking about is the beer you get at the grocery store, when you're supposed to be getting milk for the baby, but you grab a 12 pack of Labatt Blue to chill down the night.  Yeah, that's not happening anymore.  The beer isle at the grocery store has been taken over and the new emperor is fruit.

I walk into the beer isle now and this is what I see:  12 varieties of hard cider?  What the Hell?  The only normal beer left is Bud, Coors, and Miller.  Maybe you can find an oil can of Fosters or a tall can of Icehouse, but that's it.  There might also be some cheap malt liquors or water beers like Keystone.  The only good beer left is Mexican beer and it's usually over priced.  Speaking of over priced; every variety of Sam Adams and several "cool but why charge so much" craft brews will be found.  Where is all the good beer that doesn't cost a fortune?  Indeed, what happened to Fortune?

I long for the days when I could find a sixer of Molson Ice or a 12 pack of Fosters.  All of these great beers that didn't break the bank got pushed out by Hard Lemonade and Twisted Ice Tea?  Who drinks this junk anyways?  I'm starting to think Zima is going to make a comeback or maybe wine coolers will start taking up more than one shelf again.  So much cider, grrrrr.....

And now all of the Arrogant Bastards and Firestone tall bottles got pushed out by Four Loco.  It's a sad state indeed in the world of beer.  Which is ironic, seeing as how craft and local breweries have never been better.  I can't even find those middle ground beers at BevMo! anymore.  It seems as the middle class of America disappears, so too does their beers.  But economics are a discussion of another sort.

I just hope this is only a phase.