Drinking, Post-College

So I realized another East Coast v West Coast thing that I left off was the beer. East Coast has such delights as Yuengling, but the West Coast....? Varying kinds of deliciousness, all incredibly available. Even the corner market across the street from me has options like Fat Tire, hard ciders, and even 3 Philosophers (yes I know, it's an East Coast beer. Still.). At first I thought this was more of a geographical difference...people here love their beers. Then it was astutely pointed out to me that maybe this isn't coastal as much as it is stage-in-life-related.

I think it's a valid point. College consisted mostly of drinking as much beer as possible in the shortest amount of time. Bud Light, Natty Ice, Keystone Light....the list really goes on. Sometimes there'd be nicer kegs, but I only encountered them at people's houses who had already graduated college. Other notable college drinking experiences include massive amounts of tequila (shudder), jungle juice, and mystery shots that came out of huge, pre-mixed 2L bottles of Sprite. Who was I to care where my beer was brewed, how hoppy it was, or what kind of recycled materials went into the label. Having a beer wasn't always about kicking back and relaxing, and when that was the case you can be damn sure I wasn't drinking Bud Light.

Now, I have a beer or two with dinner or at a bar on the weekdays. I don't want to drink some overly watered, hyper-carbonated liquid passing as beer. Weekends are a different story, but only kind of. I think part of me is still in "college drinking mode", where the typical night goes something like : pregame/party/bar/jumbo slice/pass out. Here everything is, in typical California style, way more laid back, so I've found myself drinking less, with higher quality.

Or maybe my body is enforcing detox on me after 4 years of college, and all that entailed.

Except for Sparks. There will always be Sparks.