Beer, Man

Three weeks ago, Couch Slouch announced the search for a new beer. It is my sincere hope that the brew selected -- along with my current wife Toni, a.k.a. She Could Be The One III -- will become a lifetime companion. What follows are the results of my beer-quest odyssey:

I asked my readers to help me select a beer-for-life and more than 400 of you responded.

(As you may recall, I had to forsake Rolling Rock when it was bought by Anheuser-Busch, then I had an ill-fated fling with Shiner Bock.)

Via impassioned e-mails, I discovered that they really, really like their beer in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin -- if I were running for president, I would simply go to every bar in those two states and the election would be wrapped up.

Anyway, here are the top 10 reader choices to replace my beloved Rock:

Yuengling Lager, 47 votes; Samuel Adams, 23; Pabst Blue Ribbon, 21; Miller High Life, 19; Leinenkugel's Red, 18; Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, 16; Iron City, 15; Molson Golden, 13; Genesee Cream Ale, 13; Dos Equis, 11.

The choices skewed American, largely due to the fact, I assume, that we are in America.

Some insisted I return to Rolling Rock or Shiner Bock. Others gallingly suggested beers from the evil A-B empire. And even others recommended non-beer options, such as Kendall-Jackson Chardonnay, Mike's Hard Lemonade, Jack Daniel's, Jolt Cola and sake.

Here's a small sampling of reader input:

"Sam Adams: Any guy who can sign the Declaration of Independence, brew barrels of some damn good beer and play 13 years at D-tackle in the NFL is good enough for me!" (Fred Summa; South Park, Pa.)

"Mickey's Malt Liquor is so cheap that it may serve as a turnoff to high-maintenance women, thus reducing your number of unwanted marriages." (Matt Payne; Rockville)

"Try Red Stripe, an ugly beer for an ugly world. Also, it's owned by the Jamaican government, which, last time I checked, was in pretty good shape." (David H. Aron; Washington)