Gallo Cerveza

Roberto and I had a heart to heart about beer on the way home from Paiz, the grocery store. He filled me in about the local beer, Gallo, and its many flavors (varying from light to dark beer and a slightly more specialty brand), and confessed his love for Samuel Adams to me. Since we were in beer confession, I admitted I love micro-brews, especially from my beloved Pacific Northwest. I just love a good sip of New Belgium, Deschutes, Missoula Brewing Company, even good old Coeur d’Alene’s brews. Little can compete with oat stouts and Dead Guy Ale.

Roberto was pretty shocked that I hadn’t tried the old Gallo yet. So yesterday, he and Rosemarie took me to their country club, Club Alemán, for lunch. Every time they go, Roberto likes a nice pint of the Gallo to enjoy with lunch. Yesterday, he ordered two Gallo Claros, one for him and one for me.

I must admit, I was pretty impressed. I thought I would have to live without the classic PBR, the Pabst, the Pipper for a whole 10 months before returning to the land of college student preferred beers. But no, Gallo, although disguised as Gallo, must be closely related to that friend of poor college students, PBR. It must be like a first cousin of PBR and a second cousin to the Bud, Miller, and Genuine Draft that passes as brewski in the USA.

The Gallo came out in a gleaming pint glass. Its perfect golden color, so reminiscent of urine, glimmered expectantly in the glass. The white fizz sizzled away as I examined the cerveza and thought longingly of a pint of Dead Guy Ale. Roberto and I lifted up our heavy glass pints and exclaimed with gusto, “SALUD!” As the Gallo flavor past my teeth and touched my taste buds, I instantly remembered a conversation between Kofi and Craig over Kofi’s pitcher of Bud Light in Mingles this May:

Craig: Kofi, what’s the difference between American beer and having sex in a canoe on a lake?
Kofi: Yes…. I don’t know, Craig.
Craig: They’re both f*** close to water.

Hands up for the Gallo. Salud.