I jumped from liquor stores to high end grocery stores to see what imported beers are available in our country (well, only in Metro Manila). Luckily I was able to gather 12 different beers, with different types and origins but most are over P100.00 a bottle.

Taking my reminders from the book, when tasting beer you have to take some things into consideration like always use a glass (they say it’s a must during tasting), and pouring it into a slightly tilted glass so as not to create excess bubbles. You need bubbles but not too much; about an inch before the rim is perfect.

Also avoid ice when tasting beer for the first time (actually, avoid ice with beer), and have a designated driver!

So off to my daring act, I started with the heavy ones:

• Guinness Extra Stout 7.5% – Ireland, dark bitter, toasted notes are very obvious. I first tried it in Singapore and it was really fine and a pint will always make a hard day’s work seem that much lighter. (Sadly it was only available in cans here.)

• Leffe 6.5%– Belgium, dark, more chocolate and roasted flavor, pretty heavy but not as bitter. The book says it is very aromatic and really goes well with barbecued items.

• Asahi Super Dry 5% - Japan, pilsner, has a very fair flavor, clearly made for mass production.

• Kirin Beer 5% - Japan, pilsner, moderately light bodied, very typical; and said to be good with, of course, Japanese food.

• Tsintao 5% - China, has a pale yellow color, pretty light but somewhat fruity for me. Said to be more like water, easily forgettable.

• Stella Artois 5.2% - Belgium, lager, classy name say’s a lot, but actually very pale. More like our local brands, but very carbonated. Said to be versatile when it comes to food pairing.

• Hoegaarden 4.9% – Belgium, white beer, sweet like wine, is very aromatic with flowery hints, very crisp and full bodied; said to have won a lot of awards; also came to be our best choice.

• Warsteiner Premium Verum 4.8% - Germany, pilsner, light bodied, but very crisp and bubbly; grainy flavor with a slight bitterness in the end; said to be below German standards but widely available and very versatile, can go well with almost everything.

• Beck’s 5% - German, pilsner, very heavy but smooth, lots of fruity flavor, slightly sweeter than the usual. Said to be the everyday kind of beer, a good thirst quencher that goes well in any weather and with any type of food.

• Heineken Lager Beer 5% - Amsterdam, Holland. A very light beer with a refreshing character, but actually normal, with some notes of bitterness inside. It is said to be made for export, although tagged as "a solid all around beer" that goes well with burgers to heavy main courses anytime of the day.

• Fosters 5% - Australia’s largest selling beer, Lager, plain with lots of body, lightly carbonated. Has little on the lighter color shade of the amber, but pretty fresh and sweet. Said to be pumped with additives to enhance flavor.

• Corona Extra (Not less than 4% but not more than 6%) – Mexico, pilsner, with full-bodied feeling but more like the local pilsner. Said to have no taste unless a lemon is dropped to bring out the flavors of the beer.

Drinking beer is probably the second best thing to hmm (you know), but it should be not complicated. It is true when they say that a good beer or a bad beer is still subjective thing. It is safe to say that it is your own personal taste and preference that matters most and experience is still the best teacher and until you experience first hand you can never say what is good or bad.

Beer is simply there to be enjoyed, not to get things intricate but for you to savor. Who ever had the first formula for beer, we thank you for without beer, life could be more complicated.