When good isn't good enough

I was inspired by Jeff's post to share another direct comparison that we held last year. Two families met and pitted several brews against each other, the first being Avery's (Colorado) The Kaiser, an Imperial Oktoberfest. The second was Hacker-Pschorr Oktoberfest-Märzen, brewed in Germany.

If I recall correctly, I started with the German brew. After a few sips, I was sold. Sadly, I don't recall all that much about the flavor - my note sheet simply says "it tastes like Jeff's apt. on a cool autumn afternoon. It also tastes like tears for the Bills." Next up was The Kaiser, which was even more delicious. Sadly, my notes on that consisted of a single word - Heil! Being of the Imperial designation, I suppose this increased level of tastiness shouldn't come as a surprise. But the difference between the two didn't immediately register.

But Ben, in his infinite wisdom, suggested that we all take another sip of The Kaiser, followed up immediately by the Hacker. The result? The Hacker, previously a delicious drink, now felt extraordinarily bland and watered down.

So what does this teach us? Maybe it teaches us that it's hard to tell just how good one beer is until you've tasted lesser. Maybe it just teaches us that Oktoberfests in general aren't half bad. I'm not entirely sure, but I think maybe "USA 1, Germany 0" is part of it.