“Wait — I have to finish my beer!” I’m SchellSchocked.
I look and sound exactly like my mother. In moments of childhood frustration I used to think to myself, “there is no way I’m related to these people”, but in the back of my mind (and in front of my mirror) I always knew there was no way this was possible. I don’t look much like my dad, but I’ll let you judge for yourself.
My uncles would occasionally call our house and start talking to me as though I was my mother, and my dad calls me “Cindy” every now and again.
But my affinity for beer definitely did NOT come from her — my mom absolutely hates beer.
Over the last few years I have occasionally encouraged her to try different kinds of beer. It goes something like this: “Hey mom, you should really try this [atypical beer], I bet you would like it”. When I utter the words “like it”, what I really mean is “be able to tolerate it”. And her response is usually a very apprehensive look followed by another that suggests she just licked a lemon.
First, I tried handing her a stout. She loves chocolate and rich flavors, so I thought this would work well. She choked it down and walked away from it quickly. A similar effect was had after an attempt at a coffee porter. Finally, I tried The Sweet Josie American Brown from Lonerider Brewing in North Carolina last fall. Her best friend loved it…my mom didn’t. See right.
That was essentially my last attempt, although my mom did try a Summer Shandy in July, but only of her own volition after reading about them in an article by A Perfect Pint. No good.
Obviously I wouldn’t be telling you about this unless something had changed.
While I was pouring for Badger Hill at Falls Liquor, my parents decided to stop by. I am their only child, after all, and they were in the neighborhood. I chatted for a bit and then I realized – Schell’s new radler beer! The words left my mouth before I could talk myself out of finding yet another beer she would hate.
Then she uttered some remarkable words when my dad ushered her to leave: “Wait. I have to finish my beer!”
We fell silent. Then my dad shouted, “write that down!”
Schell’s SchellShocked is a remarkable beer (not just because it converted my mother). It is brewed with grapefruit juice from Oregon and while the “beer” taste itself isn’t strong, the light, biscuity malt is a lovely backdrop to the sweet and bitter grapefruit.
I am also happy to say that after about a year of beer blogging, I will finally be visiting Schell’s in September! You can be sure I’ll reach for a SchellShocked.