Let us write briefly about fruit-flavored beers.

As a man, and a manly man, to be sure, it is my instinct to dislike - nay, despise - any fruit-flavored beverage so audacious as to call itself beer. After all, beer is manly. Fruit is, well, not-manly, apparently.

And, yes, my favorite beers remain those that are not fruit-flavored: Bell's Brown Ale, Miller High Life, Sam Adams Summer Ale and, yes, Leinenkugel's Sunset Wheat (more in a moment). Perhaps there are more, but these certainly are highly-ranked products.

However, the list of fantastic fruit-flavored beers is long, and ever growing...

Leinenkugel's Apple Spice
Sam Adams Cherry Wheat

Okay, maybe that's it.

Oh, yeah,
Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy, which is awful, awful, awful but, somehow, halfway through the first one, you're ready for another. Oh baby.

Now, the list of "beer served with fruit" is substantial and, perhaps, well, embarrassing. Who wants an orange wedge in their beer? (Me, generally.)

Blue Moon - Orange
Leinenkugel Honey Weis - Lemon
Leinenkugel Sunset Wheat - Orange

A few weeks ago,
Sam Adams Cherry Wheat - Cherry, which was just unnecessary

When it comes down to it, Leinenkugel is the best value in beer, isn't it? Reasonably priced, varied flavors, universally good. Yes, I like Leinenkugel.

The only reason I write about beer today is because, yesterday, I went to my local beer specialty store (which, oddly, is perfectly okay charging $12.99 per six-pack of Bell's - Bell's!) and purchased something called BluCreek Blueberry Ale. It was just okay. I don't think I'll buy it again. But the six-pack was only $8.99, so it was worth a shot. But just okay.

The lesson: Fruit-flavored beer is fantastic. Just don't tell anyone.