Beer taps in a pub in London, UK. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We live in fantastic beer-drinking times.

There are more craft beers available than ever before and this is a good thing for those who enjoy their barley pop.

These days beer drinkers are not whom you’d think they are. Beer drinkers encompass all walks of life. I feel if walking dead from the zombie apocalypse were accurately portrayed on TV’s hugely popular Walking Dead series, they’d be beer drinkers, too (just think of the story-line possibilities and how the ratings would soar through the roof).

If we haven’t already, perhaps we’ll see beer-drinking zombies in future shows (note to Walking Dead creators—click on my “CONTACT US” link at the top of bobskelley.com and hit me up for some original, zombie beer-drinking character script ideas. Here’s one you can run with to get you started—you know how you kill zombies with a bullet to the head? Well, the beer drinking zombies will just smile at you with what remains of their faces when you try that).

Speaking of beer-drinking zombies…

Some of the most prolific beer drinkers around remain professional athletes. I guess that hasn’t changed much; just the quality of the beers consumed has.

And therein lies the rub.

Domestic beer consumption has been flat (pun very much intended) for quite a while now, although you wouldn’t know it by the amount of commercials for Bud, Coors and Miller products we are bombarded with while watching the NCAA basketball tournament. These days, veteran and newbie beer drinkers alike are like kids in candy stores when it comes to their beer choices, and, this is how it should be.

A Kranz (wreath) of Kölsch beer. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Hearty craft beers on tap in your favorite pubs and restaurants can accentuate the overall dining experience.

It is really worth a few minutes of extra time to both peruse the menu of draft beer available as well as ask your server for suggestions and information. And although I’ve seen the t-shirts that read, “Beer is food,” it really is not. As such, we should not substitute copious numbers of brewskis in lieu of healthy eating.

As a lager lover, I was originally disappointed that the good majority of craft beers available had been ales. I’ve been pleased in recent times, however, to see lagers make their way to the overall beer selection rotation available, in my local establishments.

When I left Colorado it was the number one microbrewery state in the country. Maybe it still is. It sure was fun to tour the different tap rooms available that made this state with the active lifestyle, just a little less active (while enjoying some of the fine grog).

Beer drinking should be a social experience, and the way taprooms I visited in Colorado were set up, it absolutely was. Everyone in attendance at these establishments was friendly, representing the beer-drinking community quite well (ooh just thought that a zombie-themed tap room might add to that sense of community, hmm—c’mon Louisville, KY brew pubs, you should run with this one).

If all you are going to do this Saturday afternoon is meet up with some friends and have a couple of beers, consider adding some beer cheese to your get together, too.

I never had beer cheese until I came to Louisville. It’s melted cheese with some kind of bread—typically of a soft pretzel-like consistency. It has similar beer-absorbing properties akin to pizza, too, just not as elaborate as say, a meat-lovers pie with double-thick crust.

An order or two of beer cheese is also great for those awkward moments of silence that can sometimes happen during a conversation.

After taking a bite of bread and cheese, your reinvigorated taste buds will usually prompt a return to discussion of some kind.

“Did you watch any of last week’s Walking Dead marathon?”

“Yeah, I did!”

“Can we get another round, please?”