I had been progressively becoming an alcoholic for the past ten years. For the most part I drank wine by myself at home during the day--sometimes hard liquor in tasty mixed drinks, because I'm a female.
Then my son and son-n-law started becoming "microbrew snobs." We are a cigar smoking family, so we'd sit and smoke and sip and converse over many pleasant things. I liked the microbrews, but they just didn't have enough alcohol to make it worth my while.
So I discovered the love of my life: Three Philosophers Ale. I had just taken a philosophy class in my late-life college career and really enjoyed it--that's what attracted me to it. Then i tasted it and loved it. Loved the foam, loved the color--loved everything about it, especially the very high alcohol content. It's so fancy it even has a cork! Far more sophisticated than the Bud my dad drinks!
Now everybody knows I have quit drinking. i was always the one in the group who was just a little bit too much--a little bit too craven--a little bit too uncool. I can't even hang around those guys anymore. With some guests who like wine I can stay and enjoy the evening, because the emphasis is on the fellowship, not on the alcohol. But with the microbrew gang I can't stay, because the whole conversation is about glorifying the alcohol.