I like all beer styles, but there are some for which I have a particular fondness—the ones that evoke fun and flavorful memories from my past travels, my college days, or good times with friends.
For me, one of those favorites is a good old-fashioned malt liquor.
When I was a kid, it was the favored type of beer of Mr. Patterson, my friend’s dad. Mr. Patterson was a kind man, tall and gentle in his pale U.S. Air Force jumpsuit. I had no idea what he did in the military—I was only 10—but he did teach his son and me how to fish. Many weekends we would ramble up to the local lake and fish for rainbow trout. Mr. Patterson always brought his little cooler packed full of sandwiches, soda pop … and one tall, shiny can with a charging blue bull on the label.