The last beer on Earth

Given all the beer styles available, if you could only choose one, which beer would you choose?  Which beer style is more important to you above all other beers?

What criteria would you use to choose your beer?  You might choose the beer that has the most flavor.  If you drink beer with dinner, the beer that goes best with food might be the deciding factor. Or would you choose some other criteria?

One suggestion given to me was to pick beer that most everyone drinks.  The idea behind this suggestion is to appeal to everyone’s tastes.  That beer of course would be the king of beer – Budweiser.  Now that I’ve terrified you, you can truly appreciate the seriousness of the decision.

Realistically this could never happen.  It was a hypothetical question that arose over a few pints.  Or could it happen?  If you were traveling on a space ship with limited space to grow food, extra room for beer ingredients might be too much of a premium.  You may only get to pick enough ingredients for one beer.  Or you might envision a society in the future where the government has chosen one beer for the public.  Maybe global warming (thanks Al Gore) will create an environment where only a few ingredients can grow.  Hopefully it is a beer that you like.  If you think hard enough, you might be able to concoct a scenario where this devastating choice was plausible.

For me, I think I would choose a Märzen style beer.  This beer just happens to be my favorite beer today.  Last year I might have answered Tripel.  My decision might change tomorrow.  I think the beer also combines a good balance between flavor and drink-ability with food.  Of course if this was my only choice for the rest of my life, the beer might lose its appeal.  Is there one beer you could drink everyday for the rest of your life?

Imagine only one yeast strain, limited grain and hops (there is already only one type of water).  That is all that is left.  What beer would you make?  It is a question to ask yourself the next time you raise the pint of your choice!