Favorite Non-Everyday Beers

It's Friday!! That means the week is over and the weekend is quickly approaching.  That means that beers are called for! And on a sunny day here in Philly (When isn't it sunny here??) I have a craving for a good beer.  Now, I'm talking about a GOOD beer.  Not a go-to beer like Miller Lite, Coors Light, Bud Heavy, and Bud Light, but a beer that has something else to it. 

The Top 5 Favorite Non-Everyday Beers

#5 - Samuel Adams: Winter Lager - Starting off this list is great brew made by a great brewing company.   Winter Lager is my second favorite beer that Samuel Adams brews. (See later in the list) The hint of cinnamon is a great touch to this beer.  This is one of those beers that you can drink on a cold, winter night and it will keep you warm.  The thing I love about Sam Adams brews are that they aren't too heavy.  Even a "Winter" beer that should be heavy, isn't.  Give me a cold night in January, a Flyers game and a few Sam Adams Winter Lagers, and it's a good night.

#4 - Shiner Bock - I have to admit, I did not discover this beer within my group of friends.  My buddy, Sean Harkins, was the one that found this.  While he was in Kentucky, "Harks" as we call him, fell in love with this brew.  This beer, originated in Texas, has a similar feel to Yuengling Lager.  I'm not going to lie though.  I've only had Shiner a handful of times, but trust me, it's delicious.  If you ever have a shot to have a tall pint of Shiner, do it. You won't regret it.

#3 - Honey Moon - A summer brother of the ever popular Blue Moon, Honey Moon is, in my opinion, a better beer.  Blue Moon, although one of my favorites, can get tiresome after a while.  Honey Moon is a lighter and more refreshing beer.  With a splash of honey and orange peel, it gives off a unique taste that I personally have only tasted from this beer.  It has a great taste to lightness ratio.  I've been able to drink almost an entire case of this in one day, and I know other people who have done the same.  Try it out this summer, as it will be in stock very soon.

#2 - Corona - That's right, I said Corona.  A lot of you are probably saying, "Corona is an every day beer!"  I understand your outrage, but I don't drink Corona on a regular basis.  That is, unless it's summer.  And that is why it's special.  Corona is the ultimate summer beer.  Cracking one (or twelve) of those bad boys open on the beaches of North Wildwood is one of my favorite memories of the past 5-6 years.  Lime or no lime? That can be left for debate for another day.  With Opening Day just a week away, I hope the beer distributors are stocking up, because soon enough, the wonderful cases or Corona will be flying off the shelves.

#1 - Samuel Adams: Octoberfest - Yes! My absolute favorite beer for my favorite time of the year.  There is nothing like sitting in front of a bonfire on a clear, fall night with a bunch of good friends, in a hoodie and sweatpants, with a cold Octoberfest Sam Adams Octoberfest in my hand.  The best of the fall line of beers, in my opinion, Sam Adams rendition sits right between the lightness of a summer beer and the heaviest of the winter beers.  With a touch of caramel, this beer is by far and away, my favorite beer.  I swear by it, and I know that me and my boys have had a few "Octoberfest nights" that have fallen nothing short of a great time.

So, there ya go.  Let me know your Top 5.  I'll try any kind of beer, so I'm interested in seeing some stuff I've never seen before.  Have a good weekend world, I'll be kicking back, sipping beers.

Reasons Why I Did This

Greetings Blogging World!!
Let me kick things off here by introducing myself just a little bit.  I am Johnny Smyrl Jr., a 24 year old guy from the great city of Philadelphia, PA.  Born and raised in Philly, I went to Archbishop Ryan High School in Northeast Philly.  I continued my education at La Salle University, also in Philly, studying Communicatiion.  Majoring in Film and Mass Communication, I fell in love with Film, TV and Radio.  Unfortunately, the job market isn't that great in those fields, so I am working in medical billing (yawn). 

I am a HUGE sports fan.  Anything Flyers, Phillies, Eagles and Sixers I dig but I also love all sports and the national scene is pretty great right now. 

The majority of this blog is going to be based off of my Top 5's in the world.  In case you were wondering, NO, this blog isn't going to be just sports.  I'll hit a wide varitety of topics on here like sports, music, film, TV, bottled water, ice cream, frozen dinners, beer, liquor, and just about anything else that slaps my mind throughout the day. 

So without further delay...

The Top 5 Reasons Why I Did This:

#5 - New connections. 
     I'm hoping that this blog brings me closer to people who love to do the same things I love to do.  A very popular phrase that I heard throughout college was, "It's not what you know, it's who you know."  True statement.  The reason that I've been able to travel to a bunch of cities across the U.S. is because I know a great professor at La Salle by the name of Br. Gerry Molyneaux.  He is the one who got me the interview with the Eagles, and BOOM!  I've been almost everywhere the Eagles have been in the last four seasons.

#4 - This gives me another was to be creative. 
     One of my favorite classes at La Salle was Scriptwriting with my favorite professor, Mr. Bill Wine.  This was the class that made me fall in love with creative writing.  I took a short synopsis and eventually made it into a full-length screenplay.  I am currently working on my second script, which will hopefully be complete sometime this summer.  But in the meantime, this is going to be another great outlet for me to experiment with. 

#3 - Seeing other lists made me want to do my own. 
     I got the inspiration to do this from some pretty cool sites that I will be plugging throughout this process.  There are tons of lists, opinion articles, and brackets (mostly in March) that really got my creative juices flowing.  When I read some of these, I said to myself, "Damn! I can do this shit!"  So, now I am.

#2 - Medical Billing is boring. 
     So ungodly boring.  No offense to the people who do it, it just bothers me because I have no creative outlet. (See reason 4)  The company that I work for is phenomenal.  They've let me keep my part-time gig with the Philadelphia Eagles, they're great with hours and everything else.  It is nothing against the company or anyone involved in it.  It just has no creative aspects at all to it.  I have to scratch and claw to find a way to do something more that plug numbers and get yelled at by widows and widowers.

#1 - I get to write about things I love.
     What kind of journalist gets to write about a wide variety of topics, let alone, gets to do it whenever he or she wants? A blogger.  I may never get into "real journalism," so this is my way of doing it.  As previously stated, I'm going to write about my favorite things in the world.  This doesn't limit me to what some editor wants in a column on Monday.  Food, booze, hockey, women...nothing is off the table. 

Well, that's it.  I have completed my first blog.  Feel free to comment and throw your Top 5's at me.  Maybe you'll change my mind on a few things and I'll have to rethink some stuff.  Either way, I hope you enjoy.  Until next time, I'll be kicking back, sipping beers!