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[Deepfreeze32]

I've got a PhD in it, though I'm working on my undergraduate in repressing it in public.

[ArchAngel]

What as the IPA you tried?

[Deepfreeze32]

A Samuel Adams Whitewater IPA.

Also tried the Boston Lager, and maybe I just got a bad batch, but it was awful. Nearly as harsh as the IPA. XD

[ArchAngel]

Interesting. I believe I tried that IPA and found it rather tepid.
Their Boston Lager itself is a pretty decent "everywhere" beer. Not hoppy in the least, but I thought would be a decent all around pleaser?

Do you just not care for beer so much? Or do you really like sticking around belgian wheats?

[Deepfreeze32]

I don't know. It was the only beer I've tried. Drew told me that Samuel Adams is very hit-or-miss though, so I'm not sure I want to judge all beers on that alone.

Any good early beer recommendations?

[ArchAngel]

Ahhh, so you've just started. That makes sense. An IPA is a kick in the face to a new beer drinker, I wouldn't suggest someone just starting. Beer is pretty different from most all other drinks people have. People are used to sweet beverages, but Beer exists on Malty/Bitter/Smoky lines mostly. (a quick note on my terminology, beer, besides the water and yeast, is mostly composed of the malts(various types of grains) and the hops. The hops provided bitterness and acid content, and the malts give alcohol content (when the yeast feeds on it) and along with an even bready roundness. The more malt content can make a beer taste more bready and fuller, and even override some of the hop character)

If you want to start trying Beers, Belgian whites are the most accessible. Because it's more malty, and less hoppy, a lot of people can enjoy it right off the bat. While I'm not sure, since it's off a Wheat malt, it might be more familiar. It also makes it a kind of "girl beer," but don't sweat that (I'll only tease someone about that). You might like Blue Moon or Shock Top. My wife's favorite is Widmer Brother's Hefewiezen and I think that's a pretty solid Hefe. I guess Gordon Biersch does a good Hef, and Pyramid does too. Anyhow, Wheat Beers or Hefeweizen are pretty accessible.

Beyond what I can say, I can't recommend more. I just don't like those beers very much anymore. I don't dislike them, but I certainly won't go out of my way to get them.

After you try some hefs, if you might want to branch out a little bit. If you like the smokey sort of taste, try a Porter, Stout, or Black Lager (like Guiness). Some people really like these, but I found the smokey flavor to be off putting. The other way to try is try a Pale Ale. Something like Speak Easy's Prohibition. These pale's aren't so bitter as an IPA, but if you find yourself liking these, you might find yourself liking IPA's soon.

Your taste in beer will probably evolve as you try more. Flavors that once stood out as odd and off you begin to understand and embrace. Now, maybe you won't, but I certainly glad I did. My first beer, Becks, I didn't like at all out of it's bitterness. Now, it's not bitter enough. Not because I forced myself to like it, it just progressed that way for me. Now, I'm starting to see the intricacies in a good Imperial IPA and I enjoy it very much. It's more like a fine wine than that bud light swill; an experience rather than a vessel to get drunk.

[Deepfreeze32]

I will definitely take that under advisement, thank you! Before this becomes another "Ask ArchAngel" thread, I'll direct further questions to your topic. I have one more in particular.

[ArchAngel]

This is true, I should be asking you questions.


So, do you have an idea what sort of field on development you'd possibly like to pursue as a career?

[Deepfreeze32]

I'm really not sure. At my job, I'm currently alternating between Web Development (It's alright, but not something I see myself really doing) and Server Application development (Much more my thing). I'd like to do more hands-on things, like network programming, embedded development, or even OS development. But those are kind of hard fields to get into.

So I'm looking into possibly going to Grad School some time after I've had a job for a while. I've really got my eye on Texas A&M, where Bjarne Stroustrup (The creator of C++) is an endowed chair.

Ideally, I'd like to be a college professor for the last half of my life, but we'll see where life leads me.

[ArchAngel]

Server Application development? That's a term I hear around a lot. Are you referring to development on server side code or actually developing server applications, like Tomcat, etc?

[Deepfreeze32]

For what I meant, it's development of code that runs on servers. Like this example:

Since I work for a university, I often have to deal with various LMS (Learning Management System) implementations. Lately, our university has been testing a new one (Which I am under some sort of NDA not to name, so...sorry. ), so we need to have some administrative tools for it.

What I've been doing is writing management tools on the server side. I have a job which creates courses as needed, a job which manages enrollment, and a developer-only job which will reset the entire environment. All of this was written in Java, implemented using scant documentation and code examples from the LMS vendor, and it's been in development for well over 5 months now. It would have been done if things didn't keep getting upgraded on the vendor's end...lol.

[Chozon1]

What if someone pooped on your computer?

[Deepfreeze32]

I would find who did it...and destroy them.

[Chozon1]

Did you have The Hobbit Pre-ordered?

[Deepfreeze32]

No, I didn't like it that much.