Barley Pop

I remember smelling my father's cold Coors beer when I was a kid and thinking that it was probably a very refreshing drink for a hot day. I remember thinking that it would be almost as good as the can of Coca Cola that was waiting for me at the bottom of the ice chest. Time does interesting things to our perspectives, and these days I feel about the same way as I did back then. But I can also recall the first time I tasted somebody else's beer: My cousin Dex was sitting on the hillside behind our mountain cabin, sipping on a bottle of Miller High Life. When I approached, he leaned forward to show me the writing on the label, "King of Beers." At the time I hadn't fully connected with the notion that my cousin's last name was also Miller (no relation), but I suspect this was the source of his pride. He asked me if I wanted a sip. How could I turn this offer down? My cool cousin Dex was sharing his beer, the King of Beers, with me and I was only twelve.
My first thought was: "Wow, it's just like Seven-Up," but then suddenly it wasn't. It didn't have the refreshing taste of "The Uncola," the flavor was more reminiscent of a sock. I must have made quite a face, judging from the chuckle I got from Dex.
"How about another?" he asked, still grinning.
I already had an older brother to get me to try things that I probably wouldn't like, so I thanked him as politely as I could amid my gagging sounds, and trotted off down the hill to get a can of anything that didn't taste like a sock.
Years later, when I started drinking beer professionally, my brew of choice was Miller High Life. I know that I spent many afternoons and evenings peering through that amber liquid at the back of the label: "Miller Stands Clear." I learned that if you drank it fast enough, the refreshing part lasted a little longer, and if you drank enough of it, the sock thing became less of an issue.
These days the only beer I see comes from roots, and I'm happy not to have to reconcile my taste buds with my age. Come to think of it, there are probably a few more lessons I learned when I was twelve that I could benefit from right now. I hope I live long enough to remember them too.