Thanks for the Pale Ale, Poppa Garner

It just so happens that one of my friends turned 21 today (or yesterday if you want to get technical.) Unfortunately, he did not enjoy the same shit-faced night that I experienced on my birthday.
In fact, there was very little fan-fare involved. No free-shots from the bartender, no hitting on obviously ugly women, or drunk dialing (the boy even forgot his ID). Just his parents, him, and myself eating at the very fancy and expensive Annie Gunn's.
On the bright side, he did get a Wii for his birthday... and there's still a month and a half left of summer to recreate the liquid-havok my brother put into my stomach on my 21st.
Anyways, after asking what was on tap, I ordered a Pale Ale from a St. Louis micro-brewery, Schlafly Beer. After taking a few tastes, I realize....

"The words to describe this....aren't in my vocabulary"

I mean, it tasted good, but how the hell am I going to describe this beer taste? Malty? Barley-y? This would be a totally different story with bad beer, I could say "this tastes like watered-down piss" or "this smells like the basement of a frat house." But no sir....this was a good beer. So, to do this Pale Ale any sort of justice, I'll just give you the play by play:

1. Beer and food are ordered ( I had the pork tenderloin by the way, and it went well with the pale ale, the roasted flavor of the beer mixed well with a very filling tenderloin.)
2. Waiter knocks over empty wine glass. Mr. Garner tries to catch it, but fails.
3. Mr. Garner waits for waiter to leave and says he needs to check if there's glass shards in his sandals (He doesn't actually check until an hour later.)
4. Said waiter comes back and cleans up glass. Mr. Garner makes a crack about how he was never good at catching things. Waiter laughs and expects depreciated tip.
5. Drinks are served. Beer was served cold in a pint-glass with little head ( as I understand, this is the norm for pale ales). Beer was an amber color.
6. First taste went well with the conversation. Smooth, with a lightly "roasted" flavor, and a small hoppy bite at the end. Very little carbonation lent to the smooth texture. It finished with a light-bitter after taste.
   
7. Beer in hand, I realize from the conversation between Drew and parents that Poppa Garner has a detailed dossier on every single one of Drew's friends (if only in his head), and that I may only be present because I might be the only one capable of paying him back for these expensive meals (as a future doctor) ... I drink my beer with less enthusiasm.
8. Beer and food go well together! Success!
9. After dinner, Beer has warmed up and has a longer,more bitter after-taste than before, but that doesn't ruin the smooth texture of the beer.
   

Conclusion: Pretty much, the Pale Ale was "beer" enough to have the body and bite to keep me interested in drinking it, while not being a shock to my taste buds. Seems best enjoyed with a light conversation, or when generally just lounging around.

Dubbed: A Lounging Ale

Oh, and just in case you were wondering, the Pale Ale did, in fact, smell much better than a frat-house basement. The aroma smelt faintly of a brewery tour....a free Anheuser-Busch brewery tour that I don't want to be taken over by InBev. Go America.