Beer

Being a beer enthusiast, I was unprepared for the adjustment that came from moving from the beer-rich, micro-brew-loving, West Coast to American Samoa. I didn't realize how spoiled I was living in the Bay Area, Sacramento and Portland the last several years. The variety of unique and different brews was something I took for granted.

It wasn't until I moved to this tiny island in the Pacific that I realized that a variety or beer in a number of unique styles isn't something you can take for granted. In American Samoa, you can regularly find Samoa's own Vailima (both regular and malt liquor grade Special Export), Stienlager, Miller Genuine Draft, Coors Light and Heineken. That's it. Oh, and it's expensive. Along the lines of $8-12 for a six pack or $30 for a case. So unless you have a good friend who has a connection at the troop commissary, where they get exotic brands like Guinness, Budweiser, Mickeys and St. Pauli Girl, you're stuck buying some light lager. This extreme lack of variety does strange things to those of us who are used to overwhelming options. When Sara and I were back in California in October, we had a mini melt-down in Whole Foods. In 30 minutes of shopping we filled our cart to the bring with cheese, wine and beer that is not available within a few thousand miles of American Samoa. To our dismay we had to put most back, as we a were only home for a few short days and on a budget.

The situation in America Samoa is a far cry from the fully stocked beer isle that I would hit up on dog walks at Market of Choice in Portland, sigh. So it's big news when you find anything different to drink. Sara and I were blown away to see the first new beer on-island in the last 10 months; Milwaukee's Best, otherwise know as "the Beast," not for its drinkability, from my college days.

This is still news for us captive beer consuming public of American Samoa. When I posted this photo to Facebook, I had friends requesting to know where it was selling, since we've all drank our fill of the Steinlager, Coors and Vailima several times over during our months on island. I expect the two pallets of cases of Milwaukee's Best will sell out within a few weeks and we may never see the likes of it again.

This lack of variety in beer has driven me to start home-brewing here. The conditions are far from ideal for brewing beer, but desperate measures call for solutions. We've done a few batches, and it's a beacon of hope when you can have something dark, malty, hoppy or just plain different from the mass produced options.