I suppose I should attempt to drag this thread vaguely sideways into wine and spirits. I first discovered and got into beers in college, but in the past few years I've been learning more about wine and cocktails.

The trick with wine, I think, is getting to the point that you have a sense of what different varieties taste like. Just like I can say that I prefer certain kinds of Belgian or German beers, I can now say that I like several of the subtle French and Italian wines over many of the California ones that try to hit you over the head with an oak barrel. (Yet, my favorite wine, bar none, is made in California in an Italian style.)

More recently, I've been trying out various cocktails. My realization there is that most bars are garbage, but these new "craft cocktail" / "mixology" bars can do some amazing things with simple ingredients. I'm enamored with how great something as simple as a sazerac can be.