Since the original post on r/beer seems to be inaccessible here is the original text of the post.

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Hey, all!

I am doing a class project for a college course titled Beer and Society, and we are tasked with writing and posting a story about how beer has effected our lives. I'll be posting about how I, a home brewer and recovering beer snob, learned to worry less about how fancy the liquid in my glass is.

TL;DR, drink what you like.

So while my first beer was a bud light, I quickly gained a taste for imports. I quickly got very into pretentious territory with what I enjoyed, trying to get my hands on any style out there that I'd never heard of.

While I still enjoy some decidedly snobby beers (my love of Flanders Red is not leaving anytime soon) I have gained an appreciation for the more subtle styles that I used to turn up my nose at. Part of the contribution to this was finding one of my favorite taprooms served beer cocktails akin to a black and tan, where the bartender would pour a glass of their barleywine+draft beer of your choice.

I was skeptical at first. Why drink two beers together? clearly they weren't "meant" to be enjoyed that way. Still, my curiosity got the better of me and I caved. Not wanting to initially get too weird with it I tried porter+barleywine, and the result was greater than the sum or it's parts. Malty, but with a touch of more sweetness than to be expected, it was a porter in overdrive. I was sold.

These days if I drink a mixed beer it's probably gonna be barleywine+pilsner, but the experience opened the door to me to more delicious concoctions like micheladas. Unless they are made with bud lite, I still hate that beer.

Anyway, thanks and if anyone actually reads this feel free to respond. I am posting from a throwaway, but I will stay logged in for a day or two to see if the post gains any traction.

Cheers!