Today I watched Spain lose to the Swiss.  Keep in mind that Spain is widely considered the favorite to win the World Cup.  Many of the learned soccer experts, FIFA, and fans assume that certain teams will win or be great in the World Cup.  Of course, I’m not saying it’s unfair to expect teams like Brazil or Germany to almost always do well, but it is interesting to see who actually excels and who doesn’t.

I almost always expect good performances by certain breweries.  Dogfish Head, The Lost Abbey, and a few others are almost always going to make a beer I enjoy.  Sometimes the beer is profound, other times it’s pretty good,  occasionally I’ll get a dud, which is a real rarity.  Other breweries are like the U.S. soccer team; they are major hit and miss ventures.  The beer may be good or the beer may be bad, but they don’t seem ever to be great.  Still other breweries are like North Korea.  They get no respect and likely will not be good in the foreseeable future.  But some beers are like the Swiss.  You don’t expect a lot, but they surprise you.

Just like the supposed beer experts, the beer community, and particular brewery fans, people can be totally wrong in their assessment of a brewery.  One particular topic that interests me is the look of a bottle.  I bet many of us have been guilty (or I should at least say we could be accused) of buying a beer based on looks.  But as teams like the Swiss and a myriad of beers prove, you can’t always judge a book by its cover.  I needed to remind myself of the fact that sometimes you can’t trust the experts or the outside of the bottle.  Like mom said, it’s what’s inside that counts.  What beers have surprised you?