[Doug]

I've just got to have a cup of coffee first thing in the morning. I don't usually drink it after noon. I used to bum out at all the negative press about caffeine, but so often a negative story would be closely followed by a news item that caffeine was neutral or even good for you in certain ways, so I stopped worrying about it. It seems like a fairly benign drug, as they go.

I drink it black and without sugar. I appreciate good coffee, but I just buy whatever's cheap.

My true love is beer. Real beer. Dark, full-bodied, and full of flavor. Not the bubble-soda that Coors and Budweiser (and most other American mass producers) try to pass off as beer. Have you ever poured a Budweiser in a glass? It has almost no color whatsoever, which closely matches its flavor.

I used to buy cheap crap beer that made Budweiser sound good, but I decided that life is too short to drink that stuff. My favorite is Samuel Adams Boston Lager, but it's pretty expensive, so I usually settle for Molson Golden (Canadian). Other favorites are Beck's (German), St. Pauli Girl (German, I think), and Bass Ale (English). I love going to a local brewhouse that makes its own beer on the premises and trying each kind on the menu.

I would give up coffee if I had to to keep my beer.