Aaron Brooks, columnist: Some people may criticize Blue Moon for being ‘fruity,’ but they are Neanderthals.

Where would ice tea be without the lemon, and martinis without the olive? It is simple evolution that has paired those drinks with the respective garnishes, and it is Blue Moon that started the beer evolution with the orange.

Since Blue Moon’s birth in 1995, other brewers have tried to mimic Blue Moon’s innovations with the lime, honey and wheat, but all have fallen short. It is not only the pairing of al la carte ingredients, but the base brew that makes Blue Moon astronomical.

As a medium-bodied unfiltered white beer, Blue Moon is filled with flavor and remarkably smooth. Blue Moon, however, is not for the childish. If you want to ‘look cool’ by downing a 12-pack, that cannot be accomplished when drinking a Moon. Moons are more than just water and alcohol, so you will be filled after three or four. After three or four Moon’s, however, the 5.4 percent alcohol content will have you in the perfect state of relaxation.

It takes evolution to demand more out of beer. The most simple will be fooled by advertisements that promise nothing more than what Andy Warhol saw in a can of tomato soup. Others will settle for good boring beer. And the evolved will be looking down from the moon.

Phil Case, columnist: I must admit I am an unabashed beer enthusiast. My girlfriend and I plan our vacations around brewery tours, our dinners around craft beers and our Sunday mornings around the inevitable headaches that ensue. Of all the microbrews that have graced my palate, nothing compares to the hoppy taste of a good IPA.

What is an IPA, you ask? Although the initials stand for India Pale Ale, American IPA’s have evolved into its own distinctive class of beer. Beeradvocate.com defines American IPA’s as having more flavor than the typical English IPA, among other things.

My heart practically skips every time I see an IPA I have yet to try. And when I cannot find a new one, I almost invariably return to the glorious 90 Minute IPA from Dogfish Head Brewery.

Based out of Delaware, Dogfish Head has drawn an exemplary blueprint on how to be a successful American microbrewery that constantly takes bold risks. With their Imperial (which really just means IPA on steroids) 90 Minute IPA, Dogfish Head took such a risk and introduced the beer world to a new brewing technique called “continual hopping.”

The result was an extreme, but not overpowering, hoppy taste balanced out by lighter notes of citrus and raisins. Not only is the beer delicious, but it has an impressive nine percent ABV.

I know some may be turned off by the fact that it can run upwards of $11 for a four-pack. However, consider this: at 4.2 percent ABV, you would have to drink roughly nine cans of Keystone Light to get the same effect of four bottles of 90 Minute IPA. I’m pretty sure 108 ounces of anything would get you at least a little buzzed.

I know it’s cliché, but you really do get what you pay for. So next time you pull into your local liquor store, ask yourself this: would you rather pay for 360 minutes of beer-fueled bliss or 3,600 ounces of beer-flavored…urine?

Jessica Jenks, columnist: Bud Light is second to none.

According to its website, it is the best-selling beer in the United States and the No. 1 beer in the world. When President Obama held the “beer summit” in July 2009, he, of course, drank a Bud Light.

“I don’t always drink beer, but when I do, I choose Bud Light,” said Ashley LeVoy, 27, senior accountancy major.

Budweiser may be the King of Beers, but Bud Light is the president of beers, and this is America. We do not have kings. We have presidents. I am aware that a few years ago Miller wished it was the president of beers; but presidents are elected, and America voted for Bud.

Actually, since Bud Lite is the No. 1 beer in the world, a new title would have to be made up for just how powerful and popular it is. Perhaps Captain Beer or Overbeer of the World would be more appropriate titles.

There are few things I love more than having a delightful time, and Bud Light is “the sure sign of a good time.” Everyone likes fun and general merriment. It is just logic really. If you want a good time, drink something that is sure to provide you with one: Bud Light. Plus it has the “drinkability” factor. “It’s just so good once it hits your lips.”

Who loves Bud Light? Jessica loves Bud Light. I do. I do. I do-oo. If you do not like Bud Light, your taste buds are wrong.

Logan Short, columnist: The Great American Lager, The King of Beers. Whatever you call it, it’s Budweiser.

There’s no need to mention the fact that it’s the beer with the infamous Clydesdales, the beer with the funniest Super Bowl commercials, the beer who provides free tours of it’s biggest brewery while allowing you to drink some at the same time, the beer that supplies nearly half the beer consumed in America, present in 80 countries, sells a barrel (360 bottles) a second globally and coined the phrase, “Wassssup!”

No need to mention any of that, because it’s only a few of the endless good things you can attribute to Budweiser.

Let’s talk about its drinkability. When you’re cooking burgers or dogs before a baseball or football game, what else goes best besides the best, meaning Budweiser, of course?

It’s not that dark beer with a fruity touch to make you run to the pooper after you’re four deep, or give you a hangover that’s the equivalent of drinking three Steel Reserve 211s.

Sure, when I go to eat at a fancy restaurant with my girlfriend, I want that drink with a little more kick, because I’m only going to have one since I’m taking out my girlfriend, or has a little bit of a fruity flavor to it because, again, I’m with my girlfriend.

But when I want a man’s beer, one that reminds me of America the great, I pick Budweiser.

David Thomas, perspective editor: I never realized how much I would miss Leinenkugel until I went to Washington, D.C.

It never occurred to me that I could not enjoy the deliciousness that is Leinenkugel’s Honey Weiss until I traveled outside the Midwest. I would sit down in a bar, and as the waitress approached, a confident smile would break across my face as I would say the words, “Leinenkugel, please.”

My sense of comfort and security would shatter once I realized that I could not satisfy my thirst. I had to fall back on something else.

I eventually found Summer Shandy, but once you’ve tasted Honey Weiss, the hunger for it never goes away. Honey Weiss makes everything taste better, from juicy cheeseburgers to buffalo-style wings. History may prove me wrong, but I believe Leinenkugel was served during The Last Supper, and that it was the choice of drink for Michelangelo, Isaac Newton and Audie Murphy.

When I arrived back home in the Chicagoland area, the first alcoholic drink to storm the castle that was my taste buds was Leinenkugel. It tasted like home, and there’s no better feeling than that.