Flavored Beers - Do I need to turn in my Man Card?

With the explosion of craft breweries across America, many of them continue to push the envelope on finding the next great taste.  I wouldn’t consider myself a craft beer expert but my tongue does have taste buds, which highly qualifies me to make an opinion on what is tasty and what is fermented barley fart water.  To be honest, I've had years of practice perfecting my “girly/gay” and/or other politically incorrect jokes to my buddy who insists on drinking nothing but Fuzzy Pear Pomegranate Dragon-fruit Michelob lights on the golf course. Nothing quite goes with a cigar or cheek of Redman like a bottle of that. So back to the topic of man card. I was completely judging him and I personally removed his man card for making such an offensive offering to me. His fridge selection looked more like Yankee candle flavors than beer. It baffled me but I did some self-reflection.  Recently, I have begun to question myself, and if I too, am in danger of losing my man card. Why, you may ask? Well, I have found, and come to enjoy, some great flavored craft beers and find myself ordering them not only as an experiment in taste, but I think subconsciously, actually enjoying them more than a traditional IPA.  This past week I hit up my local craft brewery and dabbled into some flavored beers that were really, really good. The first one was a cucumber basil kolsch, which was very crisp and light, and would come with even higher reviews if it were a hot summer day.  It was the freshness of cucumber water, the palette cleansing of the basil, and still packs a 5.7%, so it gets ya drunk, which makes it successful.  The next one is one of my favorite IPA's I have ever had and I've had several hundred, I’m sure.  It is a Mango Habanero IPA and it’s got a subtle, but perfect balance of flavor. The mild mango brings the citrus type of taste that is popular with many IPA's but it's also different as its hint of sweetness goes well with the hops. The habanero is the thing that scares most people but the flavor is pretty much non-existent until you set the glass down after a swig and just feel a tiny burning tingle on the lips. That leaves me wanting more, like eating hot wings, or chips and salsa. These added hints of flavor just spice up my thought process of what to expect from my beer. So yes, I will never turn down a traditional IPA, but at times it leaves me wanting just a bit more. Like anything else, beer is moving more and more towards the what have you done for me lately craze; which we see in many products.  We aren’t talking about clear Pepsi, though this flavored beer trend is an idea here to stay and one I can get behind. I don’t believe I will ever stop giving my friend shit on his flavored Michelob’s since I feel they are specifically designed for his wife, but even I still feel the need to talk softly, or in the corner, when ordering cucumber sour beers, for fear of being judged.  In all, some of these beers are really good, and you are missing out if you aren't giving them a try. Even if it does mean trading in my man card for the next Habanero Mango IPA, it’s worth it! Trust me. And if you question my man card, I’ll take you out back and shotgun 6 Budweiser’s faster than you, to earn it back.  My advice: Don’t drink Bud light limes but use your flavor explorations at your craft breweries and see what goodness they are cooking up. You don’t need to wear women’s underwear to do so.