Many people think of beer as a simple utilitarian beverage intended as a thirst quencher or accompaniment to social occasions.

Beer definitely fills that role admirably and remains the most popular alcoholic beverage in the United States because of its no-frills lineage. But beer is more than the lowbrow image it has inherited from decades of profit-driven advertising.

Beyond the light beers and macro lagers that dominate the market lay a range of beers that rival any beverage produced in the world today.

When someone tells me they don't like beer I always say, "Yes you do. Everyone likes beer, they just don't know it," and follow the statement by asking what beers the person has tried.

Invariably the answer is Bud, Miller, Coors or the occasional Bass or Guinness. Those beers represent but three of the dozens of styles produced throughout the world. Naturally, if you limit yourself to a microscopic sampling of what is available, chances are good you won't find something you like.

One of the reasons I am confident enough to make a blanket statement that everyone likes beer is because virtually every flavor that exists in food also exists in beer. You have to look harder to find the rarer styles, but they are available and there is one out there that will appeal to you.

There are sour, banana, chocolate, bread, nut, smoke, candy sugar, salt, coffee, berry, honey, wood, malt, bitter, spice, apple, pineapple, vanilla, coconut, pear, peach, grape, biscuit and grain accented beers as well as many other flavors available. Somewhere in that flavor wheel is a beer that will appeal to you.

The other reason I am certain that people who claim not to like beer really do is because I used to be one of them. My first foray into beer was probably the same as most Americans, an inexpensive lager sipped from a bottle or can. I didn't get it. What was supposed to be the big deal about this watery, slightly bitter, overly carbonated corn-tasting juice?

I felt that way for a long time until I happened onto a bottle of Young's Double Chocolate Stout in my early 20s. That beer along with Samichlaus, Guinness, Delirium Tremens, Spaten Optimator and the now rare Michelob Dark opened my taste buds to a world of flavor I never knew existed.

I didn't become a beer lover the day I tried the first beer I liked. I already was a beer lover; I just hadn't found the right beer yet. There is nothing I enjoy more than giving someone who claims not to like beer a beer they will love. Seeing the light go on and a satisfied smile creep across a previously doubtful face is always rewarding.

If you still doubt there is a beer out there you will love, I challenge you to put it to the test. Ask yourself what flavors you like and then find beers with those flavors.

If you like chocolate, look into something like Rogue's Chocolate Stout . If you love the tart sourness of balsamic vinegar seek out a Flemish sour like Panil Barrique or Cantillon Kriek. Enjoy the smoky flavor of BBQ? Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Mrzen is a wonderfully smoky German beer that tastes like a liquid Fourth of July.

Staff at stores that carry specialty beer such as World of Beer in Clearwater or Total Wine and More in Tampa can point you in the right direction. There is also a wealth of information on beer styles and flavor profiles available online at sites such as www.ratebeer.com, www.beeradvocate.com and www.beerpal.com.

Remember, you already are a beer lover - you just need to find your beer.

- Joseph J.M. Redner is a Tampa resident and world beer traveler.