"Dark" temptation

Before going to the US,I had little idea about dark beer.I had heard about a few varieties which are manufactured by Indian beer companies like Haywards but were not very popular .My initial impression of American beer was based on companies such as Bud light,Miller lite and Coors light none of which I found to be palatable .So when one of my beer buddies from NIT asked about US beers I gave him a very poor feedback.The first time I had a dark beer with my friend Cedric,I didn't have a good impression either.It was Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout a variety I would relish today but then,didn't really like it .I was not given a good impression of Guinness by Cedric,who wasn't a big Guinness fan.Today Guinness is amongst my favorite beers.Over a period of time,I have developed a taste for good dark beers and individual American breweries which are big local names but need not be the biggest international players make really amazing beer.Funny thing,most of the people in the world base their impression of American beer on Coors ,Miller and Bud,which an American guy once described as "Dude,you kidding me!!That stuff's just a piss in a can". Oh yeah I agree with him.The Pennsylvania brewed Yuengling Porter is a great beer,but my favorite currently is Dead Guy Ale of Rogue Breweries,Oregon Not all dark beers are good,Shiner bock based in Shiner ,Texas isn't the best of the lot I had.But I often ask myself,what is it in dark beer that makes me want it all the more? The taste of course.Besides,I abide by the beer manifesto which is as follows:

BEER MANIFESTO
I. We hold that beer is a superior beverage.

II. We hold that beer is worthy of passion.

III. We hold that beer enlivens spirits.

IV. We hold that beer is not an abstraction but a concrete reality which occured in the past, occurs in this living present and will occur in the future.

V. Beer is made from basic ingredients of water, malt, hops and yeast.

VI. Beer occurs as a result of a naturally occuring process which can be adapted and reproduced by anyone.

VII. Beer flavors occur as a result of radical discontinuity between the old existence of its ingredients and their new existence as beer.

VIII. Beer thus obtains widely varying degrees of complexity based on its ingredients and the brewing process.

IX. Some beer is produced and exchanged as a consumer good.

X. Some beer is produced but consumed in the home.

XI. Consumer tastes are widely varied.

XII. Those that produce beer for sale too often hold their profits in greater regard than their product.

XIII. Large scale brewers have ruined beer.

All true beer lovers will agree with me on the above!!