How did beer get so popular? It isn't even very good.

[momeNt]

yeah, beers really hard to find.

I meant as a beverage. I consider popular to be in the top 5 of beverages consumed worldwide.

I guess if you look at afternoon / night consumption it probably is in the top 5 because coffee and tea probably aren't consumed that much at night.

 

[dougp]

Hops are what add the bitterness to beer. Regardless of the percentage added. All beer has some amount of hops. Without hops it isn't beer. It's something else. The hops as you say cut across the sweetness of the malt in beer so it doesn't end up some sticky sweet syrup drink like mead. Which is exactly what mead is. Fermented malts and no hops. It's sweet. Very sweet. Although the sugar can be removed, then you are left with something even more different than that.

As you said, some hops are stronger on taste that others. But regardless of the strength, they all add some bitterness taste to the beer. Some people key up on that, especially those that first start drinking beer. I did. It was originally very hard for me to drink any kind of beer. It all tasted like bitter swill to me. I tried a bunch. It took enough times getting piss ass drunk off the stuff that my taste buds finally acclimated to the bitter taste and it didn't bother me so much. Which is why I still can't stand IPAs as the whole point of an IPA is a very strong bitter flavored beer. Some people love that super bitter taste. Some like me can't stand it. I can deal with most other beers though as the bitter taste I find balanced well with the other flavors. Which to me balanced flavors makes good beers.

As for the cilantro issue someone else pointed out. Yah, I can't stand arugula all that much either. I can eat both cilantro and arugula, and have in the past, but OMG the stuff is mostly nasty to me. Smells like shit, tastes like shit, and decent amounts of the crap will make me hurl.

Ugh.

Roasted malts can contribute to bitterness - it's just like coffee roasts.

Mead is NOT a grain-based beverage - it is a HONEY-based beverage. You can add grains, but it is not a significant portion and pretty rare.

 

[MrPickins]

I meant as a beverage. I consider popular to be in the top 5 of beverages consumed worldwide.

I guess if you look at afternoon / night consumption it probably is in the top 5 because coffee and tea probably aren't consumed that much at night.

It's the most widely consumed alcoholic beverage in the world. I'd say it's pretty popular...

 

[Pray To Jesus]

actually medium rare steaks are bad for you. at least i think based off what i read.

i prefer well done or more or less annihilated

ignored

 

[HumblePie]

Ugh.

Roasted malts can contribute to bitterness - it's just like coffee roasts.

Mead is NOT a grain-based beverage - it is a HONEY-based beverage. You can add grains, but it is not a significant portion and pretty rare.

I know mead is honey based, but the sweetness still comes from the sugar in most alcoholic drinks. I was generalizing in my statement.

The roasting processes tends to add a sourness, which is closely akin to bitterness, if done poorly or in some cases done to that effect. Although when too sour coffee is just nasty to most people. Coffee bitterness flavor is different in that it comes from the oxidation process. Usually from a bad brew or being left out too long.

 

[alkemyst]

Despite beer being popular most above are clearly not.


It's fucking beer, you drink it, enjoy it and go fuck some chick after.

Have another when you are done (chick or beer).

rinse and repeat.

 

[momeNt]

Ugh.

Roasted malts can contribute to bitterness - it's just like coffee roasts.

Mead is NOT a grain-based beverage - it is a HONEY-based beverage. You can add grains, but it is not a significant portion and pretty rare.

This. I absolutely love malty bitter beer. When I went to London it was just an incredible drinking experience. I don't really like hops and especially floral hops.

A nice amber colored ESB from a cask engine = awesome.

 

[vi edit]

Cask is a totally different animal. Local microbrewer near me does a couple cask ales a year and they are interesting. It's almost...flat?...tasting. It almost completely lacks carbonation (natural or otherwise) and ends up being a very smooth if not creamy, mellow brew.

 

[KeithTalent]

Cask is a totally different animal. Local microbrewer near me does a couple cask ales a year and they are interesting. It's almost...flat?...tasting. It almost completely lacks carbonation (natural or otherwise) and ends up being a very smooth if not creamy, mellow brew.

I am a huge, huge fan of cask beers now. There is a pub about 30 seconds away from me that does a different cask each Friday at 5:00 PM and I love the different flavour and texture of them. Most of them are super strong too, so after three I am pretty hammered.

KT

 

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

beer isn't for everyone.

 

[vi edit]

I am a huge, huge fan of cask beers now. There is a pub about 30 seconds away from me that does a different cask each Friday at 5:00 PM and I love the different flavour and texture of them. Most of them are super strong too, so after three I am pretty hammered.

KT

My liver and wallet should probably thank me that I don't have one 30 seconds from me.

Does your pub have the hand pump where the bartender has to keep pumping the the thing to fill the glass?

 

[momeNt]

Cask is a totally different animal. Local microbrewer near me does a couple cask ales a year and they are interesting. It's almost...flat?...tasting. It almost completely lacks carbonation (natural or otherwise) and ends up being a very smooth if not creamy, mellow brew.

Well they don't have any industrially introduced carbonation, the carbonation is a result of the yeast fermenting. I didn't think they were flat when I had them, but I don't really have a palate that enables me to process what I'm tasting into words. So I'm not the best at describing what I'm tasting. I just know I like them.

I've had London's Pride in the USA on draft, I liked it a lot then too, but I liked it more when it was casked (yes I know it's their Sam Adams of beer... it's still really good).

 

[KeithTalent]

My liver and wallet should probably thank me that I don't have one 30 seconds from me.

Does your pub have the hand pump where the bartender has to keep pumping the the thing to fill the glass?

Haha, no doubt.

Yep, that's right; looked odd the first time I saw it. Takes some skill to minimize the foam coming out of it, but the end result is damn delicious!

KT

 

[KeithTalent]

Well they don't have any industrially introduced carbonation, the carbonation is a result of the yeast fermenting. I didn't think they were flat when I had them, but I don't really have a palate that enables me to process what I'm tasting into words. So I'm not the best at describing what I'm tasting. I just know I like them.

I've had London's Pride in the USA on draft, I liked it a lot then too, but I liked it more when it was casked (yes I know it's their Sam Adams of beer... it's still really good).

They just taste very smooth, almost buttery, and rich. So good.

KT

 

[momeNt]

They just taste very smooth, almost buttery, and rich. So good.

KT

It's been almost 2 or 3 years since I've had one. The few times I've stopped by places that had a cask ready it was with basically a barleywine.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/689/22484/

No interest in a double IPA or a barleywine for that matter. The strongest beer I'll go is a scotch ale as long as it isn't hoppy.

I don't think ESB is all that popular in the US or at least near me.

 

[vi edit]

Depends on the barleywine style. American is going to be much heavier on the hops. English style is going to be mellower. Both are hard hitters in terms of alcohol%. Usually 10%+.

I've had what was labeled as an "IPA" off a cask pump and it really was not hoppy at all. Amazingly mellow compared to what I was expecting.

 

[alkemyst]

For the Beer-Queers:

https://www.touchofmodern.com/sales/hopbox-brewing-kits

A home brewing kit that actually would look decent in a home.

Plus bottles to put that beer in that you can self label.

 

[momeNt]

Depends on the barleywine style. American is going to be much heavier on the hops. English style is going to be mellower. Both are hard hitters in terms of alcohol%. Usually 10%+.

I've had what was labeled as an "IPA" off a cask pump and it really was not hoppy at all. Amazingly mellow compared to what I was expecting.

Oh, didn't realize that. I've been basically ignoring all barleywines since I tried my first which might have been one from Great Lakes Brewing. If I see one from England I'll give it a try.

 

[Midwayman]

I'm not a big fan of american pilsners (Bud, etc) though to put them off as low quality is kind of a misnomer. The quality repeatability and scale are impressive. I don't like the trend of super hoppy bitter IPAs among small craft brews either. Luckily that seems to be passing peak.

However there is a beer for everyone. The problem is often the widely available ones don't fit, and just like wine you need a bit of an education in the beverage to find what might work for you. I know my gateway beer was guiness. I hated beer before I tried it.

 

[zinfamous]

how can you drink stouts and not ipas?

fine with imperial stouts but they are still hard to drink for me. maybe i will start drinking them and get used to them

I'm frankly sick of IPAs. I used to love them back when you generally had two choices of beer--shit from AB or Sam Adams and its equivalent, but even though I like the taste of hops, their saturation on the market is certainly not something to praise.

Here's the thing--IPAs are not complex. They aren't interesting. They are the easiest, and most unremarkable style to make. This is how so many craft breweries are popping up each day, under this veil of what the market is calling something "new or exciting!"

Stouts, Porters, Ales of various types can all be very complex with unique flavor profiles. While I like an IPA every once in a while, it is very much one of those styles that not only destroys your palate, it just doesn't pair very well with any type of meal.

 

[zinfamous]

I'm not a big fan of american pilsners (Bud, etc) though to put them off as low quality is kind of a misnomer. The quality repeatability and scale are impressive. I don't like the trend of super hoppy bitter IPAs among small craft brews either. Luckily that seems to be passing peak.

Bud claims to be a lager. Miller claims to be a pilsner. The problem with these American macrobrews is that they primarily use rice for their malt.

Yes. Rice.

the fact is, AB used to be a very good beer. They made a very real, very traditional lager that very much was recognized worldwide. America made a lot of great beers, in fact--prior to prohibition, there were something like twice the breweries we have today (thought he recent explosion has probably come to match those numbers by now).

One of the ways AB survived prohibition was using their patented refrigerated rail cars for other purposes. After prohibition, pretty much only AB survived with a few exceptions. But then, during the depression, the cost of grains became prohibitively expensive. AB altered the recipe to cut that down with Rice, created some marketing hogwash to convince everyone that it was now "fresh, crisp, great tasting, less filling" whatever, and after decades of repeating this mallarcky, it became the assumed standard. Whatever it was, it ceased to be beer.

 

[HumblePie]

Bud claims to be a lager. Miller claims to be a pilsner. The problem with these American macrobrews is that they primarily use rice for their malt.

Yes. Rice.

the fact is, AB used to be a very good beer. They made a very real, very traditional lager that very much was recognized worldwide. America made a lot of great beers, in fact--prior to prohibition, there were something like twice the breweries we have today (thought he recent explosion has probably come to match those numbers by now).

One of the ways AB survived prohibition was using their patented refrigerated rail cars for other purposes. After prohibition, pretty much only AB survived with a few exceptions. But then, during the depression, the cost of grains became prohibitively expensive. AB altered the recipe to cut that down with Rice, created some marketing hogwash to convince everyone that it was now "fresh, crisp, great tasting, less filling" whatever, and after decades of repeating this mallarcky, it became the assumed standard. Whatever it was, it ceased to be beer.

Uhh, budweiser is a lager. There are really only two types of beers by brewing types. Ales and Lagers. One is brewed warmer than the other. It's two different temp ranges at which the beer is brewed at. A "pilsner" is a lager brewed beer that uses a light malt and cold storage standards.

Basically since the beer purity laws of Europe, beer is basically made with 4 main ingrediants. Malt, hops, yeast, and water. It is either brewed as an ale or lager. That's it. In older times, there were other things that were used instead of hops to cut the sweetness of brewed beers.

Despite that, there are variance in malts used, hops used, fermentation length, storage differences, and filtration. All that makes a difference to the final product that determines the "beer" category it fits in.

 

[JumBie]

Beer is watery, bitter, and bland. Also, the alcohol content isn't very high. Why isn't whiskey more of a social beverage?

I hope you regret every saying such hurtful things, how could you?

 

[WelshBloke]

I don't like the trend of super hoppy bitter IPAs among small craft brews either. Luckily that seems to be passing peak.

I think that the over hopping of IPAs is an American thing. Traditional IPAs here in the UK are no where near as overpowering.

I like an IPA in the summer, it's a fairly light ale, but those super hopped beers are a bit much.

 

[KeithTalent]

I'm frankly sick of IPAs. I used to love them back when you generally had two choices of beer--shit from AB or Sam Adams and its equivalent, but even though I like the taste of hops, their saturation on the market is certainly not something to praise.

Here's the thing--IPAs are not complex. They aren't interesting. They are the easiest, and most unremarkable style to make. This is how so many craft breweries are popping up each day, under this veil of what the market is calling something "new or exciting!"

Stouts, Porters, Ales of various types can all be very complex with unique flavor profiles. While I like an IPA every once in a while, it is very much one of those styles that not only destroys your palate, it just doesn't pair very well with any type of meal.

I don't know zin, I've had solid IPAs with some complexity. Sure, the market seems to be inundated with overhopped, shrill IPAs which taste like chewing on a flower, but there are some good ones out there, you just need to look a little harder.

KT