Why do you like beer ?

[Ericthegreat]

I've never tasted it (other than when I mistakenly thought my dad's beer was a Pepsi when I was three, where I proceeded to projectile vomit it all over the wall), but I do work at a gas station and I've smelt almost every brand of beer, wine, and liquor in general that we sell. It all smells grotesque, so I will likely never try it. Also, the customers who purchase beer tend to end-up being my least favorite (with a few exceptions), so it just doesn't seem appealing at all to bother stomaching such products just to (most likely) become a jerk-hole who is out of his mind. Sorry, [/rant]

I am guessing your not over 21, if you are I guess good for you? Having one drink once in a wheil will not make you into a jerk hole

 

[spinal_cord]

I believe that everything can become a poison if you get too much of it. And of cource it will work the other way around two.
Beer and other alcoholic brews may not hurt you that much if you drink with care. Not too much of antything..
Im very positive Coca Cola could be considered a poison if you drink too much of it.

In fact a lot of doctors will tell you that you should never drink a fizzy soft drink in your life, they're far worse for you than many other foods/drinks that we consider poisonous. Causing all sorts of problems such as various cancers, heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, obesity etc.

 

[Ericthegreat]

In fact a lot of doctors will tell you that you should never drink a fizzy soft drink in your life, they're far worse for you than many other foods/drinks that we consider poisonous. Causing all sorts of problems such as various cancers, heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, obesity etc.

And did you know that alchohol can be good for you? (if you dont overdo it of course)

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/09/why-alcohol-is-good-for-you/

 

[Veho]

everywhere in the World people drink Beer (well at least in most parts of the World) and I for one do not understand why !?!

I don't know about the rest of the world, but around here it's the cheapest drink, by volume, you can get at a bar. The same amount of money gets you a shot of liquor, 0.2l of fruit juice, 0.25l of soda, or half a liter of beer. So if you want something you can't chug down in a single gulp, you drink beer. And on the other hand, with the weird liquor advertizing laws, beer is so heavily marketed there's just no escaping it.

I like some stronger dark beers (not sure of the technical term, I don't really speak the lingo), Kasteel Donker being by far my favourite. I don't like the lighter varieties. And wheat beer can be good, when it's not watered down to make it more palatable to the pale lager crowd.

As for being an "acquired taste", isn't "acquiring" a taste just forcing yourself to like something via self-inflicted Stockholm syndrome? If you don't like something, leave it. Try it again in a couple years, maybe you'll like it then (happens with broccoli for some people).


On a little side note, apparently you don't even have to drink beer in order to drink beer. Or something long those lines.

 

[raulpica]

Beer is an acquired taste. I pretty much hated it till I was 18-19, then I started drinking it with friends, and I didn't mind the taste anymore.

Then I drank lots of beers for 2-3 years, especially one kind that tasted kinda like... gasoline. It was a mixed brew of Bulldog Lager and pure alcohol or something made by a pub nearby. That s**t probably killed part of my kidney. Seriously. NEVER AGAIN. I can't get to drink it anymore, it just tastes... EW.

Well, I stopped drinking for 1-2 years after that, and I'm not drinking regularly anymore, just one beer a month when I go out with my friends. I drank dark beers before, now I prefer light beers as they're smooth as water and I like that non-aggressive flavour.

Oh, Guinness is awesome too (when you get the good kind, there's some Guinness out there that tastes like crap).

 

[ßleck]

especially one kind that tasted kinda like... gasoline.

Wait... How do you know what gasoline tastes like?

 

[mightymuffy]

Most lagers , i dont mind , can only drink 3 or 4 though before im bloated , just switch to Vodka then . I must say though ive not met anyone (and i live in part of the world where drinking is pretty much everyones pasttime) who liked the taste of beers on their first experience , but now im in my forty third year , a cold beer after a hard day is heavenly.

This! (Damn man you're older than me!)
Friday evening, after a rough week at work, and yes there's nothing like a good pint to wind you down!
We try not to call lager 'beer' here in the UK, but since that's the topic... most of the US & Canada stuff is cat piss if you ask me, and Aussie lagers taste like water: good for a night out, but as a chillout drink, nah. For lager I'll usually try to stick with Becks, either in bottles or the draught Vier.

Quite a good point to make though OP: whilst there's 2 of us here that'll say there's nothing better after work, I'm guessing neither of us will get up at 7 in the morning wanting something to drink and reach for a beer....

 

[raulpica]

Wait... How do you know what gasoline tastes like?

Yeah, you're right, I don't Well, it tasted like ass, but then again, I don't know what ass tastes like so... huhhh... Let's just say it tasted REALLY BAD.

And it was something like 19%. EW.

 

[FAST6191]

Re: not knowing the taste of petrol?
You mean none of you have ever siphoned petrol from something before?

I bet none of you have ever scrumped either.
Flattened a penny on the railway tracks?

*mutters about kids of today and carries on with old man business*

 

[ßleck]

Re: not knowing the taste of petrol?
You mean none of you have ever siphoned petrol from something before?

I bet none of you have ever scrumped either.
Flattened a penny on the railway tracks?

*mutters about kids of today and carries on with old man business*

At least we still have the ability to "scrump"

 

[FAST6191]

At least we still have the ability to "scrump"

Sadly it seems very few people even know what they are growing any more so the disapproving looks you get are more from the "urgh -- are you really going to eat that" side of things than the "you little bastard, I was going to eat those". More amusingly several of those that I have met maintain a serious herb garden as well.

 

[ßleck]

Sadly it seems very few people even know what they are growing any more so the disapproving looks you get are more from the "urgh -- are you really going to eat that" side of things than the "you little bastard, I was going to eat those". More amusingly several of those that I have met maintain a serious herb garden as well.

Yeah. I absolutely agree with your thougths on "scrumping".

 

[FAST6191]

Yeah. I absolutely agree with your thougths on "scrumping".

Wait *checks urban dictionary*. The word does not seem to have changed definition and seems to have been performed the same way it always was -- find some adventurous friends, watch for adults, avoid suspicious stains on your fingers and clothes, enjoy the fruits of your labours and if caught then stammer a lot and get dragged back to explain what happened or run like hell.

 

[ßleck]

Wait *checks urban dictionary*. The word does not seem to have changed definition and seems to have been performed the same way it always was -- find some adventurous friends, watch for adults, avoid suspicious stains on your fingers and clothes, enjoy the fruits of your labours and if caught then stammer a lot and get dragged back to explain what happened or run like hell.

Mind checking again? But I guess stealing from herb gardens is equally satisfying.

 

[FAST6191]

Damn changing slang... though that would explain the very embarrassed youths down the pub a while back when the conversation came around and the older, often highly bearded, participants declared their love of scrumping and how they wish they could do more of it before pondering a session for the sake of old times.

Mind checking again? But I guess stealing from herb gardens is equally satisfying.

I suppose I had better end this particular section of conversation with a line like "better a well trodden garden than taking cherries".

 

[DS1]

Well I know it is a "stupid" Question but I think many people can actually discuss about this very well

everywhere in the World people drink Beer (well at least in most parts of the World) and I for one do not understand why !?!

I have tried several different kind of Beer like Alt, Black Beer, Pilz, Japanese Beer with and without Sake, Beer with Cola/Fanta, wheat beer with Banana juice .......

and all of it was awfull

so WHY? how come so many people love it ? (my dad couldn't live without beer)
Still many people I ask say it doesn't taste good ... at least not in the beginning ... still everyone is drinking it.
When I was in the Army (lucky only a very short time) I was the only one not drinking so I was some kind of outsider and they allways tried to put some beer into my coke and whatever and thought I would not nice -.-V

Beer is an acquired taste, and most people acquire it because it is a cheap way to get drunk when they are younger. I love beer and many styles (I've tried over 60 distinct styles), and I can honestly say I don't like any of those that you mentioned. Pilsners are often bitter and lacking in bold flavor (it's like what people in Europe session the way people in America session Bud and other crappy adjuncts). Black beers (assuming you mean schwarzbier) are like watered down porters (I do like porters though). Japanese beer are OK as they are like a normal adjuct (which often substitutes rice for barley) but actually have some flavor, though a bad Japanese beer tastes like watered down sake (and I loathe sake). And I've had a banana wheat from England before... it sucked and tasted artificial. Wheat beers can actually be pretty good and refreshing, but I wouldn't recommend them to people who aren't open about beer in general*.

Personally I drink beer for the taste (I rarely have more than 1, if I want to get hammered I'd just drink tequila -_-) Of the styles you mentioned, I'd say Altbier is the one that would impress a non-beer drinker the most. It tends to be more on the malty side (which is to say sweeter, and those styles are also often accompanied by a 'rounder' feel.. the opposite of bitter and watery beers that flood the US market...). If you actually wanted an appreciation of beer, I would do one of three things:

1 - Have an extremely malty beer with lots of flavor (Belgian Dark Ale)
2 - Have an extremely hoppy beer (Double IPA - America actually excels in this area, though I don't know how much we export)
3 - Have a malty beer with roasted malts (Baltic Imperial Porter)

These tastes are so extreme that you will understand the general flavors you're looking for in trying other beers. So then when you try a beer, you won't be like, 'ugh, beer taste!'. Instead you should be able to distinguish between the more subtle varieties. Or you know, just don't drink at all or whatever.

*flavored wheat beers are often called 'girly' beers because it takes something sweet girls supposedly like (blueberry! :\ :?) and mixes it with an average tasting beer. So people just assume those beers are weak and good for 'beginners'. There is a little truth to that, but I think the reality is that many well-made wheat beers only impress people because they are like what most people grow up around (crappy adjuncts like budweiser), but without preservatives that make them taste gross when warm, and with a more balanced profile (ie; combination of sweet malts and bitter hops).

 

[pwsincd]

This! (Damn man you're older than me!)
Friday evening, after a rough week at work, and yes there's nothing like a good pint to wind you down!
We try not to call lager 'beer' here in the UK, but since that's the topic... most of the US & Canada stuff is cat piss if you ask me, and Aussie lagers taste like water: good for a night out, but as a chillout drink, nah. For lager I'll usually try to stick with Becks, either in bottles or the draught Vier.

Quite a good point to make though OP: whilst there's 2 of us here that'll say there's nothing better after work, I'm guessing neither of us will get up at 7 in the morning wanting something to drink and reach for a beer....

Lol not at 7 noooo, unless your on holiday , lately though that refreshing can or 3 after work isnt reserved for a friday anymore , more a nightly occurance , burp.

 

[Kouen Hasuki]

On topic I have one or two here and there I like the taste personally

 

[tatripp]

I didn't like beer when I tried it but eventually I tried it again and again and liked it more each time. Sometimes I just get in the mood for a nice cold beer. This is especially true when I am eating pizza. I don't know why but beer goes great with pizza.

 

[Sterling]

I had a fruity beer the other day that I could actually stomach. In fact this draft was the only beer I've ever had that I did not immediately put down in disgust. There wasn't even an unpleasant aftertaste. Sadly enough I was the DD, so I refused more than a sip.