Beer Myths
From born-on dating to ice-cold bottles, these beer myths persist.
By Pete Brown from MEN'S HEALTH
Beer may be the world’s most popular beverage, but it’s also one
of the most widely misunderstood. Neo-prohibitionists, wine snobs, old
wives tales, and third-hand wisdom all have combined to leave the
average imbiber baffled about what’s true and not when it comes to the
average brew. Use our guide below to debunk the most common beer-related
myths.
The Beer Belly
.
Sure, if you make a habit of
leaving six-packs in your wake, you’ll pile on the pounds to show for
it—but you won’t necessarily wind up with a beer gut. The rounded,
telltale belly bulge owes its appearance more to genetics than to
Guinness, according to a 2009 German study of nearly 20,000 beer
drinkers. So order what you want—just don’t overdo it, or you’ll find
out far too fast which way your genetics lean.
Imported beer is better than domestic beer.
The old cliché that the grass is always greener applies just as
strongly to tap handles. Take the leading domestic beers from any two
countries, exchange them, and each country will value the resulting
import more highly. This likely dates back to the nineteenth century,
when export beers like India Pale Ale were brewed stronger to help them
survive long journeys. In America, post-Prohibition domestic brews such
as Budweiser were also once considered thin tasting compared to
traditionally brewed European beers like Heineken. But you’d be hard
pressed to find any expert arguing that Corona is now superior to the
IPA from your local microbrewery.
Beer is the drink of the working class
.
Whether it's a few brewskis at the game, or a couple of Buds at a dive
bar, beer is democratic and
unpretentious, more approachable than wine
or fine spirits. But for most of its history, everyone drank it. There
are detailed records of country houses each with their own breweries,
and George Washington was a great fan of porter. For centuries, boiled,
sterilized beer was a safe alternative to drinking water. Even today,
demographic studies show you’re more likely to drink beer the more
affluent you are. Despite this fact, many people are very sniffy about
the idea of beer as, say, an accompaniment to fine dining. That’s just
snobbery. Beer can be as structured and elegant as wine, and is at
least as worthy as a match with food. An earthy, funky Belgian saison
both makes and accompanies a hearty chicken stew – coq a la biere if you
will – while a classic pale ale such as Sierra Nevada is the perfect
match for English cheddar cheese. Don’t believe me? Ask New York’s
Grammercy Tavern, or Aubergine, a Michelin-starred restaurant in London –
just two of the top restaurants with intriguing and varied beer lists.
Beer should be served ice cold.
Warm ale on the
English village green and ice-cold lager served from frosted glasses are
twin myths. Icy coldness masks flavor_if the beer tastes good, why hide
it? Having said that, the idea that ale should be served at room
temperature dates back to when rooms didn’t have central heating. The
ideal temperature for ale is 11-13 degrees celcius, because this allows
the complex flavors to fully develop. If you’ve been out in those
temperatures, that’s not warm.
Similarly, the only reason to serve
lager ice-cold is to mask a flavor that would be unpleasant if it were
served at the ideal temperature of 5 to 8 degrees celcius. It comes down
to personal taste, but these guidelines are generally recommended by
craft brewers as being the temperature range where the balance of flavor
and refreshment is perfect.
Fresh is best.
Don’t be fooled by promotional
gimmicks like born-on dating. A perfect lager should mature at low
temperatures for at least six weeks before bottling. Outside the
brewery, there are many beer styles that don’t reach their full flavor
potential until they’ve had chance to mature and develop. One of the big
trends in craft brewing involves ageing ales in whisky or rum casks,
where compounds from spirit and wood infuse the beer. British ales like
Worthington White Shield and Belgian beers such as Orval, which have
residual yeast in the bottle fuelling a slow, secondary fermentation,
are not at their best until they’re at least three months old.
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