Appreciating Beer

(I know this is a long blog. If you're not into that, skip down to the "Brown bottles = good" section)

Wine is seen as a high-class drink because people think wine has so many intricate flavors that only the very well educated are able to appreciate. I find it hard to believe that most people REALLY taste the difference between a syrah and a cab. I mean come on, be honest.

Beer is seen as the everyman's drink. Beer is for people who don't care about the intricacies offered by wine and who just want that robust, bubbly, hoppy, grainy taste. So they open up a can of Budlight and figure that's the best it's ever gonna get. The most marketed beers are the most popular. Corona, Budweiser, Newcastle, Miller, and Coors are the only options most people choose from even though they taste like urine if we're all honest. So if a person likes dark colored beer, they list Newcastle as their favorite beer of all time. My friends, this should not be so. Instead of throwing out a list of beers that are good you ought to try, let me just give you a vision and an education for good beer. You see, beer can be as much of a "high-class" experience as wine, you just have to know about it.

I will write a series of blogs containing my thoughts on how to appreciate beer as an art. Here's a tip to start you out.

BROWN BOTTLES = GOOD
CLEAR, GREEN and BLUE BOTTLES = BAD

A simple way of choosing good beer at the store is to look for beer in brown bottles. It shouldn't be hard - most beer is found in brown bottles. Avoid clear bottles (corona, newcastle) and green bottles (heineken, stella artois).

The reason is that beer can be chemically altered by blue light rays in a matter of minutes. The blue light creates a chemical reaction in beer, the product of which is the same chemical found in skunk spray. Gross. You don't notice it because that's what you think beer just tastes like. But next time you open up a corona, think of a skunk and you'll notice this time. Why do you think they advertise adding a lime to the beer? The citric acid counteracts that aroma. There's no hiding it, it's still gross. Brown bottles protect the beer from harmful rays so you're ensured better tasting beer. Not all beer in brown bottles is good beer, but at least it probably won't be skunked.

These companies know that this is bad for the beer. The reason they use these non-brown bottles is solely for marketing. If they can get the beer to look more appealing to you, you're more likely to buy it. Don't support a company that forfeits quality. Now you know better and you can begin enjoying better-tasting beer!

More advice on how to be an educated beer drinker to come...