As we become more submerged in beer finish , it ’s a given that some falsehood can slip into your record hop - fleece consciousness . It ’s all good . It ’s not like you ’re one of those people whobelieves the Earth is flatjust because you read it on Facebook ( or are you ? ! ) . you could be forgiven for thinking that the fast - talking neckbeard with the cellar knows everything about age . But maybe , just maybe , he ’s full of crap .
In the interest group of making your world more well rounded , we hit up a handful ofCertified Cicerones , beer writers , and even scientists to expose some of the most pervasive beer myths .
Myth: Beer should be served ice-cold
" Beer tastes best when served between 40 - 55 degrees , count on the elan . Macrobreweries are largely responsible for perpetuating the stale - temperature falsehood , and I think we know why : Ice - cold beer benumb the roof of the mouth , reducing the taste of the beer , and potentially head to drinking more of them , which make it similar to drink a methamphetamine of stale water . " –Bryan Carey , writer , Great Beer Now
Myth: Beer is to blame for your beer belly
OK fine , it’spossiblethat beer was the culprit for that spare tyre , but beer catch an outsize percentage of the incrimination when it occur to weight gain . Czech researchers ( they ought to know ) found beer consumption to bea relatively pitiful indicator of weightiness gain . Sure , loosely speak if you tope a bunch there ’s a good chance you ’ll add together some pounds , but research suggest that bear true no matter your drinkable of selection . –European Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Myth: Lagers are light and flavorless
" Just as ales have muckle of lighter styles , lager have lighter varieties , too . Ales are n’t just cream ales , sick ale , and witbier , and you should n’t trammel your lager options to macro instruction . Looking for lager with more flavor ? Try dopplebocks , rauchbier , and Baltic porters . " –Ben Brausen , writer , Craft Beer Time
Myth: Dark beer always has a high ABV
" Just because a beer is dark does not mean it will be higher in alcohol ! In fact , I depend that IPA you ’re drink is close to twice as secure as the oatmeal stout you pass off up on over fears of it being too gamey in alcoholic beverage . " –Zach Mack , owner , ABC Beer Co.(New York City , New York )
Myth: Bottled beer is better than canned
" For decades , meth bottles were earmark for the privileged course of the beer - drinking world , while labor drank beer from a can . Nowadays , as most craft beer consumer have surely acknowledge , that trend is changing , albeit slowly .
" The passing important paradigm shift in the choice of vessel for our hop - blessed hooch can be summed up with a simple numerical equality : Beer + sun = skunk . The same ultraviolet light rays that give you a farmer ’s tan also harm unprotected beer . To reword Baz Luhrmann ’s heroic ' The Sunscreen Song ' – ladies and gentlemen of the internet , drink canned beer . If I could pop the question you only one bakshis for the future , can would be it . " –Michael Arp , author , The Blue Collar Foodie(Fair Lawn , New Jersey )
Myth: “Beer before liquor, never been sicker”
" This was my mantra in college . I repeat it to myself many time before guide out to party . It suggests that the order in which you deplete alcoholic drinks will limit your well - being the next day . Could it be that end with the high - ABV drink causes bad decisions ? I thinkquantityhas a lot more to do with it than the order in which you consume them . " –Steph Harding , editor , MittenBrew
Myth: You just don’t like beer
" When someone say they ' do n’t like beer , ' nine times out of 10 , they just have n’t found their favourite style yet . I ’ve help multitudinous hoi polloi find their ' aha ! ' minute when they try a beer they truly love for the first time , and I try my best not to say , ' I state you so . ' All beers are not created equal . If there ’s a flavor profile that survive in another beverage , chances are there ’s a beer equivalent that ’s just as gratifying . " –Anne Becerra , writer and beer director , Taproom No . 307 / Treadwell Park(New York City , New York )
Myth: Aging makes beer “better”
" A draw of craft beer drinker have a beer cellar – myself include . The main thought behind a cellar is to stash away beers because they get ' better ' with historic period . While cellaring beer does change the flavor profile – bourbon barrel - cured beer lose some heat , wild barm strains total more funk – the beer does not really ameliorate . It ’s just dissimilar .
" Properly made beer is quick to be consumed as before long as it is bottled . wise beer is beer in its purest form , and is what the beer maker stand for you to relish . You may favour a properly cellared beer more than the reinvigorated one . But ' good ' is always up for debate . " –David Acra , Northern Florida area manager , New Belgium Brewing Co.(Jacksonville , Florida )
Myth: Dark beer is all the same
" Dark is not a savour . A dark coloring material evidence you only that some amount of kilned or roasted malt liquor was used . It discover next to nothing about the beer ’s flavor profile . It says nothing about the amount of hop character , bitterness , sweet , or alcohol . It says small about the types of malt flavors or the comportment / absence of fruity and spicy barm products .
" And the claim that dark beers are heavy ; a meal in a glass ? Poppycock . Guinness Draught is 4 % alcohol , light-headed - incarnate , and very low - nutritionist’s calorie . An English dark mild would be even lighter . See what I did there ? " –Michael Agnew , proprietor , A Perfect Pint(Minneapolis , Minnesota )
Myth: All strong beers are great for aging
" Hopefully by now the great unwashed know that almost all beer is best intoxicated as sweet as potential . Like many , I spend geezerhood ( and several hundreds of dollars ) squirreling away rare stouts , barleywines , and sour for rainy days . First , there are n’t that many rainy day , and second , almost all of the beers gather dust over the age were n’t as unspoiled as when I bought them .
" Do n’t ageany beer that started its life as ahop - forward style . No , your 120 Minute IPA is not better after four age . Anddon’t agebeers with chocolate , unless you like your beer to smack like green peppers . Coffee flavors fade comparatively quickly , and can evolve over time , often into something vegetal .
" Do agemalt - send on English beers . Old ales , stock ale , and English barleywinescan grow leathery and umami flavors that heighten the unvoiced study that the beer maker has done . Beers with tempestuous yeast(brettanomyces ) , as they can germinate in fun ways over time : Stick a six - pack of your pet funky beer in the closet , and drink one every class ' til you find the sweet topographic point . " –Nick Bondi , bar manager , Jerry ’s Lincoln Square / Andersonville / Wicker Park(Chicago , Illinois )
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