why do people like beer?

gumunkulus@lemmy.blahaj.zone to Chat@beehaw.org – 15 points –

its literally just carbonated piss and you cant even get drunk off it. and i say this as a german, who's been trying both 'good' and bad beer since 16 years old.

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Tastes nice to me. Different taste innit

Taste buds also change as you age. As you age you start preferring bitter over sweet. It's why adults like coffee and beer, don't get me wrong I love a good fruity cocktail, but I appreciate beer a lot more than when I was 21.

I can sense nuances in the differences between different types of coffee and beer. This coffee has a bolder taste, this porter has defined chocolate notes, things my younger self never would have noticed

In all words for the op here, don't knock it just because you don't like it, other people may experience things differently from you

I don't like beer either, but your post sounds more like "you should not like beer" than "why do people like beer" and that's not very nice.

You can't get drunk off it? You'd have to have a really high alcohol tolerance unless you're drinking really light beer.

Also, I like the taste of beer and so do most people who drink it, as I'm sure you know. I'm not sure what the point of you asking this is

Yeah the "you can't get drunk off it" makes me think OP is only drinking like, bud light or something.

If it tastes like piss then you're drinking the wrong beer.

What beers would you suggest to someone who doesn't like beer?

If you don't like beer, I'm going to recommend you drink something else. If you can better define what you don't like about a specific beer you've had, we can talk about beers that might fit your palette a bit better.

The best thing to do if you want to try some beers is go to a beer bar that does flights/tastings and try a bunch of different styles. Non-beer drinkers should probably stay away from lagers, pilsners, and IPAs, as that's what people like OP associate with "piss water" but that's a pretty small portion of what makes up the styles of beers. Stouts, sours, fruited beers, ambers, hefewiesens, are a bit more friendly to the palette.

Dark beers like stouts or porters. Often times they're sweetened with Maple/Coffee/things if that's more your taste.

Honestly go to a well known brewery near you and order a flight. That way you can sample a bunch of different styles and go from there.

Hitachino Nest White Ale. A Belgian-style wheat beer that is both light and complex, with orange peel, coriander and nutmeg flavors.

Unlike other beer flavor descriptions, this one is actually legit, you can really taste a bit of those things, and it's delightful. It's also not a dark, heavy beer, it's light and refreshing.

It is the best beer I've ever tasted, and one day I will travel to Japan so I can have some straight from the tap.

As a fan of craft beer, I like the taste. It’s like drinking different types of bread.

When I toured Europe, I found the beer was definitely lighter there.

I mean fundamentaly your question is "Why do people have different preferences? " and I think that's a very interesting question, with philosophical as well as economic implications.

All we can say for sure is that individuals do indeed seem to have different preference, without clear criteria across individual people.

For example, if Jill has the opportunity to purchase either wine or beer, and both are the same price, same alcohol content, same social implications etc, we have no way to predict which Jill will choose based on the information available in the world outside of Jill consciousness.

However Jill herself may have an obvious and consistent preference, and I'm not sure anyone fundamentally knows the reason for that, other than Jill thinks wine tastes better.

Extremely hot take: it's toxic masculinity. Bitter alcoholic drinks are associated with masculinity and sweet ones with femininity, and femininity is denigrated.

Eyes rolling to the back of my head on the idea that beer is "toxic masculinity". Some people just like bitter flavors. My entire family drinks black coffee, so I always have. Maybe genetic or learned behavior but no one's trying to prove anything at the breakfast table lol.

Huge fan of good/craft beers (and not just IPAs) so I'm a but defensive on that take. There's such a wide range of flavors to experience and trying something new is a big part of the enjoyment. Same goes for wine, cheese, or any "luxury" food really.

There is certainly that with the mega high IBU IPAs. Bruh this has 94,000 IBU, it's so good! To those people, I like to stick it them by saying never send a beer to do a whisky's job

Like coffee, it is an acquired taste. Large brands aren't very good. They may have a good beer in their lineup, but it's rare.

I believe that basically anything that is alleged to be an acquired taste is only professed to be enjoyed due to a combination of social pressure, addiction, and cope.

I'll fight anyone who tries to take my century eggs away from me.

That's right. Proof: women never drink beer. Literally never. Checkmate, beer drinkers.

(this is sarcasm)

No, just ... No. Ya know, here in the real world, women drink beer too. Plenty of it. Plenty of guys drink sweet spirits too. Some people just like beer bruv, no need to be making this an issue of "toxic masculinity".

I think you're only drinking certain types of beers and not venturing out, or don't have the opportunity to.

One of my favorite beers to drink is actually a mixture. A dark nitro stout beer mixed with chiltipean (spicy) beer. Tastes like a mildly spicy chocolate drink.

There's 10%+ beers out there that will absolutely get you drunk. Also, you might be drinking your normal beers to slow or have a very high tolerance if you're never getting buzzed/drunk.

Well, if you ever tried uncarbonated piss, I'm sure you'd come to appreciate beer more.

Hops are tasty if you like citrus, dank, or bitter

Hopped ice tea is good a little sweetened with a bitter dank hops

I normally don't like hoppy bears, but I've had some hops tea and it's delicious. Lagonista, I think, makes one and it's really pleasant.

I never liked beer, growing up. That being said, I never cared for liquor either. I cannot stand the bitterness, or the heavy carbonation.

I tried all sorts of good beers, bad beers, etc and simply never understood the point. I had/have no desire to be drunk or in any sort of altered mood, so there was no incentive for me.

In recent years (idk maybe because I'm getting old lol) I started to casually try beer here and there with friends and such, at outtings and such.

What I discovered is I do not like "beer" as a whole, but there are specific beers I really enjoy. There's maybe only 2-3 beers out of the hundreds I've tried which I find taste good, and actively will enjoy.

A nice German Weizen on a warm summer day, a Dutch Bock in fall or spring or Belgian Tripel after a hard day's work. The right beer for that moment can be extremely satisfying and delicious, but it's not something I always enjoy.

Brit here. I would also like to commend a nice pint of cask real ale as an addition to your already excellent selection

After trying big brands of beer, they mostly taste awful. The craft beers from local breweries Ontario actually taste pretty good to me and are an interesting way to buy and experience local stuff.

I've found I really enjoy the lime-like taste of Hoppy beer so India Pale Ale-style is my go to. I really dislike carbonation so I don't drink soda, or any sparkling drink but beer is fine for me.

Well, craft beer is special but I wouldn't say it's representative of "liking beer". I like cheapo beer, and I like craft, it's just that each one has a different vibe

Absolutely, people drink and enjoy the familiar taste of brand-name beer, otherwise it wouldn't sell, right? I guess I just wanted to suggest to OP to try craft beers because it's what I enjoy a lot.

As Mojo Nixon said, "beer ain't drinkin".

Everyone has a different palate. You might just be more sensitive to bitterness than others. Have a white claw or whatever you'd rather drink, don't worry about what other people prefer.

I brew beer so I like it a lot.

I just don't like anything sweet - I literally drink sweet alcohol 1 glass per 2 hours.

But it is in our culture Czechs drink about 120 l of it per person per year.

I like beer, just has too many calories for me. There's a lot of variety in terms of flavours so there is usually something new to try. I love raspberry beer and sour beer in particular but lager/pilsner is good for the hot weather we're having in the UK at the moment

I never have. I cant drink without mixing with something because i dont like the way alcohol tastes

and you cant even get drunk off it.

I don't drink alcohol, so maybe I'm not the best person to make the point, but surely one can drink ethanol without specifically having the goal of downing enough to wind up drunk?

Am I the only one who gets unimaginably bad gas from beer? I drink one glass of it and it feels like my tummy grows a balloon the the size of a watermelon in it

I just have seen a video that demonstrated how much gas remains in there if its poured gently/drank from a carefully opened can, by sticking a piece of paper in the cup and thus basically exploding it. When you pour it out somewhat fast it loses almost all of that gas.

I didn't like beer either up until I tried something I genuinely liked. All through my teenage years and college, the only thing I had was either what my parents liked or whatever cheap shit people drink in college. After my friends and I all got jobs, we started hanging out after work at a local bar that had a massive menu of craft beers. We would all get flights and try lots of stuff. Turns out, I don't like a good majority of beers and I'm a very picky beer drinker. I only like stouts, porters, ciders, and sours which are less available than say an IPA. So maybe keep trying stuff? You might find you like something very niche or you'll find you just don't like beer 🤷. I'm more into mixology now anyways so maybe that's your thing?

Pabst Blue Ribbon and Busch were the cheap options when I was first legal drinking age, but I really didn't like of Busch, had an after-taste like donkey breath. PBR was meh but would get drunk enough after a few with my super low tolerance to stop caring.

Craft beer is so much more and interesting and tasty. At the bar and in cans I always go for local beer options over Anheisur-Busch, Labatt and other big brands.

I know the taste of IPA has really grown on me lately and I don't speak for everyone but I second trying lots of things out to see if any fit your tastes.