McPhee Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 I'm in the middle of writing an article about beer's role in society, but I'm in need of more inspiration/other viewpoints. Figured I'd pop a thread up here and get some other people's views on "the joys and jolliness of beer". Basically, what you like and dislike about it in all it's forms. Why it's great, both as a drink and as a British institution, and it's effects (both positive and negative) on society. The article will mostly focus on the positive, but any negative comments are certainly welcome. So... shoot
chairdriver Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 Never drink it, because it tastes disgusting, and is a bloke's drink.
Cube Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 It's a drink that I hate the taste of, but if I go out it's pretty much a requirement to drink it (or another alcoholic beverage). A "relaxing pint" means nothing to me as I really, really hate the taste of it. Basically, it's this disgusting thing that is a requirement to drink to be sociable.
Retro_Link Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 ^ Pretty much agree. Sometimes I'll find a beer I quite enjoy for a while... the only examples being bottled Budwiser and Carling, but really I'm not a fan, other than to be sociable, and if it's the only thing on offer, to be at the same drunken level as most. A cold refreshing cider, or a guiness would be my preference.
Murr Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 Lot's of beer hate here? I do really enjoy a pint. especially on a Friday after finishing work, love a pint with my mates on a friday afternoon, it's kinda like "Weekends here... Awesome!" will be even better when the weather picks up and our Friday afternoon pint can take place in the garden with some nice sunshine. I don't know really, I can drink beer for numerous reasons, tonight for example after our pro-5 match, we'll have a pint, either to celebrate or commiserate our result. I also find beer is the way to start a heavy drinking night. Like if going to town with friends and we know we're going to be on it, before switching to expensive spirits / mixers I'll stay on the beers till begin to feel bloated, I normally tuck 5 pints away before switching to different drink. Budweiser is the best bottled beer IMO Grolsch is the best pint from the tap But I'll never object to a Carling, Becks, Kroenenberg. I Can't stand ales though... IPA, Best.. etc not a fan of at all, although I enjoy Guiness and can put a few of them away without really noticing.
Ramar Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 I love a good beer, like on Sunday I went to the pub had some lunch, had a few beers whilst socialising and watching football. Good times. I enjoy the taste of most lagers. But I guess my poison would be Carlsberg Export. Like Murr, I usually start with a few beers on a session then move onto spirits and nothing beats a warm summers day with a few mates in a beer garden. Amazing. Never drink it, because it tastes disgusting, and is a bloke's drink. I love how you often discuss breaking down barriers and stigmas then freely use others when it suits you. Fair enough you don't like beer, but you could have left the last part out.
chairdriver Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 I love how you often discuss breaking down barriers and stigmas then freely use others when it suits you. Fair enough you don't like beer, but you could have left the last part out. I am a person of variable qualities, skills and tempers. I contain contradictions and aim to present no single image.
Nolan Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 I like Dark Lagers mostly. Budweiser is about the most tolerable of what comes in a can. (Excluding Guinness). Generally though if it comes in a can I don't bother with it. Beer is certainly an acquired taste though, I didn't really like it until I got smashed on some local Ale, although I don't really like it that much compared to a nice Lager or Guinness. Cider is always a good fall back though, even if it's non-alcoholic.
ipaul Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 I do enjoy a nice lager, though good ones are harder to come by then they should be. Tipples of choice include Pilsner Uruquell, Budweiser Budvar and Staropramen. If I'm trying to be a bit more budget conscious, Kronenbourg will do. Carling, Fosters or Carlsberg I all find pretty crap, but sometimes I'll still drink them Ales I can drink but don't enjoy as much. Deuchars or Guinness is nice occasionally, or I'll sometimes get John Smiths (not that nice) if it's cheap.
Razz Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 I could not live without a cold beer. Not just lager either, I'm a big fan of various ales, bitters and stouts too. Thing is I drink because I enjoy and appreciate what I'm drinking whereas for a lot of people I know it's about getting as rat arsed as you can in as short a time possible. Beer rules, K.O.
Beast Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 Guinness FTW! I love me some Guinness. I tasted Stella Artois for the first time last weekend and it actually wasn't too bad but I still prefer a good Guinness. Don't like Carling though. I also don't see how it's a requirement to have a pint if you go out to the pub, why not have a drink that you do like?
MoogleViper Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 I love a nice refreshing lager. I can't drink large volumes of it though. If I'm trying to get drunk it has to be cider (with shots).
Ellmeister Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 I used to be a cider boy (strongbow) but now I can't stand it. I'll drink Fruity cider but normal apple I grimace every sip I take. I am now a converted lager boy. Just like Murr I'm not yet developed onto Ales, or anything else. But give me a becks, kronenberg etc and I'll be happy. Beer only really becomes worth it when I do it with other people anyway. I don't just drink a beer every night, I do it when socialising and breaking down my inhibitions of what is right and wrong to say :p
Mundi Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 (edited) My favorite pick is a Stella Artois, but I like to dapple in some others. Especially beer from the Faeroe Islands, they make some pretty tasty beer. I also can't help but agree that beer is very much an acquired taste, not in the sense that I was forcing it down. More like it just kind of came back into my head that I wanted a beer. One thing I have noticed in my experience of drinking, it is usually the ones not drinking beer that get completely smashed and first to puke and pass out. Not really a big mystery there, when your drinking something that tastes like a lollipop dipped in sugar, one tends to forgot how much alcohol is in the drink. Edited March 8, 2011 by Mundi
Coolness Bears Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 I'VE GOT A PINT! (I don't even like pints) I don't normally like beer but apparently when I get blind drunk I order them without remembering. :p
Supergrunch Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 (edited) Never drink it, because it tastes disgusting, and is a bloke's drink. Unreasonable I think, I agree with Ramar on this one. Anyway, I don't identify as a bloke, but I do like beer. The problem is that it's such a varied drink, and many people who dislike it have just got a bad impression of it based on all the shitty lager that is commonly sold. I like ales and and various belgian beers, and while I can drink Becks/Carlsberg/whatever, it's not like it's nice. There also exist beers that are so far from the prototype that they almost count as something else, including many lambic beers. If you ever have a chance to try Floris Honey, you really should, as it's sweet, delicious, and not remotely blokey. Of course if you don't like any of this stuff, then you just don't like beer, in which case fair enough. My favourite beers include: Delirium Nocturnum - strong, dark, and complex. Rochefort Trappistes 10 - even stronger, and generally amazing. Floris Honey - light, extremely sweet, refreshing and with a lovely rough mouthfeel. Black Dog - A really awesome dark English ale. Amazingly, sometimes sold in Wetherspoons. That's just off the top of my head. There are more ales I like but whose name I forget, as you tend to occasionally get them as guest ales in pubs. Edited March 8, 2011 by Supergrunch
MoogleViper Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 I love how you often discuss breaking down barriers and stigmas then freely use others when it suits you. Fair enough you don't like beer, but you could have left the last part out. He describes himself as a heterophobe. You can't expect him to be rationale. I used to be a cider boy (strongbow) I'm pretty sure that's contradictory.
ReZourceman Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 J20 apple + melon FTLULZ. Or JD + coke Or Southern Comfort + Lemonade Or Cider Or GTFO. No beer.
Charlie Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 It's a drink that I hate the taste of, but if I go out it's pretty much a requirement to drink it (or another alcoholic beverage). A "relaxing pint" means nothing to me as I really, really hate the taste of it. Basically, it's this disgusting thing that is a requirement to drink to be sociable. Hardly, if you don't like it you don't like it. Drink something else instead. If your mates are taking the piss out of you for not drinking it are they really your mates? I am a person of variable qualities, skills and tempers. I contain contradictions and aim to present no single image. I have various terms for people like that, none of them complimentary. --- I personally love a nice lager and I'm in fact also doing a uni project on people's perceptions of 3 different lagers and the marketing communications (Carling, Stella and Peroni). I think it's a great way to start the night but I can't drink too much or I just feel really full (the beer threshold). A lot of people knock Tennent's but I don't mind drinking it for the night but if I move on and get another 'better' lager then I can't go back to Tennent's because it doesn't taste as good. Here's a question to Stella drinkers (or non-Stella drinkers) - What do you think of it? In terms of the marketing, it tries to show itself as a beer which has some class about it but in reality it has the name "wife-beater" colloquially. Do you buy it because you want to be classy or do you just buy it because its cheap?
Paj! Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 I like beer. Not all beers. But I'm not a connoisseur so I'm never sure which ones I like. I always choose Carlsberg though, just out of...not knowing what all the others taste like. I've tasted them obvs, but they aren't distinctive enough to remember. I recall not liking stella that much. I like to start with a beer (or two), then moving onto spirits. On a night out. I used to like Cider, but it's too fizzy/gaseous - and gives me painful hiccups if I have more than one.
Mundi Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 Here's a question to Stella drinkers (or non-Stella drinkers) - What do you think of it? In terms of the marketing, it tries to show itself as a beer which has some class about it but in reality it has the name "wife-beater" colloquially. Do you buy it because you want to be classy or do you just buy it because its cheap? Honestly, I didn't know about the whole wife beater thing until 1-2 years after I started drinking it. I started drinking as an underage drinker and asked my older brother to buy me some beer, he asked me if I wanted cheap beer or good beer. I went with the latter. Also, did not know Stella was thought of as a cheap beer, in stores here its one of the more expensive brand.
MoogleViper Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 Here's a question to Stella drinkers (or non-Stella drinkers) - What do you think of it? In terms of the marketing, it tries to show itself as a beer which has some class about it but in reality it has the name "wife-beater" colloquially. Do you buy it because you want to be classy or do you just buy it because its cheap? Cheap? It's one of the more expensive lagers. I drink it because I think it's better than most. (Zagorka's my favourite, but we don't get that here.)
Frank Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 I've tasted a few beers before. All I remember is that I really liked one as it was quite sweet Beer = Good Yet, I must admit I prefer a beer never brewed- Not one can Yield such an Alcohol! Inebriate of Air - Am I - that is all
Happenstance Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 I used to drink beer when I was in college but that was more out of feeling I should than actually enjoying it. I just dont really drink anymore at all, never found one I liked the taste of and I dont like the idea of drinking just to get drunk.
Charlie Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 Cheap? It's one of the more expensive lagers. I drink it because I think it's better than most. (Zagorka's my favourite, but we don't get that here.) Really? Up in Scotland it's one of the ones which is ALWAYS on offer in supermarkets and one of the cheapest ones in the pubs.
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