r/beer • u/AutoModerator • Sep 09 '20
No Stupid Questions Wednesday - ask anything about beer
Do you have questions about beer? We have answers! Post any questions you have about beer here. This can be about serving beer, glassware, brewing, etc.
Please remember to be nice in your responses to questions. Everyone has to start somewhere.
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u/cocaineandwaffles1 Sep 10 '20
Is there anywhere I can order Revolver Blood and Honey from that would ship to California? I’m on a military instillation and have cravings for this beer way to often to be ignored at this point.
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u/MichaelThomasMVP Sep 10 '20
Are dark beers not a thing around Minneapolis? I moved here a few weeks ago and noticed that there exists an overabundance of IPAs and lagers but the two liquor stores nearest to me have maybe three stouts and porters total, none of them local. I imagine Surly is big enough to make a dark beer, no?
Also this is the first place I’ve had since college that has windowsill space — is putting your drank cans on display a “thing” that actual adults do or is that a college kid thing? I’m not talking Busch or Bud or whatever, I mean like the nice beers that I spend money on. If so, how do you choose which ones to display? Most recently drank? Best? Most expensive?
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u/cdbloosh Sep 11 '20
The bottles/cans feels like a college kid thing to me, even if the beer is good. Take the labels off and put them on a beer fridge or make them into coasters or something.
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u/IMP1017 Sep 10 '20
Lots of MN breweries have seasonal stouts but there aren't a ton of year-rounders. Watch for:
- Castle Danger George Hunter (year-round)
- Bent Paddle Black and Cold Press Black (both year-round)
- Fulton Brewing makes a ton of dark beers in the winter. Proper Porter, War and Peace, Worthy Adversary
- Summit used to have a bottled porter all the time but they stopped making it--but they occasionally make a stellar Russian Imperial Stout.
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u/TheoreticalFunk Sep 10 '20
Darker beers just don't sell as well. Just in general across the board. Most well known/loved stouts, etc. are seasonals. Not sure when Surly Darkness gets released, but it's kind of a Big Deal.
As for displaying empty beers... take pictures, toss the bottles. Personally I find it tacky. Though I still have my Utopias bottle as it's a nice display piece/conversation starter.
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u/bulbpix Sep 10 '20
Why do I only get the physical sensations of being drunk with beer? When I drink liquor, I know I act dumber and everything that comes with being drunk, but I don’t get the light-headedness, the warm face, the relaxed eyelids, etc. You know what I mean? Like with liquor I’m just suddenly drunk with no indication, but beer gives me physical cues that let me know exactly how drunk I am.
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u/cocaineandwaffles1 Sep 10 '20
I know what you mean, and it depends on the liquor for me. Whiskey and vodka will make me more relaxed and I can pace myself for a good minute until it all catches up to me and then it’s over (insert Dave Chappelle “gotcha bitch!” Meme). I get sloppy with beer, but relaxed with whiskey and vodka. I genuinely wonder why as well. All fun and games until you realized you’ve done over half a 5th if 3 hours and have to be at work in 5.
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u/BobbyGabagool Sep 10 '20
I have noticed often when I’m drinking unfiltered beers, specifically New England IPAs, my throat can get somewhat irritated. It’s almost like an allergy feeling. The feeling goes away within seconds, but it can be intense enough to force me to cough. I interpret it as the suspended solids irritating my throat. Does anybody else get this?
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u/theblindspring Sep 10 '20
Hop burn is my guess, since that seems to be a pretty common complaint with NEIPAs. What kind of NEIPAs are you drinking/what breweries?
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u/BobbyGabagool Sep 10 '20
Just some locally brewed Hazies in South Florida. I don’t think they are widely distributed. Also got the same feeling frequently with Old Nation M43 which might be more well known. But yeah i was just curious if this was a common thing.
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u/theblindspring Sep 10 '20
I would say M43 is good, but I have noticed some hop burn with that as well. The world is full of hazies right now, most of which are mediocre at best, IMO. I think people hold M43 pretty highly because it was one of the earlier NEIPAs on the scene, but by now I think there are better options.
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u/jellybellyboy Sep 10 '20
Anyone else get a cramping-like sensation on the jaw hinge (I think that’s the best way to describe it) when drinking beer? Sometimes it happens to me, most of the time it doesn’t. But sometimes it’s pretty bad and irritating.
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Sep 10 '20
I think I am allergic to cheap macros. Budweiser, bud lite, miller lite, Busch, etc. give me IBS so bad that I literally cannot drink them.
I can however drink German and Mexican beer (especially modelo)
What do you all think? Some sort of hops extract allergy? Preservative in US beer?
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u/TheoreticalFunk Sep 10 '20
I'd see about rice or corn being used as a grain base. Conduct science experiments on yourself.
Cheap macros are usually brewed with one or the other or both. Foreign brewers tend to look down on those grains for use in beer brewing to the point to where they would be offended by even the suggestion they use them.
What others have said is true as well, there's nothing 'extra' in these beers and the hops have likely nothing to do with it.
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u/Impossible_Location1 Sep 10 '20
Gluten maybe? I know Modelo is low in gluten.
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Sep 10 '20
That could be. I drink TONS of Modelo in the summer and have few problems. I didn't know that different beers have different levels of gluten. That is interesting. I appreciate the insight!
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u/BobbyGabagool Sep 10 '20
How do you do with Yuengling?
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Sep 10 '20
Ok. I don't buy it, but have drunk it in airports, etc. I had the same IBS reaction from Genessee Cream Ale. It is really annoying...the bloat, etc.
I switched to German beers with the purity rules. I drink Warsteiner, etc. with no problems.
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u/BobbyGabagool Sep 10 '20
Maybe your problem is wheat vs corn. Just a guess but I have no idea. The truth is heavy drinking is irritating to the digestive system regardless of what you’re drinking.
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u/namelessbrewer Sep 10 '20
There are no chemical preservatives in American macros. Hops, alcohol, and pasteurization is all they need.
Modelo is pretty darn close to an American lager.
Hop extracts don’t contain anything that isn’t in natural hops.
Are you sure that it isn’t something else you’re eating while drinking those beers?
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Sep 10 '20
Positive. I know it sounds crazy and I am not a "snob." While I love all beer, I would love to be able to oder a Budweiser at a restaurant. Maybe it is the rice or corn?
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u/namelessbrewer Sep 10 '20
Bud uses rice as adjunct. Miller and coors use corn syrups, no rice. Corn syrup is pretty much pure carbohydrates and nothing else, so that’s pretty unlikely. They all have malted barley which has some gluten. But all beers have gluten unless they’re made and labeled specifically gluten free. And micros will have more gluten than macros.
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u/EnvyMe702 Sep 10 '20
Recently discovered 450s brewing beer. I was wondering if there is any similar beers you suggest that are more widely available?
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u/sediana0717 Sep 09 '20
Barrel aged beers - we have a stash that we have been aging but I heard that after so many years it may not get smoother and if anything can get worse. Is that the case and if so, what is the sweet spot for drinking them?
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u/TheoreticalFunk Sep 10 '20
All beers are going to be different. However, I would say that once something hits 4 years, drink it. It's not going to get better. However, I would lean more towards 3.
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u/Nonplussed2 Sep 10 '20
I dabble in aging barrel-aged beers, especially Deschutes Abyss (family tradition). My 2c, three years is the sweet spot. They're still very good after that, but I start to notice a grainy texture. I've stopped aging anything for more than 3, maybe 4 years. I don't notice any improvement after that (in fact the opposite) and beer is for drinking.
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Sep 09 '20 edited Oct 26 '20
[deleted]
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u/Muskowekwan Sep 10 '20
Ya there's only been a few beers I've had that I can think of that aged well past 8 years. They were either barleywines or gueuzes.
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u/TwitchyIdaho Sep 09 '20
There is a beer shortage in our local area; we are about to run out of every brand entirely in CostCo as of today. Bottled Kokanee disappeared weeks ago locally. What is happening?
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u/Suihaki Sep 09 '20
Bottles I'm unsure unless it has to do with increased consumption all around, but we've been verging on an aluminum can shortage from what I've seen and heard. I would assume that could be part of it.
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u/fortwentyone Sep 10 '20
i think alcohol sales overall, in the US, has increased during the pandemic. Don't quote me but I think it was somewhere between 20-30%. However I think most of these are hard liquor sales. maybe the numbers are changing now, since liquor tends to go for longer I wonder if now we are starting to see more beer sales than liquor
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u/TheoreticalFunk Sep 10 '20
I read a report somewhere a while back saying keg sales were down, but can/bottle sales were way up. Which makes sense.
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u/rj1512 Sep 09 '20
What is your favorite song about beer?
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u/TheoreticalFunk Sep 10 '20
FIDLAR - Cheap Beer
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u/TheoreticalFunk Sep 10 '20
There's also the classic "I Like Beer" by Tom T. Hall. Which I prefer when covered by polka bands.
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u/cruiser1432 Sep 09 '20
15 beers by Johnny paycheck or one beer by mf doom (more tenuously about beer lol)
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u/mtrash Sep 09 '20
Fuck You Im Drunk
Or
Reel Big Fish Beer
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u/_gotmoxie_ Sep 09 '20
Totally reel big fish for me. I said it out loud when I saw the question.
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u/The_Running_Free Sep 10 '20
Haha same was actually just listening to Turn The Radio Off the other day.
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u/SubstantialBasis Sep 09 '20
What is the difference between West Coast IPA's, East Coast IPA's, and English IPA's?
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u/flyingmonkeybucket Sep 09 '20
are you asking about the original east coast ipa's, also known as american ipas, that aren't west coast ipas. or new england ipas? new england ipa's the the low bitterness and haze. an american ipa or original east coast ipa, or whatever we're calling it takes the english ipa focuses more on the hop than the malt, more pine and citrus, but still remains balanced.
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u/chapinde Sep 09 '20
I’ll give them in order of how they evolved:
English IPAs have more pronounced malt characteristics. They were just up the scale from ESB (extra special bitter) and often use English hops like Fuggles or East Kent Golding. They are grassier and very balanced.
West Coast IPAs toned down the malt character and upped the hop bitterness. They used a lot of Simcoe and Amarillo to impart citrus flavors along with serious bitterness (most are around 80-100 IBU).
East Coast IPAs have become known for haze, which has been amplified but sprung from a yeast strain known as Conan that The Alchemist used when brewing Heady Topper. They’ve evolved to be much less bitter (40-70 IBU) and have a pronounced tropical fruit flavor from hops such as Galaxy, Citra, and Mosaic.
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u/JMo4Sho11 Sep 09 '20
I enjoy beer. A lot. But it's empty calories. What ways are y'all able to medigate this caloric intake? I exercise, but I'm not trying to run 7 miles so I can drink a 6 pack that night. Diet could be better but it's not terrible. I haven't drank in over a month and I can see changes in my physical appearance which is nice. But I miss beer haha.
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u/entenduintransit Sep 11 '20
Wish I had a better answer for you on this, but the only thing I've found to do while eating enough and not substituting for cheaper/worse alcohol is to every now and then take a 6-10 week break from alcohol while being on a small calorie deficit with my food. This has been very difficult to get myself to do since March though and it's definitely time.
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u/LesHiboux Sep 09 '20
Kombucha!! Still some calories but I brew mine strong and then cut it with sparkling water.
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u/mityman50 Sep 09 '20
I've found LaCroix and even Sparkling Ice if you want something sweeter are cheap and decent substitutes for beer cravings. I have to sort of force myself into it when I really want a beer, but once I'm sipping the LaCroix fits the bill as a fizzy drink I can can sip every 2 minutes and drink 6 of in a night.
In general, I try to drink a glass of water before I drink and at least every other beer. Helps fill me up a bit.
Supplant your high calorie crafts with light beer. Max 2 craft beers when you do drink then find the lightest light beer you can find for the rest of the night.
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u/i3lueDevil23 Sep 09 '20
I like to do 1 of 2 things.
— Have beer as part of a post workout. This doesn’t even have to be a true workout in terms of heavy lifting or a long run. But even just a casual bike ride to a bar or brewery. It doesn’t completely negate the intake, but it helps.
— Split beers. Most of the time I mainly just want to try new beers as opposed to just wanting to drink for the sake of drinking. My wife and I will often split beers. Or I’ll split beers with coworkers or reps (I own a bottle shop so there’s almost always someone who is willing to share with me). If someone isn’t around to split the beer with... I’ll wait until there is. That way I’m not drinking a whole beer every time I want to try something new.
Another thought as I was typing and I think I do this subliminally. But in a lot of social situations with drinking. I will always stand and never sit while drinking. Small change but just being on your feet helps burn more calories while you’re taking them in ha
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u/JMo4Sho11 Sep 09 '20
I guess a problem I have is that I don't want to just drink one beer haha. I can easily go all week without one but when the weekend rolls around I could drink a 6 pack Friday and Saturday night. Sunday during the day if it's football season. I do like to try beers, and honestly, more often than not I'm not the biggest fan. So I end up finishing a beer I don't even enjoy. My wife is not a beer person so splitting won't really fly when I'm with her. I guess I could try making some friends 😅 There is a gas station a few blocks from my house so I could walk/run there every time I want to buy some instead of stopping on the drive home from work. Thanks for the ideas! Also, I should buy a bike.
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u/monster-of-the-week Sep 10 '20
Look for stores that sell single cans or mixed 6 packs. It won't solve the problem of not wasting a single beer, but you can try out way more beers without commiting to a whole pack. If you're doing that while drinking a 6 pack a night over a weekend, you'll at least narrow down what brands and styles you like, and can probably find some good options for lower calorie session beers that still have more flavor than non-craft beers.
Honestly the other part of that is changing your drinking habits. I also used to want to drink a lot of beer everytime I drank. Basically that was most of my twenties. Getting into different styles helped change my consumption and so now I might drink 2-3 rather than 6. If all else fails, try chugging a couple glasses of water right before you start drinking. You'll get some extra hydration, plus you'll likely be less inclined to slam back beers if you have a stomach full of water.
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u/i3lueDevil23 Sep 09 '20
Biking and drinking is one of my favorite activities! I highly recommend (except not in excess because you’ll wreck your bike into the Ohio River like I have done...)
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u/the_frazzler Sep 09 '20
Is a lot of yeast build up in bottles a bad thing? I just bought a 6 pack and noticed a lot of yeast floating around when I brought it inside. Threw it in the fridge to settle but still curious. Is it a sign of how it was handled during shipping?
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u/bigdateis_gr8 Sep 09 '20
I’m no expert but I’ve always been told it’s not a bad thing. If I’m pouring it I just leave that last little bit out but a lot of times I’ll just go and drink it
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u/MuerteDiablo Sep 09 '20
This is normal. Unless you are extremely careful it's normal for it to be floating around when you move it.
It is not a bad thing . If you do not want yeast in your glass you need to wait a few hours for it to settle. I personally don't mind it and just pour it into thr glass.
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u/the_frazzler Sep 09 '20
Awesome, thanks. It seems like some beers have more than others so I guess I was more curious if it's a style thing or a condition thing. Never noticed any off flavors but if there's a lot I usually do a careful pour.
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u/i3lueDevil23 Sep 09 '20
It depends on the brewery and/ or style. If they don’t filter, or cold crash it can result in a lot of sediment and yeast being packaged. Some breweries package and add yeast / use bottle conditioning for natural carbonation. One of my favorite breweries in the US primarily bottle conditions all of their packaged product (I say primarily because I’m not sure if they e changed in any of their beers, but I’m pretty sure all of their packaged beers are bottle conditioned). Maine Beer Co.
If the visual sediment turns you off, you can either let it settle in the fridge and leave a bit in the can/bottle when you pour, or you can roll the can gently before pouring. Rolling will cause it to shake up more so that it blends together better and isn’t as noticeably separated.
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u/interfrasticted Sep 09 '20
We made a home brew plum Gose that was amazing but had a lot of pulp sediment, a careful pour was needed but it’s only fruit and yeast. No issue drinking the bits
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u/iButtle Sep 09 '20
Do most people really taste all the little flavors like leather, smoke, chocolate, grass, smoke....etc. or are they just trying to sound like beer snobs?
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u/TheoreticalFunk Sep 10 '20
If you were really into breakfast cereals and had tasting notes on them, most people would read them and go "WTF are you even talking about?" Same with beer. Yes, some people really taste these things. Just like when handed a Bud Light when you're expecting a Miller Lite, you're going to know the difference.
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u/The_Running_Free Sep 10 '20
Find an IPA with Sabro. You will almost undoubtedly think there’s coconut in the beer. It’s pretty wild haha 🍻
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u/VinPeppBBQ Sep 10 '20
Ha! I swear I can smell sabro from across the room. It's definitely not a good single hop beer, IMO. But quite nice when paired accordingly.
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Sep 09 '20
Just to add to everyone else. Imagine you don't like spicy food. You try it and just about every spicy food is going to taste spicy.
Once you get used to it you can taste jalepeño or habanero etc etc
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Sep 09 '20
Tasting notes are relatively easy to break down.
Let's say you get a fruit note. What kind of fruit? More like citrus or more like tropical? Tropical, ok. More like mango or more like pineapple? Pineapple, ok. Smoke as well? Ok, bbq'd pineapple on a beach at midnight in the mediterranean it is then.
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u/SubstantialBasis Sep 09 '20
One thing to consider about the human pallette in general is that exposure allows us to find more specific flavors in anything. For example, when many people start drinking beer they might say that all beer tastes the same, but if they spend time drinking a lot of IPA's, they might be able to index the different flavors they taste and connect those to the hops in the beers. Sometimes we taste something that reminds us of other flavors too even though it doesn't exactly taste like those things.
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u/i3lueDevil23 Sep 09 '20
100% agreed.
The more you drink a certain thing, the more you’ll be able to note subtleties. I’ve got a solid palate for most beer styles, but bourbon I can only tell you if I like it or not. I just don’t drink that TYPE of drink enough to catch the subtle differences.
One other thing I seem to notice in terms of people’s abilities to differentiate is whether or not they are big into food. Foodies always seems to be able to specify a specific food flavor, smell, mouthfeel, etc than people (like me) who may be a little more picky with their food choices
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u/SubstantialBasis Sep 09 '20
I think it's interesting how varied the refinement of my palette is even within beer. Like stouts and porters I can get a load of different flavors, but If you ask me to pick out differences in say two golden ales, I'd be screwed.
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u/i3lueDevil23 Sep 09 '20
Practice makes perfect. Keep drinking my friend and I bet you could become a master
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u/Catsdrinkingbeer Sep 09 '20
This likely depends on the person, whether they've been lead to believe certain traits are there, and how much training they've had. For example, if you write on the back of a bottle that the beer has hints of chocolate, most people who read that will pick up on that aroma. If you drink a beer and someone asks if you got grassy notes, you'll hone in on that specific trait and determine whether you think it was present or not. And certain styles tend to have certain characteristics people look for. You're not really looking for chocolate or smokey notes in an IPA, but it's likely someone will pick up on that in a stout or porter purely because of the malts used in those types of beers. But in general, it's harder to describe a beer from scratch than to have some sort of prompt, whether directly or indirectly.
My fiance and I both worked in beer for years. I'm excellent at picking up subtle notes or off flavors, and he's garbage at it. But I went through a full year of sensory training, and then part of being on our validated panel at the brewery was describing beer every single day during beer approvals. If you do it all the time, and you have a general understanding of what you're doing, then yeah, it's totally reasonable that people really are picking up on subtle notes and flavors.
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u/caucasianally Sep 09 '20
Your taste buds actually change. If you went from never drinking IPA’s to having only IPA’s when enjoying a beer....eventually you will notice less of the bitter hoppy taste and more of the background flavours. That’s not to say there aren’t beer snobs but your taste is fluid it will change and grow with you
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u/KuzcosPzn Sep 09 '20
I think many (if not most) people who comment on it are being genuine. If you drink beer often enough those subtleties can be hard to miss. Besides many brewers have gotten bolder with these flavors lately making them not really subtle at all.
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u/LesHiboux Sep 09 '20
For home brewers - what are some tips/tricks that you wish you had learned early on?
I just started brewing last Saturday and I'm sure I'll make plenty of mistakes along the way, but I'd love to know what the more experienced brewers wished they knew as they were just getting started!
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u/cdbloosh Sep 11 '20
Go to r/homebrewing. That isn't me dismissing your question, that's actually my tip/trick. There is a TON of good info there and a very active homebrewing community.
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u/LesHiboux Sep 11 '20
I'm already there! I find some of their discussions are far too advanced for my current level of knowledge, but one day I hope to understand what is being discussed. Thanks for the input!
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u/cdbloosh Sep 11 '20
No problem. In my experience you can get great, quick answers in the daily Q&A threads. They're very helpful and welcoming to beginners. I was where you were about 4 years ago.
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u/general_wimpy Sep 11 '20
Just keep brewing! I started super slow and felt intimidated for a long time, always afraid of getting something wrong or making a "newbie mistake."
When the pandemic hit I started brewing more and immediately wished I had done it sooner. I've learned so much just by doing it and reading Reddit and other forums/sites/books.
Most of all, have fun! Just get comfortable with the process, and then you start to understand where you can refine and improve. Much smoother (and cheaper) than buying a bunch of gear just because!
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u/Traveler606 Sep 09 '20
Switch to kegging and stop bottling as soon as you can. Some folks enjoy bottling but I never did. Too many containers to clean, fill, and cap and then wait 2-3 weeks. It's so much better in my experience to clean and fill one container and then be able to drink it in days.
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u/interfrasticted Sep 09 '20
This is a good call, we made a Keezer and fitted taps on the outside, made kegging even better!
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u/hornytoad69 Sep 09 '20
Make sure you clean the hell out of everything. Since you're just starting, I assume you don't have any crazy equipment that's tough to clean. But my fermentor is great, a big plastic conical. But it harbors mold in every tiny little part. I have to take it all apart and clean it really good.
If you don't, your final product could wind up tasting like smelly shoes plus old bananas. I've been there.
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u/the_frazzler Sep 09 '20
Star San is probably my most used but under appreciated item on my brew shelf. That shit will solve world peace one day. One day...
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u/zawai Sep 09 '20
How did people in the past kept beer carbonated when pouring out of barrel? And in a sealed barrel, how did it not explode?
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u/kerroscene Sep 09 '20
They in fact can explode if left for too long. Its cask conditioned beer BTW. Usually they would put the beer into casks towards the end of fermentation, deliver to the pubs whilst still fermenting, then it would be up to the cellar man / landlord to sell the beer at the right time. It is/ was an art.
But cask beer in the UK is dying out and to be honest I'm not missing it.
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u/SubstantialBasis Sep 09 '20
You should look into English cellar ales (I think that's what they're called). Some people in the UK call them "real ales."
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u/zawai Sep 09 '20
Ah that’s where my question came from I was reading about Real Ale and was wondering how did they keep it carbonated or even slow down fermentation.
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u/TheoreticalFunk Sep 10 '20
Have you seen how small those casks are? Might be a good idea to look into Kolsch as well. Watching those people work is fairly fascinating to me.
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u/SubstantialBasis Sep 09 '20
Oh yeah, I'm not sure I have that answer. I want to try it though hahaha
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u/Elk_Man Sep 09 '20
Beer in the past wasn't as carbonated as it is today and was still fermenting a bit in the barrel which keeps a bit of CO2 in solution.
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u/jorsiem Sep 09 '20
What are the differences between all the IPA styles that have come out lately? IPA, New England IPA, West Coast IPA etc.
Also what's the difference between an American Pale Ale and an India Pale Ale?
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u/Arthur_Edens Sep 09 '20
Quick hits:
- American Pale Ale is light colored beer with low malt flavor (a little caramel) with moderate bitterness (30-50 IBUs) and high hop flavor (could be fruity, citrusy, or piney).
- IPA is an India Pale Ale. Light color, low malt flavor, high bitterness (50-70IBUs), high hop flavor.
- NEIPA is a New England IPA. Light color, low malt flavor, low to medium bitterness (25-60), very high hop flavor, high mouthfeel and haze.
- West Coast IPA: Not really an official style, so you'll get different answers from different people.
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u/robo-66y Sep 09 '20
As far as I've seen, west coast IPA is usually harkening back to the crystal clear IPAs for which the style originally became well loved, specifically to differentiate between hazies, which have become so common that they frequently tend to not even bother with the "New England" prefix and just call them IPAs. At least, that's what I've gathered here within New England, can't speak for everywhere else.
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Sep 09 '20
I could launch into a detailed post in reply on this, but I don't think I'll do better than the BJCP Style Guidelines. Google that and check out all of the styles
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u/pazdemy Sep 09 '20
How many beer in the world ?
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u/mr_flibble13 Sep 09 '20
Lets see... there's Hamm's, High Life, and Westvleteren 12, so there's probably at least 3
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Sep 09 '20
Is there any DEFINITIVE difference between Stouts & Porters in 2020. ABV used to be the difference back in the day (or at least that's my understanding.) But now you see 8.0%+ porters and 5% stouts...is there supposed to be a difference? or are the names pretty much interchangeable in 2020?
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u/gamemasterjd Sep 09 '20
My understanding is that its generally the prevalence of roasted malt in stouts. Usually stouts can be* presented drier whereas porters are super sweet.
*pastry stouts nwstanding.
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u/StardustOasis Sep 09 '20
There isn't really a difference these days, but generally a porter is made with all roast malted barley, whereas a stout will probably have a percentage of unmalted roast barley.
Porter will also never refer to a sweetened beer like a milk stout, you won't get a milk porter.
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u/mr_eht Sep 09 '20
You should never use never, I never should either. But there are a bunch of breweries calling their beers milk porters if you start searching for them.
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u/adam3vergreen Sep 09 '20
I’ve never understood why my jaw sometimes gets sore/locked up whenever I drink IPAs with higher IBUs.
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u/MickRaider Sep 09 '20
Do you notice it more with hoppier beers? It could be an allergy, especially if it feels like it's on the lymph nodes
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u/adam3vergreen Sep 09 '20
Def not lymph nodes. It’s specifically my jaw muscles. Kind of like when I got my wisdom teeth taken out and couldn’t open my mouth for a few weeks and my jaw muscles locked up
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u/IMP1017 Sep 09 '20
stop deepthroating the can /s
remember that this is not a subreddit full of doctors. I have general jaw soreness issues that stem from excessive teeth grinding and clenching. It's hard to imagine that bitterness in something that would trigger it, unless you have some kind of allergy.
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u/adam3vergreen Sep 09 '20
I realize it’s not a sub of doctors, just something I thought someone might know, since I really only get it with west-coast style IPAs or high IBU beers like think Unearthly or SixPoint Resin or even like Raging Bitch.
But I hadn’t noticed in awhile because I’ve been swerving hard into the NEIPA trend, and found myself liking some lighter beers like cream ales, blondes, and kolsches. Then had a straight up APA and my jaw got kinda sore.
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u/Chris_TMH Sep 09 '20
Happens to me occasionally drinking Stella or Fosters, only on the first can, after that I'm fine.
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u/Senorisgrig Sep 09 '20
I get the exact same thing, plus like a tingle in my jaw but I can’t pinpoint what style of beer does it and it hasn’t gotten worse at all
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u/BeerVernacular Sep 09 '20
Why do some breweries release beer that explodes? I get the underlying cause of the problem, but why do some breweries find it acceptable to put that onus on the customer?
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u/gamemasterjd Sep 09 '20
Occasionally its beer that hasn't fully completed fermentation. Since a lot of craft beer is unfiltered, the canning process can kick fermentation back into process; even though there's no infection etc. Additionally some breweries add adjuncts but don't account for trace sugars in those.
source: Black is beautiful coconut vanilla variant that tastes great but eventually became a can bomb.
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u/StardustOasis Sep 09 '20
Sometimes it's a canning issue. For example, when Neon Raptor changed to a new canning line, they had to recall a few batches because the cans had a tendancy to explode.
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u/BeerVernacular Sep 09 '20
To me that's the correct process. Problem recognized and rectified. A lot of breweries are wearing it like a badge of honor though and I genuinely don't get it.
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u/iSheepTouch Sep 09 '20
Because there is high demand for beer that essentially is just a partially fermented fruit smoothie. If they let fermentation complete it wouldn't be fruity enough for people and the consistency would be entirely different, so they can it and tell people to drink it fresh and not store it warm for any amount of time. I think the whole style is stupid to be honest, and really not beer at all.
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u/BeerVernacular Sep 09 '20
So to me it seems like they should have better QC processes in that case, right? The fruit won't ferment without viable yeast. Seems like they could pasteurize or something similar?
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u/robo-66y Sep 09 '20
I would imagine that would also absolutely destroy the product- have you had fresh juice next to pasteurized juice? Pasteurization is massively convenient and allows us to drastically increase the shelf life of beverages, but it's a massive trade-off on quality. Fresh OJ tastes like oranges, pasteurized OJ tastes like water with pennies and orange pulp.
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u/Catsdrinkingbeer Sep 09 '20
This is largely incorrect when it comes to beer. Most larger craft breweries use pasteurizers, usually in-line flash pasteurizers, specifically to kill remaining yeast. This became a big thing several years ago when diastaticus was running rampant. It has very little effect on the aroma, taste, or mouthfeel, and you as the consumer likely wouldn't notice if a beer were pasteurized or not.
Your example makes sense with OJ, but even with super fruited beer it's only a component of the overall product so it has a lesser effect on overall taste.
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u/BeerVernacular Sep 09 '20
While there are definitely examples of award winning beers that are pasteurized, I get the point you're making here. So if not that, maybe it makes sense for them to seriously invest in their QC, or send samples out to an outside lab to make sure there are no yeast cells present in a given batch?
I guess what I'm getting at is I don't know why a brewery finds it acceptable to put any beer out that poses a risk for blowing up.
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u/iSheepTouch Sep 09 '20
Pasteurization is a big ask to a small to midsized craft brewery. I assume that would work, but I don't really know how it would affect the beer.
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u/BeerVernacular Sep 09 '20
Devil's advocate - if they can't safely produce the beer without a risk of explosion, and thus injury, shouldn't they pass on the style? I just can't wrap my head around why some breweries don't see the issue. At the end of the day, I get that it's about money, keeping doors open, keeping people employed, etc.
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u/iSheepTouch Sep 09 '20
No, you're right, it's all about money. I don't think they are a legitimate danger in terms of bodily harm though, more likely harm to your fridge/carpet/car seat when they blow out.
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u/BeerVernacular Sep 09 '20
Depending on where they explode, yes. I'm just thinking about that scene from Breaking Bad where Hank has a garage full of bottle bombs.
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u/iSheepTouch Sep 09 '20
Yeah, if it's glass bottles I could definitely see real danger from them exploding, but I've never seen one in a bottle, it's always cans.
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u/BeerVernacular Sep 11 '20
Just going to leave this here: Reddit - https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/iqcla5/craft_beer_can_explodes_causes_injury/
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u/Arthur_Edens Sep 09 '20
You're not crazy, it's irresponsible for a brewery to put out packaged beer that's not stable. If they're leaving fermentable sugar behind, they should pasteurize it. Yeast isn't that hard to kill (it starts dying at about 115 degrees). They could use potassium metabisulfite if they didn't want to heat treat, I think that's what wine makers do.
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Sep 09 '20
it's definitely a beer base. I see no problem with it. keep it in the fridge and your fine. I've never had a smoothie beer blow up on me and i drink them all the time.
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u/fishthe9 Sep 09 '20
Hello all. A little preface.. So I am a new Mechanical Engineering grad without a job (still searching for one) and a bunch of free time on my hands. I figured I should do something that would keep my engineering skills up to date. So I had the idea of designing an affordable kegerator and then building it.
So my question is, what is the market like for kegerators? If I designed and built an affordable, probably college student friendly, kegerator, do you think there are enough people interested to buy them but simply can't afford the already existing kegerators on the market now? It would be nice to have a fun hobby and maybe make a little money on the side.
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u/matthewsteez Sep 09 '20
In my early 20s I searched everywhere for something like this. The new ones were too expensive, craigslist finds were often dirty and shoddy, and DIY was a little daunting without the right tools. I know I would've jumped on a small, affordable model marketed to college-age and after.
But, hey, I could be in the minority. You're asking people subscribed to a craft beer subreddit after all.
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u/fishthe9 Sep 09 '20
I know for me, I would love to have one. So it's nice to hear other people would have liked one too at that age.
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u/matthewsteez Sep 09 '20
Hell, I'm 31 and I'm still interested, especially since Covid struck me a blow financially. I'm sure you'd have buyers on this sub!
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u/jorsiem Sep 09 '20
I've always thought that it would be cool to have a super compact kegerator that held 1 Corny+5lbsCo2
All the Kegerators in the market are meant for either one Sankey or multiple Cornys + CO2 and take up a ton of space
I personally can't fit one anywhere in my small apartment nor I ever drink anything that comes in a Sankey because at home I either drink homebrewed or in bottles so something like I described would be amazing.
That said I'm not sure it there are more people like me to make a product viable so don't take my case as any indication that there is a market for something like this.
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u/fishthe9 Sep 09 '20
Thanks for your reply. Someone else suggested I poll people, so that's another question I could ask. Whether I should make smaller kegerators or larger ones. Currently, I lean towards making smaller ones just because I don't have too much space to work with either. I will definitely research smaller kegerator options and maybe I can hit that market.
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u/Accomplished-Rock-45 Sep 09 '20
I'm not exactly sure what kind of market you would want to reach when making them but I am a 26 year old male that would be interested in an affordable option for a kegerator. Even in school I would have been interested It would be easy to pitch together $200 or so to get one for a house or apartment that everyone could us. I'm assuming at least 3 people per house/apt. My recommendation would be to create the first one and see how it comes out and if you enjoyed the process. In the meantime, if you were serious about selling them, gather some info through surveys or polls (I think surveymonkey is free) to see how you could cater to the consumer a little more. Interested to see the outcome!
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u/fishthe9 Sep 09 '20
Thanks for your reply! The market i would try to reach is probably people in their 20's and who would not be able to afford already existing kegerators. That's a good point that people who are interested might split the cost with roomates or friends. I like your polls idea, I can post polls on FB before making multiple kegerators. Also, my plan is exactly what you said, to make a kegerator for myself or a friend first and see how it goes, and then decide if its a viable plan to make and sell.
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u/your_banana_bandit Sep 09 '20
I'm very curious as to how you would make them cheaper. The current business model of a mini fridge with hole drilled through the top seems to be the most cost effective way unless you have a way to get refrigeration units at an incredibly low price.
The issue with kegerators has always been kegs and maintenance. Kegs arent sold everywhere, are cumbersome to transport, and you have to eventually return the cooperage to get your deposit back. On top of that, you have to dial in the CO2 keg-to-keg, clean the lines with incredibly abrasive cleaner, find a dealer to buy CO2 from, and find a place to put the kegerator. Thats a lot more work than buying two cases of beer and putting them in your refrigerator.
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u/fishthe9 Sep 09 '20
I would start with mini fridges and see how that goes. I want one for myself anyways, so I could go through the process of obtaining the CO2 tanks and appropriate valves and hardware. If it works out and I find good distributors for everything I can move towards making more of them.
About maintaining, I would learn first hand with my first kegerator how easy/hard to maintain they are. Then I could suggest to anyone purchasing one from me to get the appropriate maintenance items. I could even offer a package that includes maintenance items if they so desire.
Also I live in a location where there are plenty of breweries that would sell kegs.
Thanks for your input!
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u/okawei Sep 09 '20
How many beers would you say you all drink in a week? I'm sitting at around 14 or so and am beginning to worry about my health.
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u/entenduintransit Sep 11 '20
From March until last month I was sitting pretty around 24-30/week.... Lol
Cutting it in half for this month though with the longer term goal of getting it to single digits and staying there. Drinking and video games have been too much of a crutch for me lately and has been easy to get away with due to working from home
Up until around December or January I had stuck to around 8-10 per week for a while which is not amazing but it'd be a hell of an improvement from where I've been lately
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u/TheoreticalFunk Sep 10 '20
If it's causing you to worry about your health, it's too many.
If you ever stop and wonder if you have a problem, you already do.
Some of us learned these lessons the hard way.
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u/SarcasticDevil Sep 10 '20
I probably drink about 3-5 440ml cans in a week, but then I do often pick up something else like a couple of smaller cans, wine, or a glass of two of whisky.
I find 0% stuff to be great at satisfying the craving on weekdays, the Heineken one is worryingly similar to their regular lager.
I definitely have increased my drinking during covid though, being home every day of the week with no real plans makes drinking very tempting
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u/hasadiga42 Sep 09 '20
1-6 for me. Never usually go past 4 in a night but that’s more of a COVID thing.
4-20 pre-COVID especially during the NFL season
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u/cdbloosh Sep 11 '20
That's about where I'm at too. I've seen so many people talking about how they're drinking so much more during COVID but for me it's been the complete opposite. It was always a social activity for me above all and that just hasn't been a thing for me. I'll still have a good can or two on a random weeknight but the "drink a total of 6 beers before, during and after softball" sorts of nights are the ones that have been eliminated.
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u/okawei Sep 09 '20
Yeah I'm usually 1-2/night on the weekdays then 4-5 a night on the weekends but I only drink probably 2 or so nights during the week
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u/BigBucks5001 Sep 09 '20
These days I'm at about 6-8 beers a week, drinking 3-4 days of the week at this point. But I can relate! I used to be up there with you at 14+ earlier this year, but since the pandemic I've been doing better at paying attention to my health which for me has meant less beer among other lifestyle changes. (I was also generally in a bad place in life a year ago which led to excessive drinking, but that's a whole other thing)
You (and perhaps your doctor) are the best person to make judgement calls about what's healthy for you. Everyone's body, lifestyle, and risk tolerance is different so don't get too lost in the weeds by comparing yourself to others. Being on this sub, I definitely find myself tempted to drink more often than I should.
However, I would say in general it's probably a good idea to take breaks of a couple days and to drink less alcohol overall. Also, 14 pints of a NEIPA or imperial stout porter is very different from 14 cans of Miller Lite when counting beers. Just something to keep in mind.
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u/chicken_ear Sep 09 '20
Anywhere from 1-5 per week for me. I used to drink about as much as you, but I've cut back in the last year.
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u/MickRaider Sep 09 '20
How did you cut back? I've been slowly inching up from 1 a day to ~2-3. I think more it's just something enjoyable to drink in the evening but I can't tell if it's the flavor or the alcohol I enjoy most. Most other options I enjoy have sugar or caffeine
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u/chicken_ear Sep 09 '20
A lot of self-talk. I basically cut out sodas as well, with a morning cup of coffee and an evening beer being my only non-water drinks. When I reach for a drink, I try to tell myself to have a glass of water first, and that's usually enough to take my mind off of other drinks. I think of a beer more as a once in a while treat, and I've always been a bit of a sipper anyways. So, one beer can last the evening. Forgot to add that I make hop water and I've dedicated a tap of the kegerator to it.
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u/Brally100 Sep 09 '20
I've also cut back from one beer daily to one every other day. My weight was only going upwards so I needed to put a stop to it xp
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u/5guysinme Sep 09 '20
Why are beers bitter? What makes them a stout, ipa, sour ect(basically the process). How can one make a strong beer. And finally why do people think wine is better than beer.
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u/MelbPickleRick Sep 10 '20
Generally, it's hops that make beer bitter, but water profile, type of grain and other ingredients can have an influence. How we perceive bitterness is down to the balance of the beer, mostly between unfermented sugars and bitterness.
Difference in ingredients and production processes.
More alcohol as a result of yeast eating more available sugars.
Your question isn't about the preference in what people like to drink, but the social attitudes around beer and wine drinking.
Simple, wine has always been an expensive, status product for the elite, beer has not.
Read Charles Bamforth's 'Grapes and Grain, A Historical, Technological, and Social Comparison of Wine and Beer.'
Beer has been a drink that was available to everyone, young, old, rich, poor. This has been true throughout history.
In Roman times, only the wealthy and elite had wine. They owned vineyards throughout parts of the Roman Empire. Apparently, Pliny The Elder was the first person to refer to a particular vintage of wine. Wine was a status symbol. People wanted to have the best wine to impress others. But, they also drank beer.
The Gauls drank beer, not wine. The Romans saw the Gauls as savages, they thought this made them better.
Before the Romans, it was the same in ancient Egyptian culture.
This view has virtually continued down through history, wine views as elite; beer for the masses. Wine, expensive and rare; beer, cheap and mass-produced. Wine for a meal; beer to get drunk.
It's only over the past few generations, that wine has become readily available to the masses in countries like America. And over the past 40 years, we have seen a huge change in beer.
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u/5guysinme Sep 11 '20
Lol thank you! This was very methodical and informative. personally I only drink beers. I feel there is a greater variety in not only taste but style too. Every time I drink wine I get the same taste over and over reguardless of how expensive it is.
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u/chicken_ear Sep 09 '20
The addition of bittering herbs is a feature of most beers to varying degrees. Generally stouts are made with some roasted grains and malt forward, pale alles are made with hops as the key feature, sours are fermented with bacteria and other microbes that produce sour flavors. People's taste in beverages are subjective.
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u/5guysinme Sep 09 '20
Thanks, I'm aware the last one was subjective I just wanted to hear your opinion basically.
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u/prayersforrain Sep 09 '20
Hops, beers are bitter because of hops.
different styles have different brewing methods and that's way too long to explain in one comment.
Strong beer as in higher ABV? More sugar in the fermentation.
Just like all things everyone has preferred tastes.
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u/hcriB Sep 09 '20
The last question is a little weird. Why do people think apples taste better than oranges? Lol
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u/MelbPickleRick Sep 10 '20
Not weird at all, you just have to understand what has shaped the social norms around beer and wine.
The choice between apples and oranges is a preference, not something that has been shaped by social and economic reasons for thousands of years.
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u/psychedelicdevilry Sep 09 '20
Why are NEIPAs so popular right now?
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u/The_Running_Free Sep 10 '20
Because they’re freaking delicious. Like I’ve never been a big beer drinker but discovered i like IPA one night at a work event. So i started dabbling a bit but it was literally game on after trying my first hazy IPAs. In fact were it not for NEIPAs id be drinking way less and putting less money in brewery’s pockets. Im sure there are a lot of people like me keeping them in demand so to speak haha
Id argue the same is true for seltzer’s sudden rise in popularity. that’s about all my wife drinks and also isn’t much of a drinker outside of that and the occasional Rose. 🍻
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u/EbNinja Sep 09 '20
To me, It’s a maturation/broadening if the market and palate. American Brewers are rediscovering lost techniques, creating new styles, and making up for time lost to Prohibition. Nuance, changing brewing technology, and more flavor combination going in ever expanding circles. Getting good hops around and the new yeasts would be the biggest pieces to push the new craft market to expand the hop flavor appeal.
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u/psychedelicdevilry Sep 09 '20
I guess my palate isn’t mature because I still prefer west coast IPAs. The I’ll drink an occasional NEIPA but they’re generally too sweet for me.
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u/EbNinja Sep 10 '20
Oh, actually I’d say your palate is... overly mature? Mature beyond it’s years? Abused into growing up too fast?
The sweetness is part of the American infantile obsession/addiction to sugar. The sweet iPA’s are a logical outcome to the technical skills of high hop brewers looking for more customers. Cheaper hops, new hop tech, new yeast. Put em together and what have you got? Sweet unbalanced ipa’s trying to match the masters. A good FRESH West Coast May be a bit bitter, but it’s balanced. Most of the world couldn’t match it, but tried. They got super cloyingly,bitter beers. Like Stone on Cocaine, 3 Floyd’s on speed, or Sierra Nevada on crack, Lupulin abuse happened. It’s still happening, and Americans are bearing the brunt of the hop assault. The IBU escalation wars were rough, and beers like 120 minute or Double Bastard survived, and should. But Hoptimus Prime from my local shop still brings back ptsd of cheese, onion, and soul destroying bitterness. It’s still probably doing damage, 8 years down the line.
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u/AndyObtiva Sep 11 '20
Is beer considered a kind of wine? That is wine made out of wheet instead of grapes. Or is it the other way around whereby wine is a sort of a beer, but made of grapes instead of wheet? I just know Sake is considered a form of rice wine even though rice might be closer to wheet than grapes.