7 Myths Ever Beer Lover Should Know

7 Myths Ever Beer Lover Should Know

 

Edmonton International BeerFest

Edmonton International BeerFest

If you are a beer lover, chances are you have heard stories about your favorite beverage. What you may not know is that some of the stories that you have been hearing are falsehoods, not facts. The next time you reach into your refrigerator to grab a brewski, there you should be able to tell the difference between the facts and fiction.

1. Temperature Can Skunk the Beer

Many brewski drinkers believe that if the temperature of the liquid fluctuates, it will have a negative effect on the taste. This is not true. When the beverage is brewed, the breweries fill the bottles and cans with a cold ale. It usually stays cold when it is delivered to the store. There are many stores who will put the product on the store floor until it is purchased. Finally, when you get your drinks home, you put it in the refrigerator. Through all of these temperature changes, the beverage won’t lose its taste. One thing that will skunk the brewski is sunlight. This is why many breweries use brown bottles. Clear bottles and green bottles allow the contents to be exposed to light and making them taste like skunk. This is why many breweries don’t use these color bottles.

2. Bottles Are Better Than Cans

There are many people who think that bottled brewskies are better than cans. Part of the reason for this myth is that most craft beers are usually in a bottle. What you may not know is that craft beers brewers are using cans more often. Some people say that canned brewskis have a metallic taste. While this was true years ago, breweries now use a chemical liner in the can. This will prevent the contents from tasting like metal. The truth is that cans are better. They are lighter which saves on shipping costs which is why cans are cheaper than bottles. Cans are also more recyclable. In addition, cans are often sold at sporting events and establishments where glass bottles are not allowed. Finally, cans are not transparent, therefore, the contents cannot be exposed to the sunlight which can have a negative effect on the taste.

3. Dark Beers Are Stronger and More Bitter

All dark brewskis are not stronger and more bitter than light ones. While some dark beers are, there are some dark beers that are just dark in color as a result of the malt that is used and it won’t affect the taste. When it comes to the strength of your favorite brand, color has nothing to do with it. Stronger beers will have more sugar in the initial wort. This can occur in both dark and light beers and it all depends on how it is fermented.

4. Beer Needs To Be Served Ice Cold

There are many people who won’t drink a brewski unless it is ice cold because they believe that it should be. The truth is that this beverage can be cold, but if it is too cold, it can mask the flavor. There is a certain formula that you should follow based on the type that you are drinking.

  • American Larger: Serving temperature- 34 degrees
  • Stout: Serving temperature- 55 degrees also known a cellar temperature
  • Craft Beers: Serving temperature 40 to 55 degrees

5. A Beer’s Foam Is Your Enemy

Most people believe that a perfectly poured brewski won’t have any foam at the top. These people hate the thought of sifting through the foam to get to the actual drink. This is actually a myth. A good glass of suds will have a finger and a half of head on the top. This foam will actually trap the flavor and the aroma of the beverage in the glass. While some head is good, too much is bad. If you have too much head in your glass, it will release too much carbonation, resulting in a flat drink. The foam in a brewski is just 25 percent beer. If your glass is half foam, you won’t be getting as much brewski as you are paying for.

6. Wine Is More Complex Than Most Beers

Most brewski drinkers have at least one friend who says they won’t drink a few beers because it is too simple. This is not true. Brewskis has over 700 different flavor profiles while wine has only half that amount. Therefore, a brewski is more complex than wine.

7. ”Beers Before Liquor, Never Been Sicker”

There is a drinking saying that many people abide by. It says, “Beers before liquor, never been sicker. Liquor before beers, in the clear.” This saying is right and it is wrong. There are no components in liquor and a few beers that make it better to drink one first. However, if you are at home sipping on a few beers, you will get a small buzz. When you get to the bar and you start drinking shots, you get drunk after the fact. If you are at home drinking shots, you will be drunk when you get to the bar and you are more likely to sip your brewski.

If you love to have a few cold beers on a night out, you should know the facts and the fiction regarding your favorite alcoholic beverage.

Our annual BeerFest in Edmonton offers some of the best selections from the micro brewing community. Tickets for the 2018 International Beerfest are on sale now! Buy tickets today before the event sells out!

Most Memorable Beer Quotes

Most Memorable Beer Quotes

 

TOP 20 BEER QUOTES OF ALL TIME

Alcohol drinking seems to produce some of the best quotes which are written by notable authors including Plato, Benjamin Franklin, Ron Burgundy, Jim Morrison and many more. Such quotes bring fun and can be used to convert serious situations into funny ones. Below is a list of some of the most memorable beer quotes of all time from around the world.

    1. Beer is a proof that God loves people and wants them to be happy – Benjamin Franklin.
    2. Whoever invented beer is a wise man – Plato.
    3. I would kill everyone in the room just for one drop of just a drop of quality beer – Homer Simpson.
    4. No doubt, beer is the greatest invention in the entire history of mankind. The wheel was also a great invention, but it does not go nearly as well with pizza as beer – Dave Barry.
    5. 24 hours a day and 24 beers in a case equals coincidence – Stephen Wright.
    6. Since everybody has to believe in something, I believe I’ll get another drink – W.C. Fields.
    7. May your glass always be full, and the roof over your head always strong. And may you be in heaven for half an hour before the devil realizes that you’re dead – Irish Toast.
    8. An intelligent man is sometimes forced to drink in order to spend time with fools – Earnest Hemingway.
    9. Always remember that I have taken more out of alcohol than what alcohol has taken out of me – Winston Churchill.
    10. Beer is the cause and solution of all the problems of life – Homer Simpson.
    11. God made years and dough, and loves fermentation just as he loves vegetation – Ralph Waldo Emerson.
    12. A quart of ale is enough meal for a King – Tufail Mehraj.
    13. You cannot be a real country minus beer and an airline – it is good to have a football team or nuclear weapons, but at least you should have beer – Frank Zappa.
    14. Do what you said you’d do drunk when you are sober, it will teach you to keep your mouth shut – Ernest Hemingway.
    15. A woman drove me to drinking yet I didn’t have the audacity to thank her – W.C. Fields.
    16. Beauty is in the hands of the beer holder – Anonymous.
    17. Not all chemicals are harmful. Without hydrogen and oxygen, which are chemicals, there would be no water, which is a vital ingredient in beer – Dave Barry.
    18. A non-drinker is a weak person, who succumbs to the who yields to the lure of denying himself pleasure.
    19. Women are like beer, they look and smell good, and you would step over your mother just to get one – Homer Simpson.
    20. Apparently beer contains the hormones of a woman, once you drink enough you can neither drive nor shut up – Tufail Mehraj.

 

Why Does Beer Have A Head?

Why Does Beer Have A Head?

Beer enthusiasts love a generous, foamy head on their drink of choice. Not too much, lest it detract from the beer itself, but it’s got to be there, absolutely. How though, is the beer’s head formed? And why? Read on to find the intriguing facts about foam.

The Science Behind The Foam

The head of a beer is created when CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) rises to the surface of the glass that the beer is poured into. How does the CO2 get into the beer in the first place? It’s actually a part of the fermentation process, although it is also possible to dissolve CO2 under pressure and insert it into almost any liquid.

By itself CO2 rising to the top would create a foam, but it wouldn’t last very long. You see that in practice when you pour a can of soda into a glass. Sure, you get foam, but it goes away in a matter of just a few seconds. With beer though, it lingers. Why is that?

The Answer Lies In The Ingredients

The longevity of the beer head has to do with the type of malts and grains used in the brewing process. Some grains will help produce a longer lasting head, while others will facilitate a rapidly disappearing one. It’s important to note here though, that malts and grains don’t tell the whole story. A clean glass is important, and not just for the obvious sanitary reasons. The fact is that oil and grease on the inside of a glass can kill the foam as fast as anything.

A good head on your favorite beer is important for two practical reasons. First, it displays the aroma of the beer, which is all part of the drinking, and second, all that released CO2 means that there’s less to come out of you later, in the form of a colossal belch. Depending on your personality, you may or may not regard that as a good thing.

Guinness

No discussion of head on a beer would be complete without a mention of draft Guinness. Tasted at its finest in Ireland, a draft Guinness is poured, into a straight glass, not a tankard, and then left to stand on the bar while the head develops. It must be thick and creamy, around half to three quarters of an inch in depth, and you might have to wait for several minutes until the black and white nectar is ready to drink. But it’s worth it.

For detailed insights into which beers offer the best head (!) visit the 2015 Edmonton International Beer Festival