Is Beer Over-rated?

[Leonardo]

Here's where the question comes from...


I was out with a few friends last night. We went to a bar because they wanted to watch some boring political thing on TV. My friends all ordered beer, so I decided to get one too. Now I haven't drank beer since October when I got horribly drunk at a wedding hall (I was so depressed about being there that I drank myself under the table).
Anyway, when I took a sip I was quickly reminded how disgustingly bitter beer tastes.
I ended up shaking alot of salt and pepper in my beer just for the Hell of it because I decided not to drink it. A friend and I then decided to bet another friend that he couldn't drink it all in one gulp. We lost some money but it was pretty fun.

Anyway.... Back to beer in general...
How is that beer is such a popular drink when it's one of the most awful tasting alcohols?

[leonardo the 2nd]

This is a question I often ask myself, too. I myself don't like it, but my friends say that it reputedly tast great.

Is it true that beer in America is watery??

[wolfofmibu]

Don't like beer myself.... I honestly live off of green tea... I often think it really isn't of taste of beer that people like, they just like the social aspect of it...


Either way it holds no interest for me

[ninjarasboy]

The bitter and cooler, the better.

[Leonardo]

The bitter... the better?...

How does that make sense?


*shakes head* No... It doesn't make any sense at all.

I was talking to a few friends about the nasty taste of beer and some interesting indications to it's ilogical popularity came up.

We came to two main influences...

• Illusion
  
  
• Social status
  

A good reason as to why men like beer is perhaps that it's viewed as a "man's drink". Kinda makes sense for the typical male mind. If you can endure something harsh, that means you're tough and can rightfuly be called a "man".
I'm sure many boys see drinking beer as a right of passage to manhood. They drink it simply to be "manly" regardless of the taste.

Why do women drink beer? Probably to be accepted by men. Or at least that's how it is today. Decades ago, it was concidered unlady-like for a woman to drink beer. Probably because it was believed at the time that a woman couldn't handle the crude taste of beer.
It can be viewed as a mark of independence and a sense of power for women to drink beer aka the "man's drink".


Then there's commercials...
The hot guys and the hot chicks on the patio drinking beer after beer and having the time of their life.
Indeed media has a pretty strong influence on people. It tells you what's hot and what's not; what to like and what to turn your back on.



I admit it took me a while to relize all this. All it took was for me to pause and think to myself "Why am I drinking such a disgusting beverage AND paying four dollars for it too?"

[zkarlette]

I wonder the same thing of all the drinks I simply don't like the taste of beer , specially the dark ones, I rather have anything else ...

[Cutey-Honey]

Beer certainly isn't for everyone, sometimes I can drink it and other times I can't.

When I first started drinking it I wanted to know why everyone rated it so high, I tasted it and thought it was awful and then a friend suggested that I have a lager top. That splash of lemonade made it a whole lot more drinkable. Now I can drink it without it tasting horrid, it actually tastes quite nice to me now.

It's not my drink of choice, mind you. But I'll drink it when I fancy it, (which is quite rare).

[Leonardo]

I've heard by many that much like walking over hot coals, you have to condition your tongue over a long period of time and with lots of beer drinking before you can tolerate it and before beer even starts to taste pleasant.


Nah... I'll stick with my Baileys. heh

[leonardo the 2nd]

I generally don't like alcohol.
Some time ago one of my friends drank too much beer together with wodka and some other stuff.
So he had to be sent to a hospital, because he was near an alcohol poisoning.

I really don't understand how you can do something like this...

[KROW]

Beer is awful, especially American beer.

Long gone are the days when folks would put some actual friggin flavor in it. They would put apples or honey in their ale and it would be a fine-tasting brew.

Now it's bullocks.

[Mars-Chan]

Trust me, beer is bitter to me as well.

Hence the reason I drink MARGARITAS!

And green tea. Can't forget that.... ;D

[Ra]

I'm underage, so I drink water, coffee and hot chocolate. The three major drinks that get me through the day...

However, I got high on water one day, but that is another story =|