# 12 Most Common Beer Myths Exploded **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** beer\ **Created:** [December 20, 2008, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-most-common-beer-myths-exploded/478083 "2008-12-20T17:00:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2008, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-most-common-beer-myths-exploded/478083/21 "2008-12-20T22:41:19Z")
About cold beer: “It may make for a thirst-quenching, refreshing beverage…” Beer is never thirst-quenching (although it is a tasty beverage). Show me a tropical fruit and I’ll show you a cocksucker from Panama. (Apologies to George Carlin) Also, I’ll show you a beer drinker who needs large quantities of water at the end of the day. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2008, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-most-common-beer-myths-exploded/478083/22 "2008-12-20T22:46:38Z")
Also, a better explanation of myth #8: Beer before liquor, never sicker: True, because when you switch to liquor, you have a stomach full of beer that is pushing alcohol into your bloodstream, while you are simultaneously doing tequila shots. Liquor before beer, in the clear: True again, because as the liquor gets into your bloodstream, your beer consumption slows, causing your buddies to ask if you “need a nipple on that thing”. In short, the myth is technically true, it is only the amount of alcohol that matters, but liquor first will get to your system faster, making the later beer less. Beer first will make the later liquor consumption faster than the previous beer consumption. Much more alcohol in the bloodstream, making the hangover awful. The axiom is true, young people! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-most-common-beer-myths-exploded/478083/23 "2008-12-21T00:39:47Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Myth #14 - Ben Franklin never said that about beer. He said it about _wine_. > > Myth #4 is only partially a myth. Corona doesn’t _contain_ urine, it only _tastes_ like urine. Yeah, but whose? ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-most-common-beer-myths-exploded/478083/24 "2008-12-21T01:28:57Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > Also, a better explanation of myth #8: > > Beer before liquor, never sicker: True, because when you switch to liquor, you have a stomach full of beer that is pushing alcohol into your bloodstream, while you are simultaneously doing tequila shots. > > Liquor before beer, in the clear: True again, because as the liquor gets into your bloodstream, your beer consumption slows, causing your buddies to ask if you “need a nipple on that thing”. > > In short, the myth is technically true, it is only the amount of alcohol that matters, but liquor first will get to your system faster, making the later beer less. > > Beer first will make the later liquor consumption faster than the previous beer consumption. Much more alcohol in the bloodstream, making the hangover awful. > > The axiom is true, young people! Meh. Not to rain on your parade, but there’s a similar saying in French, only it’s about wine. The saying goes : _Blanc sur rouge, rien ne bouge ; rouge sur blanc, tout fout l’camp._ Meaning : “white after red, you’re in the clear ; red after white, barf city”. Never made sense to me, considering both kinds of wine usually are the same, alcohol-wise. My own extensive empirical field-testing also contradicts the axiom. Both sayings are just silly folkloric rhymes as far as I’m concerned. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-most-common-beer-myths-exploded/478083/25 "2008-12-21T01:32:43Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > There’s a big beer convention and three beer distributers decide to have lunch together. They get to the restaurant and the waitress asks them what they’d like to drink. > > The Budweisier distributer says, “I’ll have a Budweiser, America’s favorite.” > > The Coors distributer says, “I’d like the Rocky Mountain taste of a Coors.” > > The Guinness distributer says, “I’ll have an iced tea.” > > The other two look at him in shock, “You’re not going to have a beer?” > > The Guinness guy answered, “Well, I figured if you two weren’t drinking beer…” You know how close American beer is to making love in a canoe, don’t you ? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![bufftabby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/77aa72/32.png) [@bufftabby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bufftabby)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-most-common-beer-myths-exploded/478083/26 "2008-12-21T02:38:57Z")
I disagree with **Myth #11: A good beer must be high in alcohol**. I think that’s a very subjective statement. For me, it’s not a myth; it’s fairly true. My beer preferences lie between 8-10% ABV. There are some 5-6% beers that I find to be good, but such that I usually wind up saying, “This beer is good…for a low-alc.” ---
**Author:** ![Improvisor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/50afbb/32.png) [@Improvisor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Improvisor)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-most-common-beer-myths-exploded/478083/27 "2008-12-21T04:34:02Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > There’s a big beer convention and three beer distributers decide to have lunch together. They get to the restaurant and the waitress asks them what they’d like to drink. > > The Budweisier distributer says, “I’ll have a Budweiser, America’s favorite.” > > The Coors distributer says, “I’d like the Rocky Mountain taste of a Coors.” > > The Guinness distributer says, “I’ll have an iced tea.” > > The other two look at him in shock, “You’re not going to have a beer?” > > The Guinness guy answered, “Well, I figured if you two weren’t drinking beer…” An anecdote from my past… I worked with Anheuser Busch for my senior year project in engineering school (mid-1990’s). My team was assigned 2 Anheuser Busch mechanical engineers from the St. Louis brewery to work with. Cool guys… definitely liked engineering, and definitely loved beer. They took us out to eat a couple of times over the course of the semester to nice restaurants, and both times neither guy ever ordered an Anheuser Busch product. Spoke volumes to me… though at the time, to me in college, Ice House was top notch beer. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-most-common-beer-myths-exploded/478083/28 "2008-12-21T05:39:13Z")
I’ve always wondered - it lite beer just diet beer with less calories, or does it also have less alcohol? Also wondering if there is some kind of website for learning about beer terminology and a method for figuring out what kind of beer you like and how to refer to those qualities that determine whether you will like a particular beer or not. For example, I hate Sam Adams, and I gather from watching their commercials that expouse how fond they are of hops, that I should look for a beer with minimal hops. I also know I don’t like “pale ales” which are similarly bitter and so I would guess they have a lot of hops. I don’t like Heineken because it tastes kind of skunky, but I also know that sun damage can cause skunky flavor, so is it damage or the actual flavor? These are all vague suppositions I have come to after years of second hand beer lore. A more systematic approach would probably be more useful! ---
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-most-common-beer-myths-exploded/478083/29 "2008-12-21T05:55:31Z")
Well, the liquor before beer thing in the clear… I always figured that was not because of amounts of stuff filling you up or whatever, but rather if you mix it you’re getting a little bit of alcohol per sip, a lot of alcohol per sip, a little bit of alcohol per sip, and before you know it… BAM… _tout fout l’camp_ to quote **Kobal2**. If you drink several shots of liquor you’re feeling drunk. If you drink beer after that you can much more easily moderate how much is “too much” and call it a night. Other way around and you’re already buzzed from the beer and unable to resist being egged on by everyone else to take those extra shots you probably wouldn’t. Unless, of course, you’re at home doing shots by yourself without being egged on… then liquor first or last… I think you’ve got bigger issues to worry about. And another Guinness myth: The whole “Meal in a Glass” or whatever those WWII era posters said is bull. I don’t care enough to look it up but I once saw a chart that referenced this myth saying its about your average beer, calorie wise. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-most-common-beer-myths-exploded/478083/30 "2008-12-21T15:13:11Z")
> [@Hunter\_Hawk](#): > > I used to work with a guy who genuinely believed this. He thought that the more he drank, the more intelligent he became over time. All I know is the more you drink, the better looking the girls become. ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-most-common-beer-myths-exploded/478083/31 "2008-12-21T15:28:09Z")
> [@jackdavinci](#): > > … I don’t like Heineken because it tastes kind of skunky, but I also know that sun damage can cause skunky flavor, so is it damage or the actual flavor? ..! It’s damage. Skunky flavor is universally considered a defect in beer. In my experience this could almost rank as another common beer myth…I have run across people who think some imported beers are supposed to taste this way. In answer to your question I actually took a class in beer tasting many years ago at an adult education center, it was a lot of fun. I’ve also learned alot from the book [Michael Jackson’s Beer Companion](http://www.amazon.com/Michael-Jacksons-Beer-Companion-Revised/dp/0762407727/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1229873017&sr=1-4). The only problem is many of the beers he writes about are not going to be commonly available at your corner store. You might also try going to a brewpub if there is one near you, many times they will give you a sampler with a few ounces of each type of beer they have on tap at the moment, you can taste them all together and compare the different styles side by side, and hopefully they will be good, and fresh examples of each style. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-most-common-beer-myths-exploded/478083/32 "2008-12-21T15:38:09Z")
> [@jackdavinci](#): > > I’ve always wondered - it lite beer just diet beer with less calories, or does it also have less alcohol? You would have to ask the jurisdiction where the beer is sold. Sometimes, such things are legislated. In Ontario, for example, where I once worked in a Beer Store, “light” (or “lite”) beer contained less alcohol. That was mandated by law–you couldn’t call a beer “light” or “lite” unless it had 4% or less alcohol by volume. As I understand things, this isn’t necessarily the case in all jurisdictions. Best, perhaps, to read the label–while “light” or “lite” will probably be in big letters, you should still be able to find the alcohol percentage and/or the words “low-calorie” or similar in the fine print. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-most-common-beer-myths-exploded/478083/33 "2008-12-21T17:25:10Z")
> [@jackdavinci](#): > > Also wondering if there is some kind of website for learning about beer terminology and a method for figuring out what kind of beer you like and how to refer to those qualities that determine whether you will like a particular beer or not. [Beer 101](http://beeradvocate.com/beer/101/) [Beer styles.](http://beeradvocate.com/beer/style) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-most-common-beer-myths-exploded/478083/34 "2008-12-21T17:48:13Z")
> [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](#): > > It’s damage. Skunky flavor is universally considered a defect in beer. > > In my experience this could almost rank as another common beer myth…I have run across people who think some imported beers are supposed to taste this way. Skunkiness is also called “lightstruck,” and refers to the off-flavors that develop when beer is exposed to too much light/UV and the hop compounds break down, releasing these scents/flavors. It is most common in beers with green and clear bottles (Heineken, Beck’s, Stella, Corona) and it is generally considered a defect. Different hops have different sensitivities to light, and Miller products do not get skunky, despite their clear bottles, as they use a hop extract which does not photodegrade (I believe Tetrahop, specifically), instead of actual hops to bitter their beer. The only beer that I could think of where skunkiness is considered acceptable is Corona. I recall reading somewhere (although I can’t locate the source anymore) that canned versions of Corona (which do not get lightstruck) are filled with beer that’s been purposely exposed to UV to induce that characteristic slight skunkiness. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-most-common-beer-myths-exploded/478083/35 "2008-12-21T17:51:30Z")
The only people who don’t consider it a defect are defective themselves. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-most-common-beer-myths-exploded/478083/36 "2008-12-21T17:57:34Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > _… > rouge sur blanc, tout fout l’camp._ > …“red after white, barf city”. I have to say, this sounds so much classier in the French. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-most-common-beer-myths-exploded/478083/37 "2008-12-22T03:38:34Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > It is most common in beers with green and clear bottles (Heineken, Beck’s, Stella, Corona) and it is generally considered a defect. The only beer that I could think of where skunkiness is considered acceptable is Corona. This is interesting because the skunkiness of Heineken I have noticed every time I have ever drunk it, and been turned off by it. But I haven’t noticed that same quality in Corona, which while not a great beer, is unoffensive. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-most-common-beer-myths-exploded/478083/38 "2008-12-22T03:56:14Z")
Did you always have your Corona with a lime? ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-most-common-beer-myths-exploded/478083/39 "2008-12-22T04:21:25Z")
> [@WarmNPrickly](#): > > Did you always have your Corona with a lime? I knew someone would bring that up. I prefer it with lime, but I’ve drunk it without, and while it’s not as good, neither is it what I would call skunky. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-most-common-beer-myths-exploded/478083/40 "2008-12-22T05:02:23Z")
Now if someone would just explode the myth that long-term use of alcohol causes irreversible liver damage, we’d be _set!_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-most-common-beer-myths-exploded/478083.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-most-common-beer-myths-exploded/478083.md?page=3)