# Alcoholic bevs: the ups and downs of experience **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 22, 2016, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholic-bevs-the-ups-and-downs-of-experience/760557 "2016-07-22T04:26:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2016, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholic-bevs-the-ups-and-downs-of-experience/760557/21 "2016-07-25T00:29:31Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Never met a beer I could stand. What is it you don’t like?! ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2016, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholic-bevs-the-ups-and-downs-of-experience/760557/22 "2016-07-25T02:06:19Z")
I remember when bars realized not everyone liked traditional beer right after zima became popular …that’s when I noticed all the coolers and “hard” stuff started showing up … ---
**Author:** ![tenacious\_j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/439d5e/32.png) [@tenacious\_j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tenacious_j)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2016, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholic-bevs-the-ups-and-downs-of-experience/760557/23 "2016-07-25T03:21:13Z")
> [@delphica](#): > > On the “light for summer,” if it is available near you, I absolutely love the Six Point (Brooklyn-based) pilsener, which is called, appropriately enough, The Crisp. It is, as implied, very light and crisp, and it has a very, very slight sweetness to it. thanks! I will put it on the list. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2016, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholic-bevs-the-ups-and-downs-of-experience/760557/24 "2016-07-25T04:30:34Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#): > > Budweiser. > > Yup. It’s commonly available everywhere. It’s not bad for its price range (which is cheap, but not garbage rate) Budweiser is anything but cheap. For what it is it’s expensive. For half the price one can drink a brew that’s just as good. Hell, it’s sister brew Busch is quite similar to it at half the price. The thing about it is, no matter how fucked up you get you can still mumble out the word “Bud” to order another. So it does have that going for it. I’ve been to over 2 dozen countries and the only American (I know, I know, it’s no longer owned by an American Company) made beer I’ve ever seen is Budweiser. But what I’ve never seen is anyone outside the states drinking it. Makes sense. Why on Earth would someone travel to someplace like Ireland or Italy and then drink Budweiser? ---
**Author:** ![MikeF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MikeF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeF)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholic-bevs-the-ups-and-downs-of-experience/760557/25 "2016-07-26T18:15:12Z")
For a good summer beer try Warsteiner. Its a good German brew, pretty light and crisp. 4.8% ABV. One thing don’t understand is why the mega-brands can’t/don’t brew a good lager at a good price. At the scale of Bud or Coors I can’t imagine the cost to produce something as good as the micro brewers put out would be that much more. Or are the ingredients used by micros that much more expensive? ---
**Author:** ![Gordon\_Urquhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/db5fbb/32.png) [@Gordon\_Urquhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gordon_Urquhart)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholic-bevs-the-ups-and-downs-of-experience/760557/26 "2016-07-26T19:28:31Z")
> [@MikeF](#): > > For a good summer beer try Warsteiner. Its a good German brew, pretty light and crisp. 4.8% ABV. > > One thing don’t understand is why the mega-brands can’t/don’t brew a good lager at a good price. At the scale of Bud or Coors I can’t imagine the cost to produce something as good as the micro brewers put out would be that much more. Or are the ingredients used by micros that much more expensive? Budweiser and Coors are both made with adjunct grains (rice for the former and corn for the latter). Anheuser Busch has stated that using rice in their brewing actually makes it more expensive; I guess that depends on the price of rice at the time (and I’m sure they’ve got contracts that stabilize the price of all their grain and other ingredients). If Budweiser and Coors (and other mass market brewers) did start using all barley, they wouldn’t really be brewing Budweiser and Coors. It should be noted, of course, that many craft brews are made with grains other than barley, such as rye, wheat, oats, and more. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholic-bevs-the-ups-and-downs-of-experience/760557/27 "2016-07-26T21:57:21Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > Haha, I can’t embrace the beer, but I can embrace your logic. In gin I have a similar opinion: Beefeater is the best gin. It’s high-quality and smooth, but it has a limited number of botanicals, so you can actually pick them out and see how they interact. It even tastes like juniper! Yet for some reason, it’s treated like bottom-shelf trash these days. I think the “cram as many botanicals into the gin as possible” program is basically a failure; they flavors simply wash out. Though, among such gins, I do enjoy Citadelle, which has the added benefit of being cheap (under $20 for fifth the other day at Jungle Jim’s in Cincinnati–not readily available in Indiana). > [@bump](#): > > As far as spirits go, I’ve learned that the best bang for your buck is usually in the second or third tier (sort of like the 80/20 rule). Using the example of gin, the small-batch distilleries and high-end ones are definitely good, but you pay for it. Bluecoat, Citadelle, Junipero, Leopold Bros, The Botanist, Cadenhead Old Raj are all excellent, but expensive. You get a product that’s 80% of the way there, for a lot less money. Gins like Beefeater, Boodles, Brokers, Seagram’s Distillers Reserve, etc… are all good gins for a fraction of the cost of say… Old Raj or Leopold Bros, or Junipero. > > And really, with the exception of whiskey, which is sometimes drunk neat or with water/ice, who drinks spirits straight anyway? Most everyone either goes with highballs/mixed drinks or shots, both of which aren’t nearly so sensitive to quality. So why spend more? You can’t tell the difference between say… Cruzan and 10 Cane in a well-made drink, so save the cash. > [@Aeschines](#): > > Indeed. Don’t get me started on premium vodkas! True. Maybe there’s blame to be pointed there at the fauxtini fashion. Or the large faction of drinkers who have for decades been preaching to us the notion of a Martini that is just iced gin. Plus some distillers just have some sort of inadequacy syndrome about being tagged as liquors-for-mixing, so let’s make sure you notice ours. Or advertise that we make our vodka with grain harvested under a full moon and water from the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, use a platinum-iridium pot and filter it 12 times, so you’ll pay silly prices. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholic-bevs-the-ups-and-downs-of-experience/760557/28 "2016-07-27T16:24:57Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > True. Maybe there’s blame to be pointed there at the fauxtini fashion. Or the large faction of drinkers who have for decades been preaching to us the notion of a Martini that is just iced gin. > > Plus some distillers just have some sort of inadequacy syndrome about being tagged as liquors-for-mixing, so let’s make sure you notice ours. Or advertise that we make our vodka with grain harvested under a full moon and water from the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, use a platinum-iridium pot and filter it 12 times, so you’ll pay silly prices. Yeah, there’s a vodka out there that was advertising some sort of diamond filtration, which made me laugh, because there’s nothing about diamonds that would make them any better than regular sand for filtration, and activated charcoal is almost certainly better than either one. As for which pilsners/lagers I like, I have to admit that I’m pretty partial to the Southern Star Spring Pils and the Lakewood Zomer Pils, as well as pretty much everything Franconia makes (all German style beers- Helles, Dunkel, Oktoberfest, Kolsch, Pils). My recent most favorite was the Karbach Zee Pilsner. I’m usually sort of indifferent to the Shiner beers, both year-round and seasonal, but about 5-6 years ago, their winter seasonal “Frost” was a Dortmunder style lager, and was surprisingly good. No idea why they didn’t keep that one around. These are all local/regional though- Dallas and/or Houston. As far as national brands go, I really liked the Lagunitas Pils, as well as the Oskar Blues Mama’s Little Yella Pils. I’d really like to try the Odell Double Pilsner and the Left Hand Polestar Pils as well, but I don’t think I’ve seen either locally in a really long time. ---
**Author:** ![BeeGee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@BeeGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeeGee)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholic-bevs-the-ups-and-downs-of-experience/760557/29 "2016-07-27T17:50:36Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I love sours. Lambics, gueuzes, Flanders reds, goses, farmhouse ales, etc. > > Lately I alternate IPA-Sour-water, repeat. Can I get an “amen!”? On my birthday, I walked to the growler pub at the end of the street and had a flight of sour ales. Locally, I’m not too crazy about Blue Owl’s Saison, but Spirit Animal is pretty good. Come cooler weather the Dapper Devil: raspberry strong ale! ---
**Author:** ![absurdistan1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/278dde/32.png) [@absurdistan1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/absurdistan1)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2016, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholic-bevs-the-ups-and-downs-of-experience/760557/30 "2016-08-04T00:50:56Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#): > > When I first started bartending at 22, I would regularly spend all my tips back at the bar trying anything and everything. In the name of science! After a few yrs of all that, I know what beers liquors cocktails are good and crap. So what do I mostly drink these days, some 20 yrs later? > > Budweiser. Well, it’s consistent, at least. And the rice-taste can sometimes be strangely satisfying, like it’s a Sapporo or something. I haven’t drank Bud much in years though, not since I was a kid running around with 40’s of the stuff. ---
**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:** [August 4, 2016, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholic-bevs-the-ups-and-downs-of-experience/760557/31 "2016-08-04T01:36:56Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Budweiser is anything but cheap. For what it is it’s expensive. For half the price one can drink a brew that’s just as good. Hell, it’s sister brew Busch is quite similar to it at half the price. > > The thing about it is, no matter how fucked up you get you can still mumble out the word “Bud” to order another. So it does have that going for it. > > I’ve been to over 2 dozen countries and the only American (I know, I know, it’s no longer owned by an American Company) made beer I’ve ever seen is Budweiser. But what I’ve never seen is anyone outside the states drinking it. Makes sense. Why on Earth would someone travel to someplace like Ireland or Italy and then drink Budweiser? When I lived and worked in the UK in the late 90s, Bud was inexplicably popular. ETA: looking online, it still appears to be top ten in the UK in sales. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2016, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholic-bevs-the-ups-and-downs-of-experience/760557/32 "2016-08-08T05:16:14Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > When I lived and worked in the UK in the late 90s, Bud was inexplicably popular. ETA: looking online, it still appears to be top ten in the UK in sales. I’ve been to England 3 times. I’ve never seen anyone drinking it in a restaurant or pub. EVER. Whoever buys it must buy it in a store and drink it at home in hiding (because they’re embarrassed). ---
**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:** [August 8, 2016, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholic-bevs-the-ups-and-downs-of-experience/760557/33 "2016-08-08T07:42:16Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > I’ve been to England 3 times. I’ve never seen anyone drinking it in a restaurant or pub. EVER. An amusing story from my perspective: in 1996, I worked and lived in the UK for several months. My first job was up in a Michelin-starred restaurant in the Scottish Highlands as a kitchen porter (glorified title for a clean-up boy who occasionally had to do some basic prep work, too). Anyhow, I was so excited to be in the legendary land of ales and familiarizing myself with the local brews. One night, after my first week of work, the head chef and sous chef tell me they’re running out to get a case of beer for everyone after work, what would I like? I kind of shrug my shoulders and say, I dunno, maybe some kind of McEwan’s or something. They look at me like I’m crazy. “Don’t you want some Budweiser?” I thought they were just taking the piss. I said, “No, McEwan’s would be great.” “Because we usually get Budweiser for after work.” I read their faces and realize they’re actually not pranking the American here. Heck, I didn’t even realize Budweiser was sold in the UK at the time. “Well, yeah, if that’s what you guys drink that’s fine.” And, sure enough, they bring a case of Budweiser back to kitchen with them for the staff. It really fucked with my 20-year-old-self’s idealistic fantasies of the UK. Anyhow, I have seen people drink Bud in both Scotland and England in pubs. It was not necessarily a common sight, but it wasn’t rare, though it’s possible I was there at a time where it had some novelty value to it or something. Stella, Foster’s, and Carling seemed to be more the choice for folks who liked their beers light and lager. ---
**Author:** ![MikeF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MikeF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeF)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2016, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholic-bevs-the-ups-and-downs-of-experience/760557/34 "2016-08-09T18:47:41Z")
I mentioned this in some long–ago thread but, when I was in Northern Ireland nearly 15 years ago, Coors Light was pretty popular. Guinness on tap and the locals are drinking bottles of Coors at a premium price. WTF?! It was like stepping through the looking glass. It was most noticeable at a bluegrass music festival so maybe it was just a getting into the “American vibe” sort of thing but I don’t think so. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2016, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholic-bevs-the-ups-and-downs-of-experience/760557/35 "2016-08-09T19:04:59Z")
> [@MikeF](#): > > I mentioned this in some long–ago thread but, when I was in Northern Ireland nearly 15 years ago, Coors Light was pretty popular. Guinness on tap and the locals are drinking bottles of Coors at a premium price. WTF?! It was like stepping through the looking glass. It was most noticeable at a bluegrass music festival so maybe it was just a getting into the “American vibe” sort of thing but I don’t think so. I’ve been in bars in the Caribbean with Steeler memorabilia on the walls and Iron City Beer at premium import prices (unironically). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alcoholic-bevs-the-ups-and-downs-of-experience/760557.md?page=1)