# Are there some people who will just never acquire a taste for beer? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** beer\ **Created:** [May 24, 2011, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-some-people-who-will-just-never-acquire-a-taste-for-beer/583073 "2011-05-24T21:51:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-some-people-who-will-just-never-acquire-a-taste-for-beer/583073/61 "2011-05-26T00:45:47Z")
Don’t like beer, don’t like coffee (although I do love the smell too, yay Pepper Mill) and I’m also a 40ish Canadian. Who knew there were so many of us. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-some-people-who-will-just-never-acquire-a-taste-for-beer/583073/62 "2011-05-26T01:14:08Z")
My father seldom drank. I seldom drink, and neither does my brother. A bottle of beer can sit in my fridge for 6 months or more, since a soda always tastes better. I don’t hate it, I just would rather drink something else. When I do drink beer, I always go for the interesting types, never Bud. _feh_ I like wine coolers when they were in and hard lemonade a lot more - but mostly for the lemonade part. ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-some-people-who-will-just-never-acquire-a-taste-for-beer/583073/63 "2011-05-26T05:25:24Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > I didn’t get that from Patch’s post, and I, as a person who doesn’t drink very often, have been pressured heavily to drink more. So I got the feeling she has just had some of those experiences. I get mocked for drinking lightly and only drinking foofoo drinks and people ask me flat out how I can possibly enjoy myself without drinking. > > But I’m 35 and long past the age where I succumbed to peer pressure so I’ll continue drinking my one margarita or grasshopper and being perfectly happy. 🙂 Yup, that’s basically it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-some-people-who-will-just-never-acquire-a-taste-for-beer/583073/64 "2011-05-26T15:07:07Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > If you tried all fifty beers in one sitting, no wonder you don’t like beer today. 😉 😛 I tried a different one each time we went to the place, which was a couple of times a week. I see from their website that they now have a five-beer-per-day limit to progress on their Around The World challenge, so maybe they _did_ have someone try to do it in one sitting. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-some-people-who-will-just-never-acquire-a-taste-for-beer/583073/65 "2011-05-27T20:25:19Z")
If you sorta enjoyed that Amber Bock, **Rach** , you might like Guinness. Ever tried that? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-some-people-who-will-just-never-acquire-a-taste-for-beer/583073/66 "2011-05-27T20:37:10Z")
I have never like beer. When I was young, and it was the only alcohol available, I would drink it. That’s it. It’s not as bad as coffee though. I can’t stand to be around a strong coffee odor, much less taste it in anything unless highly diluted. ---
**Author:** ![eno801](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c2a13f/32.png) [@eno801](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eno801)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-some-people-who-will-just-never-acquire-a-taste-for-beer/583073/67 "2011-05-27T21:09:20Z")
> [@](#): > > I tried a different one each time we went to the place, which was a couple of times a week. I see from their website that they now have a five-beer-per-day limit to progress on their Around The World challenge, so maybe they did have someone try to do it in one sitting. Balance was that Cooter Brown’s in NOLA by any chance? ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-some-people-who-will-just-never-acquire-a-taste-for-beer/583073/68 "2011-05-27T22:16:22Z")
One more for the no-beer, no-coffee (yick!), no-cilantro lobby. Hell, I don’t like _any_ alcohol at all. The only time I have ever drunk beer preferentially was last summer, on vacation in Germany, and that was because the beer was cheaper than soft drinks. I usually drank a _hefeweizen_, which is a low-hop beer. It wasn’t bad, I actually rather liked it; but if sweet tea had been available, I’d have been drinking that. _De gustibus non disputantum est_ ‘n’ all… ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-some-people-who-will-just-never-acquire-a-taste-for-beer/583073/69 "2011-05-28T00:57:15Z")
> [@eno801](#): > > Balance was that Cooter Brown’s in NOLA by any chance? The Chimes in Baton Rouge. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-some-people-who-will-just-never-acquire-a-taste-for-beer/583073/70 "2011-05-28T16:37:34Z")
I’ve tried all sorts because my daughter is a fan. I’ve had chocolatey beer, blueberry and other fruity beers, rich, dark tasting beer. Never more than a sip though, because whatever it is that makes beer beer makes my tongue shrivel up in protest. I hate the smell of beer so much I can smell it when my SO has had one, hours later. And it’s disgusting. A sour, almost diarrhea-like odor. I love coffee, tea, and liquor. Spiced rum being my favorite. I rarely drink it though; maybe one drink every few months. ---
**Author:** ![SweetLucy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bcef8e/32.png) [@SweetLucy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SweetLucy)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-some-people-who-will-just-never-acquire-a-taste-for-beer/583073/71 "2011-05-29T04:02:30Z")
I can’t stand beer. I’ve only drank it once or twice in my life. I do like wine, in small doses. ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-some-people-who-will-just-never-acquire-a-taste-for-beer/583073/72 "2011-05-29T04:44:13Z")
My wife hated beer for a long time. She tried oodles, and never liked it. A couple months ago, she announced that she liked beer now. Amazingly, it was a can of Walgreens house brand “Big Flats” that did it for her – apparently it was mild and watered-down enough to acclimate her palate. ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-some-people-who-will-just-never-acquire-a-taste-for-beer/583073/73 "2011-05-29T07:36:32Z")
I’m guessing that what people who don’t like beer don’t like—especially **Rushgeekgirl** , from her description—is (unsurprisingly) hops. Hops has such a distinctive flavor, and one that you wouldn’t _expect_ to have universal appeal. It seems to me that there are some microbrewers and home brewers always trying to break out from established styles, so I’m surprised that no one seems to be making un-hopped beers. Before hops became universal, beers were flavored with all sorts of herbs. Any brewers have any thoughts on why hops are so universal? ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-some-people-who-will-just-never-acquire-a-taste-for-beer/583073/74 "2011-05-29T15:49:50Z")
I don’t like beer or coffee, either. Cilantro is soapy to me. I also am quite averse to “bitter” such as the taste of cooked cabbage, brussel sprouts and even turkey. I decided yesterday that I don’t like wine, either. I tasted two wines that were sweet (cupcake something and a muscato) and they both just tasted like “ugh, wine” to me the same as super-expensive other kinds I’ve tried on all sorts of wine tastings even in Sonoma. That’s pretty much how beer has gone for me. From the top to the bottom they all taste like “ugh, beer.” So I’m done with wine too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-some-people-who-will-just-never-acquire-a-taste-for-beer/583073.md?page=3)