Darker Beers
Darker Beers
Darker beers have been ignored for far too long. Just at the mention of a “darker beer,” some people cringe and contort their faces. Others give a full body shake and stick out their tongues. With the wide variety of beers from which to choose, maybe people opt for the well known, mass produced beers, that you can purchase all year long at your local convenience store. You might as well turn on the tap because you can get more flavor from it! With every mouth full of a darker beer, you get a cornucopia of hoppy bitterness, light caramel notes, heavy barley flavors and just a slight hint of coffee. Why is it that? Some might argue that Big Beer companies are supplying what people want to drink: light, crisp, and ultimately tasteless beer. But darker beer is meant to be enjoyed, tasted, and reflected upon. A lighter beer, like Budweiser, can be drank down pint after pint, and still get the same taste from start to finish. But, with a pint of Guinness, you can down pint after pint, and get a different flavor experience every time. Others might say that they don’t want to chew their beer. Where’s the flavor of something that goes down like water?
Fear might be another cause. When at a local pub, you might see all the taps lined up at the bar. The bright colorful handles, pleasant shapes, and happy logos of the lighter beers all beckoning “drink me.” The darker beers will not do this. They will be there, rich, full, earth tone in color, straight forward shapes and with simple logos, but they won’t jump at you. They will simply say, “Here I am.”
Yet another reason might be because people don’t want to be different. They get to the pub and see that everyone is drinking Budweiser or Miller. So they will order the same. Maybe they don’t want to be labeled a beer snob to pay top dollar for a pint of Guinness. They order up a Budweiser and force it down to appear normal. Are we that...
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