It’s because of a ‘hide the taste’ vs ‘taste the taste’ distinction. We taste things less well when they’re cold. Try ice cream when it’s warm, for instance, and you’ll probably be nearly disgusted by how much sugar is in it. You can do similar things with acids, which is one reason (not the only) that you’ll see sweet foods have a lot of acidic ingredients added. Your brain gets the same amount of ‘sugar signals’ while you don’t notice the cloying sweetness. Guarantees satisfaction and a mild addiction. Really mild, but still. Anyway, back to the point. American beers, which have somehow dominated the cultural awareness of beers, are shit, taste like shit, and are thus marketed as ‘refreshing’ by brilliant marketers who have convinced people they need to be served below freezing. See the coors light blue mountain gimmick for ‘when the bottle is at 29 degrees!’ A good beer, that actually has had time and effort put into its composition, should, at best, be consumed just below room temperature. Warming it up lets you actually taste the effort that the brewer/vintner/distiller put into it.
Oh I’ve only ever really tried one or two American beers, the local lager that everyone said was good (Yuengling?) sucked ass lol. So I had to drink some IPA that wasn’t much better. If I’m talking about beers, I’m talking about European beers personally
I’m aware that cold drinks mask some parts of flavor, but I’d say it’s not that light beers are bad beers, but rather that they’re made with being consumed cold in mind - much like ice creams are made with being consumed cold in mind.
It’s summer. It’s warm. I don’t want a warm beer. I want cold beer. So I choose the one that tastes best cold, rather than the one that tastes best warm (which I’d rather consume when it’s not scorching hot)
PS: Speaking of warm beer, ice cream, and dark beers: Stouts and porters pair well with ice cream. I know, it sounds funny. But it’s true.
PS: Speaking of warm beer, ice cream, and dark beers: Stouts and porters pair well with ice cream. I know, it sounds funny. But it’s true.
So I’ve heard. Since I’ve given up both sugar (as much as possible) and alcohol though, I’m probably not going to try that or the classic root beer float for a while.
It’s because of a ‘hide the taste’ vs ‘taste the taste’ distinction. We taste things less well when they’re cold. Try ice cream when it’s warm, for instance, and you’ll probably be nearly disgusted by how much sugar is in it. You can do similar things with acids, which is one reason (not the only) that you’ll see sweet foods have a lot of acidic ingredients added. Your brain gets the same amount of ‘sugar signals’ while you don’t notice the cloying sweetness. Guarantees satisfaction and a mild addiction. Really mild, but still. Anyway, back to the point. American beers, which have somehow dominated the cultural awareness of beers, are shit, taste like shit, and are thus marketed as ‘refreshing’ by brilliant marketers who have convinced people they need to be served below freezing. See the coors light blue mountain gimmick for ‘when the bottle is at 29 degrees!’ A good beer, that actually has had time and effort put into its composition, should, at best, be consumed just below room temperature. Warming it up lets you actually taste the effort that the brewer/vintner/distiller put into it.
Oh I’ve only ever really tried one or two American beers, the local lager that everyone said was good (Yuengling?) sucked ass lol. So I had to drink some IPA that wasn’t much better. If I’m talking about beers, I’m talking about European beers personally
Normally I drink mass-produced local (Estonian) lagers, or the original czech pilsner that modern light beers trace their heritage to. All great cold, or OK warm. The American beer wasn’t even OK cold lol
I’m aware that cold drinks mask some parts of flavor, but I’d say it’s not that light beers are bad beers, but rather that they’re made with being consumed cold in mind - much like ice creams are made with being consumed cold in mind.
It’s summer. It’s warm. I don’t want a warm beer. I want cold beer. So I choose the one that tastes best cold, rather than the one that tastes best warm (which I’d rather consume when it’s not scorching hot)
PS: Speaking of warm beer, ice cream, and dark beers: Stouts and porters pair well with ice cream. I know, it sounds funny. But it’s true.
So I’ve heard. Since I’ve given up both sugar (as much as possible) and alcohol though, I’m probably not going to try that or the classic root beer float for a while.
Sounds like you’re making better health decisions than I am. Hope you manage to keep them up!