Almost all light beers taste the same

A beer judge can identify discernible differences in the beers, but Joe six pack buys beer based on marketing.

Bud, Bud Light, and Heineken all use rice to add alcohol without adding flavor. Coors light and Miller Lite both use corn to do the same thing. Rice makes for a crisper, drier finishing beer vs a sweeter, smoother flavor with the corn. Both adjuncts are essentially flavorless, so the differences are hard to detect.

The movie Beer Wars is worth a Netflix rental. There is a scene where people in bars are given the opportunity to select their favorite beer in a taste test. It is hilarious.

Originally Posted by FLMountainMan

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Do the taste test and you'll be surprised. And the whole reason I came up with the game is that I read a scientific study that said they all taste the same and disagreed with it.
I don't know what a scientific study could test for light beers besides taste perceptions of large groups, especially considering light beers are brewed no less similarly than many other beers. Link? For what it's worth, I can taste a difference. Just because some others cannot doesn't personally mean much.

Light beer is kinda like fast food.

Mcdonald's tastes a little different than Burger King but who really cares because it all is horrible.

Originally Posted by ConcernedParent

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There's nothing worse than the beer snobs at college parties. Homie, we don't give a **** that it's macrobrewed garbage or that you prefer Sanderson's or Schneider Weiss or whatever the ******* is you drink, take a natty and shut the **** up.

You aren't cultured, you aren't highbrow, you aren't holier than anyone, you also probably aren't getting laid.

/end rant.

well there's also the adult beer snob. look, I also don't give a flying **** that you find your ipa have more depth in flavor over my supermarket pilsner. or that the hint of banana and vanilla in your hefe is more appreciated if you drink it from the bosom of a beer wench (ok I would). and I don't really give a **** if your dunkelweiss is brewed in the old tradition as opposed to my asian factory beer. I just wanna drink, light a cig, and ******* enjoy the evening talking **** without you bumming me out.

Originally Posted by acidboy

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well there's also the adult beer snob. look, I also don't give a flying **** that you find your ipa have more depth in flavor over my supermarket pilsner. or that the hint of banana and vanilla in your hefe is more appreciated if you drink it from the bosom of a beer wench (ok I would). and I don't really give a **** if your dunkelweiss is brewed in the old tradition as opposed to my asian factory beer. I just wanna drink, light a cig, and ******* enjoy the evening talking **** without you bumming me out.
Still not as bad as Wino's. I bring my own beer to avoid ****** beers. Works out better for everyone this way.

light beer=FAIL
ergo this whole thread is pointless

Originally Posted by ter1413

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That's why I drink Becks/Heineken/Guinness...

now we're talking although i would substitute a Kronenbourg for the Guiness (i cant get that stuff down,too thick)

Originally Posted by ConcernedParent

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There's nothing worse than the beer snobs at college parties. Homie, we don't give a **** that it's macrobrewed garbage or that you prefer Sanderson's or Schneider Weiss or whatever the ******* is you drink, take a natty and shut the **** up.

You aren't cultured, you aren't highbrow, you aren't holier than anyone, you also probably aren't getting laid.

/end rant.

The only time I get called a beer snob is by people who literally COME UP TO ME and TRY TO START **** because I'M DRINKING SOMETHING DIFFERENT THAN THEY ARE.

It's the same people who try to start **** because you wear different clothes. It's like what the **** do you care, you wanna start **** because I do my own thing? I don't care at all about what you drink, or what you wear. I swear to god, the people who care most about this sorta **** are the ones who know least about it and think it's a "good idea" to confront anyone who has it as a hobby.

That being said:



MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM SNOBBY BEER.

mmm... beer...

make no mistake I love the premium/artisan/snobbish beer. but I hate the people who flap their gums talking about it.

Originally Posted by Listi

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The only time I get called a beer snob is by people who literally COME UP TO ME and TRY TO START **** because I'M DRINKING SOMETHING DIFFERENT THAN THEY ARE. It's the same people who try to start **** because you wear different clothes. It's like what the **** do you care, you wanna start **** because I do my own thing? I don't care at all about what you drink, or what you wear. I swear to god, the people who care most about this sorta **** are the ones who know least about it and think it's a "good idea" to confront anyone who has it as a hobby.
While I agree with you, the truth usually lies somewhere in between the two extremes of "innocent connoisseur who just wants to be left alone" and "snob who shoves it in your face." Yes, there are a lot of ignorant people who will challenge you if you're drinking something they've never heard of. On the other hand, a lot of beer snobs will refuse to drink the Natty/PBR/Busch/etc. served up en masse at parties or at dive bars. That's just asking for trouble, IMO. When in Rome...

Originally Posted by Arrogant Bastard

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Yes, there are a lot of ignorant people who will challenge you if you're drinking something they've never heard of. On the other hand, a lot of beer snobs will refuse to drink the Natty/PBR/Busch/etc. served up en masse at parties or at dive bars. That's just asking for trouble, IMO. When in Rome...
Agreed. I love the "I'm sorry, I just can't drink it and I can't believe you can either."

I love both. Right now I have a case of Bud Light, Rochefort 10, Koningshoeven Quad, Left Hand Milk Stout, Allagash Curieaux, and a couple of different homebrews. I love great beer, but I love cheap beer too for totally different reasons. Cheap beer isn't really beer to me. It's alcoholic water with a little bit of a beer flavor. It's great for watching the game between whiskey and cokes, play beer pong, extend an evening when people are drinking but I don't need much more alcohol, etc. I like both, and that makes me much more versatile than you. Haha.

Originally Posted by why

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I don't know what a scientific study could test for light beers besides taste perceptions of large groups, especially considering light beers are brewed no less similarly than many other beers. Link?

For what it's worth, I can taste a difference. Just because some others cannot doesn't personally mean much.

Hey guys, I worked in the science lab for Bass (now Coors) brewery Burton on Trent.

Some people have a highly developed sense of taste, I knew a brewmaster/head brewer/whatever who could tell a barrel change in draft after 12 pints. Same beer, different barrel.

Some other work people came up with was the cold beer fad (like Carling extra cold etc). We found that people in general can't tell the difference between extra cold and regular cold (2C difference) straight from the draft (Well i could, but that wasn't normal) and after 5 mins the difference in 2 pints was 0.5 C, yet some people will absolutely swear blind extra cold tastes better.

A lot of beer descrimination for most people is entrely misperceptions, because most people can't taste the difference blind. But the people who can tell the difference aren't that rare in the world.

Me I can drink anything, my 2 fav largers atm are Grolsch and Becks Vier. Other than that I like me real ale, in Sheffield there was a local brewer that did a beer called absolution, it was a pale ale, and it was the ****.

Oh Listi, I am jealous.

Originally Posted by Raxxman

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A lot of beer descrimination for most people is entrely misperceptions, because most people can't taste the difference blind. But the people who can tell the difference aren't that rare in the world..

No this is impossible. It has been proven by a scientific study that different beers do not taste different.

Originally Posted by why

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No this is impossible. It has been proven by a scientific study that different beers do not taste different.

There's probably a big difference between drinking one beer and then a different one and then tasting the change and the drinking for a night in a smokey bar after which you're served a non alcoholic beer while your friends are laughing behind your back.

When I drink it's mostly Grolsch. Being served a Heineken, makes for an awfully sweet surprise. On the other hand, after drinking 5-? Heinekens a Grolsch can taste too 'heavy/full'. Thus a taste for beer can be acquired in a couple of hours, ymmvoc.