Top 10 Beer Myths

[Boater]

It seems like there is always that guy in the bar that has a crazy story about the beer he's drinking. The worst part, sometimes its believable, so you tell someone, then they tell someone, and thats a beer myth. Here are ten of the more outrageous myths about beer and what you need to know to set that guy in the bar straight.

Beer Myth 1: Beat the Beer Belly with Light Beer

OK, light beers have maybe 90-100 calories, regular beers generally have less than 200 calories. A beer lover would say the difference is comparable to the difference between McDonalds and a 5 star restaurant. A dietician would tell you the difference is negligible. So unless you are drinking 300 beers a week, I would drink the good stuff.

Beer Myth 2: The darker the beer, the more alcohol it contains

Not even close. Guinness is black, and has 4.2% alcohol. The color of a beer comes from the toasted malts, which has no effect on alcohol content. Ingredients like rice syrup, honey, and corn syrup add alcohol to beer, but do not influence the color.

Beer Myth 3: Beer is ruined if warmed and then refrigerated

This can be true, if you do it many, many times, and it will happen gradually. People think re-chilling beer will cause it to be "skunked". Beer can be ruined by air, light and time. Temperature won't ruin a beer unless it's extreme. Get fresh beer and store it in dark place, and it will be fine.

Beer Myth 4: Imported beers have more alcohol than domestic beers

This comes from the way US beers reported their beers' alcohol content. The rest of the world uses "Alcohol by Volume", here is the US they used "Alcohol By Weight". Since beer weighs less than water, US beers had smaller numbers, but not less alcohol.

Beer Myth 5: The Guinness they serve in Ireland is better

It seems widely accepted that beer in "the old country" is better than what they export to the rest of the world. The brewing process is cheap, so why would a brewery risk their reputation by brewing a different beer for export? It doesn't make sense, and it's not true. With few exceptions, the beer that is exported is the exact same beer that they serve in the bar across the street from the brewery. The difference is purely freshness. It takes two weeks for a keg of Guinness to get from Dublin to your favorite bar in the states. Some beers, like Fosters, is brewed in Canada under a license for sale in the US. But it is clearly stated on the bottle when this is the case.

Beer Myth 6: Beer shouldn't be Bitter

The bitterness of a beer comes from the hops. Hops are in all beers to balance the sweet malts and to act as a preservative. Some beers have a lot of hops, like India Pale Ales (IPAs) and some beers have less hops, like Wheat Beers. Hops can give a beer complexity and add all sorts of flavors and aromas, like pine, citrus, and earthiness. Hops are why people say beer is an acquired taste, but they also make beer delicious.

Beer Myth 7: The best beers are in green bottles.

As it turns out, brown bottles protect the beer from the light much better than green bottles or clear bottles. This myth comes from when there was a shortage of brown glass in Europe after WWII. The European beers were bottled in green instead, so green bottles came to represent imports. This certainly isn't the case anymore.

Beer Myth 8: The Thai beer Singha has formaldehyde in it

It seems widely believed that Singha is brewed with formaldehyde, as is Chang beer, San Miguel, Vietnamese 33, and Singapore's Tiger Beer. The most believable explanation for this one is that Singha is much more bitter and contains more alcohol than most lagers. When American or British expatriots and soldiers were drinking beer in Thailand, they got drunk much more quickly then they were used to, and it was much more bitter flavor then they were used to. To explain this it was suggested that it contained formaldehyde. Crazy.

Beer Myth 9: Corona is Mexican Piss

In the 1980s there was a rumor that Mexican workers were peeing in the Corona tanks that were destined for the US. Certainly alarmingly disgusting... if true. As it turns out this myth was started as a result of Corona's rising popularity in the US market, and who was jealous? Heineken. This was nothing more than a rumor started by a Heineken wholesaler in Reno. It all worked out, the guy from Heineken admitted his wrongdoing, and Corona continued it's rise to popularity. But the rumor can still be heard today in bars across the country.

Beer Myth 10: Women don't like beer

Thats crazy! My wife loves beer almost as much as I do. Women have brewed more beer than men in the History of Beer. Sister Doris in Bavaria brews Mallersdorf lager. Fortunately, this myth is far from true.

[Captain Chaos]

Beer Myth 1: Beat the Beer Belly with Light Beer

OK, light beers have maybe 90-100 calories, regular beers generally have less than 200 calories. A beer lover would say the difference is comparable to the difference between McDonalds and a 5 star restaurant. A dietician would tell you the difference is negligible. So unless you are drinking 300 beers a week, I would drink the good stuff.

Dammit, so THAT'S why I'm not losing weight

Great post by the way.

Cheers,

CC

[wade72]

Beer Myth 4: Imported beers have more alcohol than domestic beers

This comes from the way US beers reported their beers' alcohol content. The rest of the world uses "Alcohol by Volume", here is the US they used "Alcohol By Weight". Since beer weighs less than water, US beers had smaller numbers, but not less alcohol.

I had a rep from Labatt explain this one to me when talking about Canadian beer and American beer. A mainstream Canadian beer will say 5% and an American will say 4%. It’s the differences in how there measured, measured on the same scale they are both the same.

Sorry my American friends but most of your mainstream beers still taste watered down to me.

A myth?

In the bars in Canada they are very environmentally conscious, so to save energy they have installed a collection system on the urinals to recycle Canadian beer. After a good Canadian beer has been consumed and properly processed it is then shipped to the States to be re-carbonated and bottled. Then re-sold as Bud Light, the most popular beer in America.

[bino]

In the bars in Canada they are very environmentally conscious, so to save energy they have installed a collection system on the urinals to recycle Canadian beer. After a good Canadian beer has been consumed and properly processed it is then shipped to the States to be re-carbonated and bottled. Then re-sold as Bud Light, the most popular beer in America.

Love it! Gonna send to some friends at home!

[Xangsamhua]

Beer Myth 8: The Thai beer Singha has formaldehyde in it

It seems widely believed that Singha is brewed with formaldehyde, as is Chang beer, San Miguel, Vietnamese 33, and Singapore's Tiger Beer. The most believable explanation for this one is that Singha is much more bitter and contains more alcohol than most lagers. When American or British expatriots and soldiers were drinking beer in Thailand, they got drunk much more quickly then they were used to, and it was much more bitter flavor then they were used to. To explain this it was suggested that it contained formaldehyde. Crazy.

In 1973 I went to Pattaya (Na Kluea, actually) for a beachside bungalow holiday and thought I'd test the formaldehyde theory by putting a couple of small bottles of Singha in the freezer for the time we were there (about 4 days). At the end of the time, the beer had not frozen, though the freezer was working OK. I've always believed it had formaldehyde in those days. The same was said, I think, of Larue(?) beer in Vietnam. I was told the GIs were advised not to drink it, but I don't know if the story is true. I also don't know if the freezer test was a valid one for formaldehyde, but someone told me it was.

We had a belief in Korat that if you had a night out on Singha you could ride your motorcycle home at a 45 degree angle. It felt like it was true.

[lannarebirth]

OK, Beer Myth or Beer fact?

A drinking man I once knew would sit for hours and hours at the bar, and during these marathon drinking sessions would not stop to eat the occasional meal. When I suggested to him that he might want a bite to eat to cushion his stomach and provide nutrition he claimed "there's a pork chop in every beer". Was he just taking the piss, or might there be something to it?

Edited May 24, 2008 by lannarebirth

[wade72]

Well there is allot of calories, vitamins, etc. in beer. As the waist size of your average heavy beer drinker will attest to.

[William Osborne]

Beer Myth 1: Beat the Beer Belly with Light Beer

OK, light beers have maybe 90-100 calories, regular beers generally have less than 200 calories. A beer lover would say the difference is comparable to the difference between McDonalds and a 5 star restaurant. A dietician would tell you the difference is negligible. So unless you are drinking 300 beers a week, I would drink the good stuff.

Dammit, so THAT'S why I'm not losing weight

Great post by the way.

Cheers,

CC

actually, if you drink 10 small regular beers opposed to lite beer , thats a massive 1000 calories extra ( about half your daily intake ) so i would think it makes a big difference for a regular drinker

[subseasteve]

I dont know why it is, but I have noticed that when I and also some of my mates also have a few days on asian beer be it Singha or leo or tiger, we get the cold sweats and night mares and shakes, I never ever get it from Kiwi beer or on tap UK beer, why do you think that is any one?

[ashacat]

Beer Myth 1: Beat the Beer Belly with Light Beer

OK, light beers have maybe 90-100 calories, regular beers generally have less than 200 calories. A beer lover would say the difference is comparable to the difference between McDonalds and a 5 star restaurant. A dietician would tell you the difference is negligible. So unless you are drinking 300 beers a week, I would drink the good stuff.

Dammit, so THAT'S why I'm not losing weight

Great post by the way.

Cheers,

CC

I don't understand how a 100% difference in calories can be called negligable? any reasoning I am now aware of?......

[Beacher]

Some of these are the strangest beer myths I have ever heard. Do people really believe that the best beers come in green bottles and the color of a beer indicates how much alcohol it contains?

But the one that concerns me is this: "It seems widely believed that Singha is brewed with formaldehyde, as is Chang beer, San Miguel, Vietnamese 33, and Singapore's Tiger Beer" This appears to be a myth, but are there any big differences in the brewing methods used in Thailand? What I mean is, is one brand of beer healthier, so to speak, than another. I can pay about 60 baht for a large Heineken at the supermarket or 30 for a large Archa. Is Archa worse in any way (relating to health) than Heineken? Or am I really paying almost twice as much because of Heineken's hefty advertising budget and (supposed) better taste?

[hanno]

Or am I really paying almost twice as much because of Heineken's hefty advertising budget and (supposed) better taste?

Yupp. As far as I am concerned, brands like Heineken, Carlsberg, Foster's and Budweiser are cra**y beers at best but they sure cornered the market with their marketing machine.

[doctormann]

Some of these are the strangest beer myths I have ever heard. Do people really believe that the best beers come in green bottles and the color of a beer indicates how much alcohol it contains?

But the one that concerns me is this: "It seems widely believed that Singha is brewed with formaldehyde, as is Chang beer, San Miguel, Vietnamese 33, and Singapore's Tiger Beer" This appears to be a myth, but are there any big differences in the brewing methods used in Thailand? What I mean is, is one brand of beer healthier, so to speak, than another. I can pay about 60 baht for a large Heineken at the supermarket or 30 for a large Archa. Is Archa worse in any way (relating to health) than Heineken? Or am I really paying almost twice as much because of Heineken's hefty advertising budget and (supposed) better taste?

Archa is beer?

[dingdongrb]

Sorry my American friends but most of your mainstream beers still taste watered down to me.

I feel sorry for you then since it is obvious you haven't tried any of the Colorado ("Brewing is big business in Colorado. According to The Beer Institute, the state ranks number one in terms of gross beer production, producing over 23,370,848 barrels in 2006.") microbrews:

• Fat Tire
  
• Avalanche
  
• Easy Street Wheat
  
• ....and too many more greats to list!
  

[Mosha]

Beer Myth 11. 10 pints makes women beautiful.

[hanno]

Beer Myth 11. 10 pints makes women beautiful

True. Takes me 5 pints at most to turn all ladies present into real lookers

[Godolphin]

Beer Myth 7: The best beers are in green bottles.

As it turns out, brown bottles protect the beer from the light much better than green bottles or clear bottles. This myth comes from when there was a shortage of brown glass in Europe after WWII. The European beers were bottled in green instead, so green bottles came to represent imports. This certainly isn't the case anymore.

I'm trying to work out what a shortage of brown glass means. Glass is glass. Colour it brown or colour it green. What is the difference? Maybe a shortage of brown colouring agent or something.

Otherwise a thought-provoking and entertaining piece.