4 ms·

The fact that food and drink evolve over time isn't too controversial. Beer, for example, evolved from having darker "ale" being more popular, to lighter lager/

by smcl 4y ago

The fact that food and drink evolve over time isn't too controversial. Beer, for example, evolved from having darker "ale" being more popular, to lighter lager/pilsner/ležák being the predominant type. I don't think this means the tomato-based modern pizza is less of a pizza, but that we should maybe more widely embrace the other types if we like them. To be honest I hadn't encountered a "pizza bianca" 'til I left the UK, and I would've taken some convincing it wasn't some weirdo UK thing if I encountered it there :D

mcv 4y ago
I suspect the evolution of beer is quite a bit more complex than that. Beers have been brewed from a wide variety of grains, and the colour was mostly determined by what exactly they used. Subtle mixes are a fairly recent thing, and while the mass market beers are usually pale, darker beers are still very popular too. > I don't think this means the tomato-based modern pizza is less of a pizza Quite the contrary, it's more of a pizza. I've seen pizza bianca in my supermarket. I do wonder, if you don't put tomato sauce on it, what's the fundamental difference between a pizza bianca and a flammkuchen?
- smcl 4y ago
  It definitely is more complex than that but currently the most popular type of beer now was not the original beer (or was not among the first beers, certainly not until the 1800s) and is relatively modern.
OkayPhysicist 4y ago
The mediocre lager/pilsner dominance is pretty interesting, because it started off as the premium product. Then it got so popular it dominated the market, became the default, and then the older less-premium products ended up specializing into premium/luxury products. A similar thing happened to tequila as opposed to other mezcals.
- smcl 4y ago
  Actually I didn't reference any decline in quality but in some locales, like Scotland where I'm from, you're absolutely right. Tennent's lager is now the most popular, it is not good. Where I am currently the most popular beer is between two lagers/ležáky - in western Czech Republic ("Bohemia" aka Čechy) the most popular beer is Pilsner Urquell, and in Moravia, where I live, it's Radegast - both higher quality beers. So it depends, but occasionally where I live allows me a very minor flex of "I can walk into most pubs and get spectacular ležák :)

by smcl 4y ago

mcv 4y ago

I suspect the evolution of beer is quite a bit more complex than that. Beers have been brewed from a wide variety of grains, and the colour was mostly determined by what exactly they used. Subtle mixes are a fairly recent thing, and while the mass market beers are usually pale, darker beers are still very popular too. > I don't think this means the tomato-based modern pizza is less of a pizza Quite the contrary, it's more of a pizza. I've seen pizza bianca in my supermarket. I do wonder, if you don't put tomato sauce on it, what's the fundamental difference between a pizza bianca and a flammkuchen?

smcl 4y ago
It definitely is more complex than that but currently the most popular type of beer now was not the original beer (or was not among the first beers, certainly not until the 1800s) and is relatively modern.

OkayPhysicist 4y ago

The mediocre lager/pilsner dominance is pretty interesting, because it started off as the premium product. Then it got so popular it dominated the market, became the default, and then the older less-premium products ended up specializing into premium/luxury products. A similar thing happened to tequila as opposed to other mezcals.

smcl 4y ago
Actually I didn't reference any decline in quality but in some locales, like Scotland where I'm from, you're absolutely right. Tennent's lager is now the most popular, it is not good. Where I am currently the most popular beer is between two lagers/ležáky - in western Czech Republic ("Bohemia" aka Čechy) the most popular beer is Pilsner Urquell, and in Moravia, where I live, it's Radegast - both higher quality beers. So it depends, but occasionally where I live allows me a very minor flex of "I can walk into most pubs and get spectacular ležák :)