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Sure there is, but I'm replying specifically to their comment that- "Cheap beer is about getting a buzz or getting drunk." Cheap and expensive beer are made w

by personZ 13y ago

Sure there is, but I'm replying specifically to their comment that- "Cheap beer is about getting a buzz or getting drunk." Cheap and expensive beer are made with close to identical processes, with the same controls and outcomes. Often beers are "cheap" purely as a function of the scale of the operation, but they still use the same quality ingredients and processes. People often buy cheap beer because they actually prefer it (just as many, many people prefer lighter beer, which is something that many of my Canadian countrymen can't understand), or because the taste differences are so small that they can't justify the extra expense. When you find yourself in the position of differentiating yourself from those other people -- that your own drinking is more cultured and justified -- it's time to take a step back and seriously contemplate things, because it's almost always a cover.

neves 13y ago
This isn't true. See the ingredients in your cheap beer. You will see: "Non malted cereals", that is, rice and transgenic corn. More a lot of conservants.
mikeash 13y ago
I don't know what accounts for it, but cheap bear definitely does not have the same outcomes. Budweiser, Coors, etc. are just not very good. You're right that tastes can vary. Some people do prefer the cheap stuff, somehow. But you're applying a blatant double standard here. You're saying that we should realize that some people prefer the cheap stuff, and then simultaneously turning around and saying that "almost always" preferring the expensive stuff is a cover. No, it's just taste. You have to decide: is it legitimate to prefer different kinds of beer, or is it a cover? If it's a cover, it has to work both ways. If it's not, then you can't accuse people who don't want to drink Miller Lite of being secret alcoholics just because they want something that costs more than 50 cents a can.
- personZ 13y ago
  There is no double standard at play here. The guy who likes <some craft beer> has found something he appreciates and enjoys, and there is nothing wrong with that. The guy who elevates himself above the hordes and their cheap beer, on the other hand...it isn't really about the product anymore. cheap bear definitely does not have the same outcomes. Some products aren't filtered as much. Some have different blends of ingredients. Some are fermented more or less. And so on. But those things seldom impact the actual price in any material fashion, instead are subjective choices of the brewer based upon their market. Filtering is interesting, because at one point the premium products (in many categories -- beers, wines, coffee, etc) earned their position because they were filtered more, while the cheap swill of the masses where the slurry products full of bits and grinds. As filtering became mainstream and inexpensive, unfiltered and raw -- doing less -- became the sign of a premium product.
  - JackFr 13y ago
    Maple syrup was original graded based on its use as a sugar substitute, so the lightest least maple-y syrup was given the highest grade, and the stuff that actually tastes like maple syrup is not the Grade A stuff.
    - epaladin 13y ago
      I've wondered about this for a long time. It's made me feel weird liking the "lower-grade" maple syrup more. I want all the maple-y goodness, not just sugary liquid. Thanks for pointing that out, didn't think I'd learn that in a beer thread.
hatu 13y ago
That's like saying a home made burger from top notch ingredients is made with close to identical processes as a McDonald's one. Except of course that they use worse ingredients and cut on all possible costs as long as it still tastes kind of burger-like. Unless you disagree that they for example replace a lot of the barley with rice and corn - I don't really see how can you claim it's the same thing.
- personZ 13y ago
  No, it's not like saying that at all. "Unless you disagree that they for example replace a lot of the barley with rice and corn" The ingredient lists of the "cheap" beers were, in most cases, set in the 1800s, and remain unchanged. And they were set when rice was much more expensive in the US. And indeed even today rice is neck and neck with barley -- they aren't saving a penny using rice. Instead it was used specifically because it gave a lighter taste, because, again and amazingly, this is a preference of many drinkers. Many Japanese beers are heavy on the rice, and are considered "premium" products for it. The notions of expensive versus cheap as a patron of a brand are often completely detached from reality.

by personZ 13y ago

neves 13y ago

This isn't true. See the ingredients in your cheap beer. You will see: "Non malted cereals", that is, rice and transgenic corn. More a lot of conservants.

mikeash 13y ago

I don't know what accounts for it, but cheap bear definitely does not have the same outcomes. Budweiser, Coors, etc. are just not very good. You're right that tastes can vary. Some people do prefer the cheap stuff, somehow. But you're applying a blatant double standard here. You're saying that we should realize that some people prefer the cheap stuff, and then simultaneously turning around and saying that "almost always" preferring the expensive stuff is a cover. No, it's just taste. You have to decide: is it legitimate to prefer different kinds of beer, or is it a cover? If it's a cover, it has to work both ways. If it's not, then you can't accuse people who don't want to drink Miller Lite of being secret alcoholics just because they want something that costs more than 50 cents a can.

personZ 13y ago
There is no double standard at play here. The guy who likes <some craft beer> has found something he appreciates and enjoys, and there is nothing wrong with that. The guy who elevates himself above the hordes and their cheap beer, on the other hand...it isn't really about the product anymore. cheap bear definitely does not have the same outcomes. Some products aren't filtered as much. Some have different blends of ingredients. Some are fermented more or less. And so on. But those things seldom impact the actual price in any material fashion, instead are subjective choices of the brewer based upon their market. Filtering is interesting, because at one point the premium products (in many categories -- beers, wines, coffee, etc) earned their position because they were filtered more, while the cheap swill of the masses where the slurry products full of bits and grinds. As filtering became mainstream and inexpensive, unfiltered and raw -- doing less -- became the sign of a premium product.
- JackFr 13y ago
  Maple syrup was original graded based on its use as a sugar substitute, so the lightest least maple-y syrup was given the highest grade, and the stuff that actually tastes like maple syrup is not the Grade A stuff.
  - epaladin 13y ago
    I've wondered about this for a long time. It's made me feel weird liking the "lower-grade" maple syrup more. I want all the maple-y goodness, not just sugary liquid. Thanks for pointing that out, didn't think I'd learn that in a beer thread.

hatu 13y ago

That's like saying a home made burger from top notch ingredients is made with close to identical processes as a McDonald's one. Except of course that they use worse ingredients and cut on all possible costs as long as it still tastes kind of burger-like. Unless you disagree that they for example replace a lot of the barley with rice and corn - I don't really see how can you claim it's the same thing.

personZ 13y ago
No, it's not like saying that at all. "Unless you disagree that they for example replace a lot of the barley with rice and corn" The ingredient lists of the "cheap" beers were, in most cases, set in the 1800s, and remain unchanged. And they were set when rice was much more expensive in the US. And indeed even today rice is neck and neck with barley -- they aren't saving a penny using rice. Instead it was used specifically because it gave a lighter taste, because, again and amazingly, this is a preference of many drinkers. Many Japanese beers are heavy on the rice, and are considered "premium" products for it. The notions of expensive versus cheap as a patron of a brand are often completely detached from reality.