Many specific beers are overrated (Bud, Miller Lite, Heineken, Stella, Corona, etc.) but beer as a whole is not overrated at all. Rather, beer is often mistakenly looked down upon as the drink of peasants, when it actually was the drink of many kings as well!
People who are desperate for it don't know how to enjoy it. People who are desperate for anything don't know how to enjoy those things. I think this is yet another broad generalization.
It is important to me because I love beer. I love a great session IPA with friends, an Oktoberfest at a pig roast, a Hefeweizen after mowing the lawn, a Russian Imperial Stout with a great cigar, etc. I love how it's made, how it tastes, how it smells, it's history, our history because of it, etc.
Beer is important to society because society was created as a result of the first discovery of beer! Before beer, people were nomads, roaming the deserts and grasslands. roughly 8000 years ago in the Babylonian / Sumerian region, a bowl of grains was left out in the rain. The next day it was bubbling as the yeast became active and fermentation began. Beer was born, and people stopped moving around so much... they wanted to brew beer!
The temperature and glassware guidelines, as well as the freshness, is linked to the ultimate enjoyment of a particular beer. Sure, there are times when you may be on a boat or somewhere with less-than-ideal conditions, but the rules exist as more general guidelines to enhance the tasting experience.
If something doesn't taste good to you, why drink it? More importantly, why bi*ch about it? My suggestion is maybe you haven't tried good quality beer. If all you're drinking is BudMillerCoors or Heineken or Corona, then you haven't yet experienced the true realm of flavors and enjoyment that comes from a truly good beer.
And it's not just a guy thing! At one time, women brewed all the beer. At one time, water was unsafe to drink and everyone drank and enjoyed local beer. Women also have more complex tasting abilities and more advanced palates than men, so they are typically better tasters of beer. Sure, it's inappropriate for a classy young woman to guzzle a 40oz from a paper bag... but it's just as inappropriate for a guy to do the same! A chalice filled with a rich Belgian Tripel, though, is a different story!
It has to taste and look certain ways because that's how styles are classified. It's just like anything else in life. Basically, it all comes down to the consumer and how the brewer can communicate his message to Joe Sixpack at the local beer store. How are you going to know what a certain beer is like without style descriptors? If you're looking for an Amber Ale like New Belgium's Fat Tire, and you buy a Founders Dirty Bastard, you may be sorely disappointed! Sure, the beer is delicious, but a Scotch Ale like Dirty Bastard is nothing like Fat Tire. That's why we have guidelines for beer styles, as far as color, taste, alcohol content, etc.
I really would encourage you to look around at some of the sites listed below for more info, and I also urge you to try some new beers. Buy single 12 oz bottles at a good beer store so you can try different things. I can explain things all day long, but you won't really understand unless you try some yourself!
http://www.beertown.org
http://www.bjcp.org
http://www.beeradvocate.com
http://www.ratebeer.com
http://www.realbeer.com
http://www.allaboutbeer.com
http://www.herestobeer.com
And here's some more to chew on...
First off, drinking every day is fine, in moderation.
I drink at least 2 beers every day. I love the taste, and it's good for me.
Wine is good. Some hard spirits are good. Better beer is good. (This doesn't mean American Lite beer-swill).
The recommended daily allowance for alcohol is 2-3 drinks for men, 1-2 drinks for women. Any scientific study on the matter shows that drinking alcohol every day in moderation is better than not drinking at all. Obviously binge drinking is harmful, but that's not what we're talking about.
Interestingly enough, beer is actually better for you than wine. Here are just a few reasons why...
1) Darker-colored beers contain just as many antioxidants as red wine, but those contained in the beer are less complex and more easily broken down by the body... therefore beer is better, as far as antioxidants are concerned.
2) Milk Stouts and Cream Stouts and some other stouts contain Lactic Acid. Doctors often recommend small amounts of these beers to nursing mothers to increase lactation.
3) Hoppy beer has been linked to stimulation of certain brain cells, resulting in improved short-term memory (in moderate amounts). Hops, in general (as in all beers) stimulate brain function.
4) Certain beers are known to improve blood circulation and heart health. Alcohol, in general, is a blood thinner, so all types of alcohol, in moderate amounts, will prevent clotting.
5) Malty beers are good for the complexion and the hair.
6) Hop oils have a natural antibiotic.
7) Stouts (like Guinness) tend to be high in iron and are recommended by Doctors for blood donors and nursing mothers as a good source for replacement.
8) Brewer's yeast is known to be a rich source of nutrients; therefore, as expected, beer can contain significant amounts of nutrients, including magnesium, selenium, potassium, phosphorus, biotin, and B vitamins
9) A 2005 Japanese study showed that low ABV beer helps to prevent cancer. (More recent studies by other medical groups support this, although I can't seem to find them at this time.)
Also...
Drinking anything in excess is dangerous. Actually, as far as the caloric content goes, a pint of good beer has fewer calories than an equal serving of orange juice, milk, soda, or any ready-to-drink juice. Also, the sugar content is MUCH lower than soda, since the sugars in beer are converted to alcohol and carbon dioxide during fermentation; therefore, beer is not detrimental to dental health in the way that soda and juice are.
Cheers!|||Beer is great until you start getting a beer gut, and then good luck getting rid of the damn thing!!!
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|||Beer is an important part in people's lives because it has been being made in some form for about ten thousand years. Every civilization has had its form of some fermented beverage.
****EVERY civilization.****
Beer was, and still is considered by many to be liquid bread, as it has all the nutritional properties of bread, except for the roughage.
Alcohol was important in past times, because people didn't have clean drinking water, and making alcohol from fruits, and extraction of sugars from grains would make for a source of clean water.
One time, I was sitting with a couple of my friends, enjoying my home made mead (honey wine) that I made with apple cider. It's yummy. We were thinking about how the first mead was made more than twelve thousand years ago in Abyssinan times. We came to the conclusion that someone left some honey out in the rain, and forgot about it. It fermented, and when they drank it, they enjoyed it, and thought it was a gift from the gods.
I guarantee that there is a beer, ale, or some fermented beverage that will suit everyone's taste. Some people just haven't found the one that suits them.
For me, one of my favorite drinks is my home brewed ginger ale, that I make. It tastes like a ginger snap cookie, with a bit of spiciness to it. It is only about 3% alcohol, so it will not get you very drunk, unless you drink a lot of it. It is quite refreshing in the summer time. In the winter time I drink my home-brewed cyser, which is a honey-wine that is made with apple cider, honey, and yeast. It tastes like honey, and apples, and has a warming effect on the way down. It is very sweet, and one would find it hard to believe that it has 14% alcohol by volume, until you try to brush something off your shoulder, and it's the floor.
Like I said, there is such a vast variety of ales, lagers, and other brews out there, I would find it hard to believe that there is not one for everyone.
Others have provided excellent sources of information. You should check them out.|||i will admit that the first time i tried beer i didn't really like the taste. i was drinking a type of beer i didn't like though. i tried heineken and didn't like it. but when i tried guinness...that was it...i really liked the taste. now my two favorite beers are keystone light and guinness. very different types of beer but both good. it is not an escape i like my life. i like the occasional beer though. my favorite thing is the taste. i like the taste of beer. i may prefer one type of beer over another but i won't demand one type over another.|||It is a huge part of society because it is the reason society is here today.
The discovery of beer is what prompted early man to settle down plant farms and build villages 10,000 years ago. Beer is the oldest man made food.
During the middle ages a common drink was near-beer or small beer. A low alcohol beer (3% ABV or less) that people drank daily for hydration and vitamins. It is this beverage that saved the human race from extinction. Water sources during this time were contaminated with disease and filth. If it wasn't for beer The Black Death would have wiped out most life in the known world.
It was beer... or more accurately the lack of beer that prompted Columbus to make landfall and "discover" the new world. Same goes for the pilgrims and Plymouth.
I could go on about the history of beer if you want... But I think I'll move onto the health benefits. Beer is...
High in vitamin B
High in simple antioxidants (Easier for you body to break down and use.)
Powerful natural antibiotic
High in Iron (Stouts and Porter mostly)
High in fiber (wheat ale mostly)
Proven Cancer fighter (2005 Japanese study)
Great source for a portion of your daily water supply (low ABV beer that is)
Great for your cardiovascular system which can prevent heart attacks and strokes.
Stouts contain Lactic Acid
Hoppy beer has been linked to stimulation of certain brain cells, resulting in improved short-term memory
Malty beers are good for the complexion and the hair
Now, onto "How could some people like the taste?"
Stop drinking bad beer. There are dozens of different styles of beer. Most people are only familiar with one or two types. Pale Lagers/Pilsners and Stouts... More specific Guinness. Both are considered to be the bottom of the barrel when it comes to beer... Not stouts, Guinness. Yes, I said it... Guinness is a poor example of a stout. Good starter, but a poor example. Real beer has as much or more flavor complexity as wine. I personally like it much better.
"What is your favorite thing about beer?"
The variety and complexity... the buzz is just a welcome side effect. I could drink a beer every night of the week for the next year and never have the same beer or style twice if I wanted. Heck, I've probably had well over 1,000 different beers... I stopped counting at 356.
Give real beer a chance. Pick up a nice Belgian White or Brown ale or a Hefeweizen or a Lambic or a... I'll stop. Just check out this list of beer styles for an idea.
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/style
EDIT:
As far as drunk driving deaths go... Though a tragedy... they are grossly exaggerated by the media and alcohol abstanince groups like MADD and SADD. DD rates and deaths have been on a steady decline since the late 1970's and are currently at an all time low. Now, I agree that DDings is stupid, but not all drinkers do it. And labeling all of us as drunk drivers because a few is ignorant.|||It's a crutch or escape for many. I agree, it tastes nasty. Just like smokers have to have their cigarettes. It's a crutch they burried into their brains and they think they can't live without it. Addiction is very bad.
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