Why does cheap beer taste better than microbrews?

A friend brought over some microbrews for Thanksgiving here in Canada. I couldn't drink it.

It doesn't.

It does though. So bitter and nasty.

You answered your own question so what is the point of this thread?

Just a bit upset that my friend showed up with undrinkable beer and I made a turkey dinner. Seems unfair to me.

I think I get the point now... how can @mayne exact vengeance on his friend? Can you afford a few metric tons of raw hops? I think it might be fitting to deliver pallets of hops to his front door, or dump inside his place if you have access.

@ballsleon: He did have good weed though. I can't hate him that much.

Zzzzzzz

Cuz cheap bear has (high fructose) corn syrup in it.

There's so much variety in non-cheap beer these days that you'd have to purposely try to avoid something you like, just to stick with cheap alternatives.

Your friend wanted to share a beer they liked with you, you didn't appreciate the sentiment. Seems like in the spirit of thanksgiving the least you can do is make this water under the bridge.

@mayne: Not all craft beers are the same though. That one may have been bitter and nasty to you but there’s probably something else out there you’d like. I enjoy craft beer but I certainly don’t like every genre of brew out there. Everyone has their own tastes.

Are you very young or do you not realize that beer is incredibly varied, and the stuff he brought over might just not be to your liking? Microbrews can range from anything from a good, clean lager to some of the weirdest shit you've ever tasted.

@rejizzle said:

And yeah, this. You sound like kind of a bad friend.

@inresurrection: Hah yeah it can get weird for sure. I once had an IPA with smoked hot peppers in it. It was from Surly and called Dumpster Fire. It sure tasted like a dumpster fire.

@haneybd87: Hahaha, that's funny. It's hard not to appreciate the effort breweries go through to try and make unique beers. Sometimes they work out and are so refreshing and cool, and other times nooot so much.

Try more beer. At a minimum, enough to to learn the difference between lager and ale.

Your friend probably showed up with an uber-hoppy IPA, which can be quite a shock if thin lager is what you're used to.

Because people's tastes are uniform and completely objective. Your friend hates you.

Beer like anything is personal preference. It's ok to not like microbrews. Having said that if you sample enough beers I can't imagine anyone not finding a type of microbrew you wouldn't like better than one of those standard American brews.

I started my love of microbrews in 2000 and I'm still into trying them all. I do see my "I quit drinking" day coming but until then...

Microbrews have flavors. Most people just want to get drunk off brown water.

Maybe this, a ***** or ***** light is a lot more neutral to go along with the Turkey, I could understand that.

As for the smoke, isn't that related to hops (or is that a myth)? You attitude just seems so hypocritical, even judgy

You must be either a millennial or a baby boomer. Or something in-between.

Cheap beer full of sugar, I think

They also tend to have a much higher ABV, so I reeeeeally don't get it.

@frytup said:

This is why I think flights are such a great way to introduce folks to new beers. Get yourself a spectrum of different beers and let people explore without having to commit to a half liter of something they're not going to enjoy.

My squad has a hobbyist mazer (myself) and a homebrewer in it, and we tend to bring a range of new, untasted and occasionally not great beers to parties. But we all have what we call a "boy beer" or "bottom beer", a cheap swill endemic unto each of us that is our go to cheap shitty beer. Yes, I love me a La Fin du Monde or a Ridgetop Red Ale, but I will also gladly do some damage on a twelve pack of Olympia as well. Drink what you like!

More hops = more bitterness not everyone appreciates a bitter taste. That's why kids down miller light cause it has no taste :D

Yeah! Fuck your friend and his shitty beer!

Everything tastes better with heavier pockets.

Because beer is better when you can't taste the beer part.

I'm with you though, if you have refined your palette enough to like that stuff god bless you but that's not a train I'm at all interested in riding on. Not that all "non-lite" beers are bad but I do just fine with my piss water thank you very much.

I suppose if the objective is to become intoxicated then light beer will do. That's not why I enjoy beer, though. There are too many amazing flavors out there to just stick to the stuff sold at sporting events.

I think microbrews as a whole taste better, but the variety means people will like some more than others. It's like giving someone Fortnite because you know they like video games.

For people who are particular about beer, i've learned to just never gift them beer.

In all honesty, beer is so bloody expensive in Canada that I drink very infrequently.

@mayne: take half a second to appreciate a new taste. do you not eat brussel sprouts? do you not eat sushi? if you answered yes to these questions then you eat like a child and get to live like a child, but not criticize us for eating and drinking things across the gamut of flavors this life affords us.

I always wonder what sort of world people live in when they still think about "micro-brews" as being a foreign thing. Don't get me wrong. I drink plenty of crummy, cheap beer, but beer outside of super-wide distribution stuff isn't inherently exotic. Its just another brand of beer. Its not necessarily good, hoppy, bitter, high abv or anything else. I can see having this conversation 20 years ago. Today though, it is very strange.

This is not a good thread. Try harder.