Bluffers Guide to A Beer Date
Beer, glorious beer!
If you find yourself in the company of a beer drinker on your next date, and you’re not really one yourself, you may want to impress them by sounding knowledgeable. So, here’s a handy Bluffers guide to a beer date. This is all the trivia you’ll need to sound like you know your ales from your lagers.
Basic Guide To A Beer Date
Beer is one of the world’s oldest prepared beverages, dating back to the early Neolithic or 9500 BC. It is the most widely consumed alcoholic beverage in the world, and the third most popular drink after water and tea.
The English word ‘beer’ comes from the Latin word ‘bibere’ which means ‘to drink’. Beer is 90% water, with the rest being a combination of malted barley, hops and yeast. Regional variations in water have meant that some areas are better suited to producing different types of beer. For example, Dublin has hard water which is well-suites to making stout such as Guinness, while Plzen Region has soft water which makes it well-suites to making Pilsner.
Most beers fall into two categories – Ales and Lagers.
1) Ales – when the yeast ferments at higher temperatures, and stays on the surface, giving a more rich and complex, yeast-derived flavour than Lager. Types of Ales include:
- Pale Ale
- Stout
- Belgian Ale
- Amber
- Porter
- Hefeweizen
- Wheat Bear
- IPA (India Pale Ale)
2) Lagers – when the yeast ferments at lower temperatures, this creates a mild, crisp, clean tasting beer. Types of Lagers include:
- Pilsner
- Bock
- Marzen
- Dunkel
- Helles
- Doppelbock
So now you have your beer facts straight, you can head to the pub! If you’re not keen on ales or lagers, make sure you try a Blonde Beer or a flavoured beer like chocolate or raspberry. It’s inspiring!
But whatever you do, don’t develop Cenosillicaphobia – fear of an empty beer glass. What a terrifying thought that is!
For more, go to our Bluffers Guide to Beer Cocktails instead!
