Why is beer so popular in most of the world?

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Sweetleaf
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08 Mar 2016, 1:41 pm

Aristophanes wrote:
Sweetleaf wrote:
Aristophanes wrote:
AspE wrote:
Sweetleaf wrote:
At some points water was turned into beer to make it drinkable...there is a documentary, How Beer Saved the World or something but can't find it on youtube but it goes into a lot of why one could say beer=civilization.

Yes, it might have been the motivation for growing grain crops. It certainly saved many lives where the water was contaminated with bacteria. Most people until relatively recently drank weak beer instead of water. For breakfast. Also cider.


I concur. The first time I heard this was a history professor asking the question: "Why is beer legal and marijuana not?" Of course his theory was that beer has been around since the start of civilization itself therefor it's so woven into the social fabric of humanity that it's considered innocuous, whereas marijuana being relatively new to civilization (western civ at least) is an unknown quantity and thus "dangerous".


But marijuana is hardly new to civilization, where on earth did this professor pull that crap out of? Not to mention it has recorded use in ancient civilizations which would imply some knowledge of how it works, what it does and how it makes people feel.


In the ancient world cannabis was never used on it's own, it was always with a concoction of other mild intoxicants, generally as a pain relief medication-- this tells me not everyone knew about it, only the knowledgeable medical class. Meanwhile alcohol was used in everyday life by basically everyone because it was the only guaranteed clean source of water. So when I say unknown, I should clarify, unknown to everyday people. It's the equivalent of us going to the future and someone making the claim that people in our era knew what dextromethorphan was because it was written about in literature...yes some of us know what it is, but most don't. But you are correct, their societies knew about it, I'm not denying that and I doubt my old professor would either.

Also of note, cannabis in ancient literature isn't our cannabis, which is either sativa or indica. Ancient cannabis was actually ruderalis, which is almost inert (less than 1% thc). So, when the Americas were opened up and sativa spread to Europe the Europeans might not have made the connection between the two because not only do they look radically different (ruderalis is a midget, basically just ground covering), but the effects were vastly different as well. You may actually have tried a strain with around 10% ruderalis-- in the last decade breeders have been crossing it to create autoflowering plants out of sativa and indica, but it's home growers that would gravitate towards autoflowering and not anyone dealing large commercial.


Hmm guess I will have to read up on some of this...though I am pretty sure I've heard of archaeological finds of old smoking pipes and evidence of it being used as an intoxicant. As for ruderalis I thought that only grew in a very specific climate, but never heard of it having pre-dated other types of cannabis. I was aware a lot of the cannabis use was medicinal and it was in concoctions with other things so knowledgable people about medicine were probably more aware of it and knew more about it.....but knowledge of it had to have gotten out to the common people at some point, since I know recreational use didn't just pop up out of the blue in the 60's.


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auntblabby
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08 Mar 2016, 4:50 pm

I gotta try me some apple brandy some day. I wonder how hot it is?



Babieca
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23 Mar 2016, 5:56 pm

I love the taste of beer ( not lagers but the red ales and darker milds, stouts and some porters).

I also find it enjoyable to have a couple of pints in a pub with people I know and the beer helps me relax without getting completely trashed (which would happen if I drank wine or spirits). I find that it takes the edge off my anxiety also if I find myself in an unavoidable social work outing. I hate those, so being able to take the edge off without getting really drunk in front of my work colleagues helps me get through those situations without being either completely silent or very anxious.



auntblabby
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23 Mar 2016, 6:26 pm

Babieca wrote:
I love the taste of beer ( not lagers but the red ales and darker milds, stouts and some porters).

I also find it enjoyable to have a couple of pints in a pub with people I know and the beer helps me relax without getting completely trashed (which would happen if I drank wine or spirits). I find that it takes the edge off my anxiety also if I find myself in an unavoidable social work outing. I hate those, so being able to take the edge off without getting really drunk in front of my work colleagues helps me get through those situations without being either completely silent or very anxious.

do you like more bitter or less bitter?



CommanderKeen
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27 Mar 2016, 4:29 pm

Alcohol lowers testosterone, is neurotoxic and surpresses the central nervous system. It is much less productive than say cannabis, or even psilocybin; both of which have been shown to be neuroprotective. Your testosterone levels can drop for 5 days after a night of drinking. I rather have my T levels high, than sue-come to pear pressure. Also, alcohol can cause gyneocomastia("b*tch tits").



auntblabby
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27 Mar 2016, 5:01 pm

no alky 4 me, I need all the T I can see.



arabian1
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03 Apr 2016, 12:16 am

I used to hate beer when i was younger.i used to drink smirnoff ice. My high school friends used to have drinking parties that their parents supervised.sometimes i wish i'd gone to those parties. My favorite beers are guinness and samuel adams.i like all the different beers samuel adams comes out with. I would consider myself a lightweight..i van count on two hands the number of times i've gotten drunk.i would like to try a scotch ale and oatmeal stout.ive had scotch and jeigarmeister before. I want to try jonnie walker blue and green label ,captain morgan's and bourben. Has anyone had a moscow mule?



LOLWUTAREYOUDOIN
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03 Apr 2016, 11:30 am

I've tried a wide range of beers and I agree with the OP - I don't understand the appeal.

Now, whisky and wine on the other hand... :lol:



auntblabby
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03 Apr 2016, 1:11 pm

arabian1 wrote:
Has anyone had a moscow mule?


I haven't heard that phrase "Moscow mule" since listening to the cole porter song "you're the top." :dj: at least know I know it is a mixed drink and not something else. :idea:



kaiouti
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25 Apr 2016, 8:31 am

I would say in the same way smoking became popular, advertising in both ads and movies etc; also tradition.



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05 May 2016, 4:06 am

Honestly I don't understand why some cultures love alcohol consumption so much.

I understand a drink for fun here and there, but for many places drinking culture and binge drinking are a part of the culture.

In Australia it's very popular here and is one of the only ways some people have fun around here - alcohol, drugs, etc.

According to this, the USA is ranked 17th in alcohol consumption, and Australia is ranked 19th.

Do remember though, your population is about 13-14 times the size of Australia's population, so that's saying a lot. (Australia = 25 million, U.S.A: 318 million).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_c ... per_capita

The chart might be a bit clumsily made, but what that means is the proportion and percentage of Australian's who consume alcohol regularly would be higher than that of the U.S.A.



Outrider
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05 May 2016, 4:12 am

I honestly can't stand the taste of actual beer - yeast extract, ugh.

I do enjoy Vegemite, an Australian sandwich spread made from yeast extract, but beer is disgusting.

"I used to hate beer when i was younger.i used to drink smirnoff ice."

What's wrong with that?

Flavored mixed vodka drinks like Smirnoff and Cruisers are fine.

I don't think many people actually like the taste of pure beer and only drink it to get drunk, when they could be having alcholic drinks that pretty much taste like soft drink - delicious taste and getting drunk all-in-one!



auntblabby
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05 May 2016, 4:43 am

am pretty sure that bitter beer lovers are relatively insensitive to the full bitterness of bitter.



Outrider
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05 May 2016, 5:02 am

Sure, but how many people would genuuinely say on their very first try: "Mmm, this is delicious, it tastes great!"?

"Everyone has different tastes" my a55.

There are some foods or drinks agreed to be universally appealing and others to be commonly abrasive to the human body.

Many people love sugary foods for instance, and the actual taste of sugar is pleasing to many.

Just as many find hot chili undesirable.

Many people who eat a healthy diet their entire lives may actually get very sick the first time they try fast food - see super size me.

The creator of the video's body was used to healthy vegetarian meals cooked by his wife, so eating mcdonald's for a month had adverse effects on his health.

Just as there are many food or drink that are an 'acquired taste' for most.

The spread Vegemite is an aquired taste for many a foreigner, and many of them don't realize they put too much of it on their sandwich compared to how much butter they put on, thus making it taste extra salty and hard on the mouth.

I'd like to think most bitter beer is aquired taste.

But acquired taste is just that - even if you like it eventually, it tastes badly at the beginning and I think a lot of beer drinkers don't like it and simply succumb to peer pressure, becasue mixed vodka/flavored drinks are 'for pü55y(cats)'.

Most drinkers I have met admit to it having a strong taste and odor they're not particularly fond of.

Kind of like how majority of cigarette smokers I come across hate the taste, but want it so bad.

I think the reality is a lot of people have something for the sake of having something, and not that they enjoy it.

Many people who may eat fast food frequently might only slightly enjoy the taste but still get it because "It's cheap! It doesn't require cooking! I'm hungry NOW, and it's FAST. So I'll eat a meal that I consider a 6 out of 10 for convenience rather than wait until I get home and spend hours cooking a 10 meal."



Last edited by Outrider on 05 May 2016, 7:24 am, edited 1 time in total.

Sabreclaw
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05 May 2016, 6:22 am

Outrider wrote:
Honestly I don't understand why some cultures love alcohol consumption so much.

I understand a drink for fun here and there, but for many places drinking culture and binge drinking are a part of the culture.

In Australia it's very popular here and is one of the only ways some people have fun around here - alcohol, drugs, etc.

According to this, the USA is ranked 17th in alcohol consumption, and Australia is ranked 19th.

Do remember though, your population is about 13-14 times the size of Australia's population, so that's saying a lot. (Australia = 25 million, U.S.A: 318 million).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_c ... per_capita

The chart might be a bit clumsily made, but what that means is the proportion and percentage of Australian's who consume alcohol regularly would be higher than that of the U.S.A.


Yep. It really pisses me off that around here drinking is not only normal, it's expected. People are always surprised to learn I don't drink. I just don't understand why people feel the need to get intoxicated to have fun.



curiouscat1993
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19 May 2016, 4:58 pm

I agree it taste crappy but I'm trying to like it.