3 Common Beer Misconceptions

Casual beer drinkers are more susceptible to beer fallacies. You know those semi-urban myths like beer will give you a beer belly.”

And here are three common beer misconceptions that persist if spite of the fact that they’re largely untrue…

Beer Will Give You a Beer Belly

Let’s start with an incredibly prevalent beer misconception, that beer goes straight to your gut. And the truthiness of this one is borderline sketchy.

In 2017 researchers at the University of Copenhagen, released a study that addressed the wide-spread belief that drinking beer causes the phenomenon referred to as the beer belly.

The research team was careful to make a distinction between general obesity (one’s body mass index) and abdominal obesity (waist circumference or waist-to-hip ratio) basically the fat stored mainly in the belly and there was INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE that drinking beer could be directly linked to a bulbous belly.

Men put on weight in different body zones than women, and one of those zones is the stomach and waistline area. But calories are calories whether you’re drinking an IPA or a cocktail.

Bottom line: if you’re consuming more calories than your body needs you’re going to gain weight, wherever you tend to store fat, no matter what you’re eating or drinking.

Beer Should Be Served Ice Cold

No one craves a warm beer. But serving beer ice cold can diminish much of its flavor. The colder the beer, the less carbonation. The less carbonation released, the less aroma the beer gives off.

Beer for Dummies points out that quality beers (read: craft) shouldn’t be served any colder than 44 degrees Fahrenheit and suggests specific guidelines for different beers…

• Serve most premium lagers between 42 and 48 degrees Fahrenheit (6 to 9 degrees Celsius) and quality ales between 44 and 52 degrees Fahrenheit (7 to 11 degrees Celsius).
• Serve authentic Stouts as warm as 55 degrees Fahrenheit (13 degrees Celsius), which is British cellar temperature.
• Serve some high-gravity Barleywines, Old Ales, and barrel-aged Stouts only very lightly chilled or at room temperature, like a snifter of brandy.

Beer in Bottles Tastes Better than Canned Beer

If imaging were everything bottled beer would win in our book every time. We much prefer the look of a beer bottle, how the liquid shows through, how it rests in the hand, over an opaque, soullessly shaped can.

But if a beer’s freshness is your goal (and it should be) cans Rule! They’re just more effective at keeping out light which is a HUGE beer spoiler.

And although all beer will spoil eventually, some argue that bottled beers have a shorter shelf life than cans, due to a capping process that is less effective at keeping out oxygen (another beer killer) over a long time.