What's so great about beer?

[SheSaidSheSaid]

Seriously. I'm not one of these militant, teetotaller "straight-edge" people, I just don't get it. (Though I have been told many a time, when the subject comes up organically, to "get off my high horse" if I mention that I don't drink) But I will pull out a cliche and say it seems like the whole world wants to get me to drink. Whenever I join a group of people to watch an event of common interest, like a baseball game or a bicycle race, inevitably someone talks about the beers they're knocking back, like it enhances the experience. The Seattle Mariners blog I frequent even recommends a "series beer" with every preview for each series the Mariners play. Even on this very website, one of the "Band Wanted" threads is called "Eat, drink, and be merry." Beer-lovers often echo Benjamin Franklin's commonly-cited quote that "Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy," even though this was probably taken out of context.

I'm not saying it's a bad thing, I just do not get it. I have tried beer a couple of times. It tasted like aspirin in liquid form, and who the hell likes the taste of aspirin? Its aftereffects made me sick - literally. So we have a drink that tastes like pills, makes you fat if you ingest too much of it too regularly, made me throw up, and I'm not even touching on inebriation because I've never been there and have no plans to (and beer-lovers have told me they love it even without getting drunk). What am I missing that has people speak of it like it's the nectar of the gods?

[Theturtleking]

Not many people like the taste of beer. They just drink it for the effect of it. Alcohol gives less confident people the confidence to do stuff they wouldn't normally do. Some people do it for the taste as well. A nice cold beer on a very warm day is an excellent way to to just relax and soak in the sun.

[SheSaidSheSaid]

A nice cold beer on a very warm day is an excellent way to to just relax and soak in the sun.

Iced tea in my case And I do like the taste of that.

[Der_Lex]

De gustibus non est disputandum. You might as well ask people what's so great about the color blue or a well-prepared steak, and the answer will be just as subjective and relatively meaningless.

However, I think the widespread popularity of beer is caused A: because alcohol is one of the few socially acceptable drugs you can openly use and B: because it's relatively cheap compared to other forms of alcohol.

[Theturtleking]

Mabye trying different drinks would be better suited for you.

JD and Coke. WKD or anything that's a fruit based drink. They all taste pretty good.

[Lowlander2]

Mine's a triple distilled vodka with lemon flavouring. Just about anything else repulses me.

[SheSaidSheSaid]

De gustibus non est disputandum. You might as well ask people what's so great about the color blue or a well-prepared steak, and the answer will be just as subjective and relatively meaningless.

You really think this is a case of "Y U LIEK PARAMORE CIPHER?"

People....like....those experiences that made me physically sick? That really doesn't make it any clearer

[SheSaidSheSaid]

Well thanks at least for not getting defensive about it. I have tried asking this question of other communities, and they basically just tell me to STFU

[Der_Lex]

Not everybody becomes physically ill after drinking. I've definitely gone past the point of 'slightly inebriated' on a few occasions in college (cheap vodka, the silent killer), but I've never felt sick or thrown up.

[RockBandRocker]

However, I think the widespread popularity of beer is caused A: because alcohol is one of the few socially acceptable drugs you can openly use and B: because it's relatively cheap compared to other forms of alcohol.

I'm sure it has absolutely nothing to do at all with beer (and variations of it) being a staple in the human diet since we went from being hunter gatherers to farmers.

I watched this thing on Discovery Channel (so the information might have been made up just to seem educational) called "How Beer Changed The World" and it asserts that beer has played an important role in human civilization.

One thing I remember from it was them talking about how in England, there was a time when the water was undrinkable do the amount of urine and feces humans were putting into the rivers that in order to stay hydrated they turned to beer and ales. The funny thing being that alcohol actually dehydrates the body, but what are you gonna do?