Why You Should Drink Craft Beer
Life is filled with novelty. There’s new experiences out there waiting to be had, pleasures and tastes that are yours for the taking. One of those tastes is a good craft beer. You and your beard are truly one of a kind, your beer should be too. Put down the cookie cutter macros for a second and let’s all have a collective gulp to see why you should drink craft beer. Please drink responsibly…
Support Your Homegrown Local Brewmasters
Not all beers are created equally. You wouldn’t mistake a fine vintage wine for any old swill from the corner store. The same is true for craft beers. Time, dedication and expert craftsmanship flow from the kegs to the bottom of your glass. Local breweries have a wide ranging selection for both the novice or most hardened beer drinking connoisseur alike. Luckily, we’re in a kind of micro brewing renaissance. According to the Brewers Association, in America the majority of people live within a 10 mile radius of a craft brewery. Golden velvet and every damn beer color in between is just an arm’s reach away. Why limit your taste buds. Taste the beer rainbow. When you support your local brewery, you’re putting money back into the pockets of your neighborhood, staying closer to home and supporting your local economy. Not to mention you’ll be drinking some kickass beer you won’t find anywhere else. Back in the homegrown vibe, you can make some great connections, meet the local brewers and enjoy someone’s passion manifested into a cool glass of beer. Many craft breweries source local ingredients and even host community events too!Beers With No Preservatives Are Healthier for You
A beer a day keeps the doctor away? While the results aren’t conclusive from doctors, but there are some benefits to be had from drinking beer in moderation. Take into consideration that at the base of all beers is a few simple ingredients: water, yeast, grains and hops. Your local crafter brewer is also brewing much smaller batches, which means you’ll be exposed to fresher and sometimes purely organic ingredients. Many macro beers contain corn syrup, and sometimes something called propylene glycol alginate (PDF). A pesticide you don’t want to be ingesting. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that most craft drinkers are more health conscious. According to Julia Herz, director of the Craft Beer Program at the Brewers association:"Craft-beer drinkers are more engaged than the mass domestic audience… they're not drinking the same beer for every occasion."Anyone can pound a few down out of a cold faceless oil can. Let’s learn to sit back and enjoy the flavor one sip at a time instead.
Enjoy the Beer Forget the Hangover
Everyone has their own anecdotal experience about the furors and dreaded hangovers caused by drinking certain alcoholic beverages.One tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor.
Scientists have found that beer and other spirits cause less of a hangover for some. You can mitigate or completely eliminate your hangover by drinking responsibly. This means drinking a glass of water in between each beer. You’ll fill up faster, enjoy the buzz and savor the flavor while you’re at it. Activated charcoal is another popular and natural remedy for detoxification. Some claim it stops hangover prevention. Plop some specified charcoal into your beer and watch this digestive aid stop the onslaught of slurs and blurs. It depends on your body chemistry, but you may be able to drink more and not have a splitting headache the next day.
Different Types of Brews
The sheer scope and variety of craft brewery selections can be overwhelming. Often there’s more types of beer offered out of one brewery than an entire mass produced conveyer belt beer conglomerate. It’s a craft after all. Ales, which can be broken down even further into brown ales, pale, porters or stouts. An ale is one of the most common of craft beer categories with a rich history and type of beer that is brewed with top fermenting yeast. They're usually stronger in taste and ferment in a faster and warmer environment.Ales
- Pale Ales are light colored beers with a sharp and bitter flavor. This is where your popular India Pale Ale (IPA) and other family of ales stem from.
- Brown Ales as the name denotes is a brownish or sometimes red colored beer that can offer notes of coffee or caramel.
- Stouts give you that dark and rich chocolate burst. Usually you’ll feel like you’re drinking a thicker cream of sorts. Sometimes you’ll taste coffee or a licorice flavor.
- Porters are another dark beer that are thinner than stouts and have a roasted coffee texture.
Lagers
- Pale Lagers are lighter beers and highly carbonated. They’re a very common beer.
- Marzens are full bodied beers that are usually amber or dark copper. They’re a bit toastier and taste more like a malt.
- Pilsners are also pretty light and carbonated like a pale lager, but with a much more bitter taste.
- Bocks are all different types of colors, but have a unique blend of malt and a bitter hop to them.
