LAGER BLOGGER
I love beer commercials. Can't get enough of them. Funny, irreverent and almost always memorable, these spots showcase some of the finest writing that network television has to offer. I have to admit that I do find myself somewhat confused over the message the brew peddlers have bestowed upon the consumer. Are we supposed to taste the stuff or not? Some companies brag that their product is clean and smooth with no aftertaste which kind of describes water doesn't it? Other brewers claim that their brew has more "taste" than the others. Whatever became of FLAVOR? Doesn't beer contain flavor? Sure it does- although we probably won't see that as a selling point on the tube any time soon.
There are over seventy styles of beer with more being created probably as I type this. Yet we are led to believe there may be approximately four: regular, light, dark, and bitter. For my money the most important discovery (or invention depending on how you look at it) in the beer industry to date has been the lager. Lagers haven't always been around. They premiered sometime during the mid 1840s. The beer industry hasn't been the same since. The brewers noticed real quick that their customers took to the smoother, lighter change of pace and opted for the lager over the ale. Another bonus-and this was huge-was that people tended to consume more lagers in one sitting than ales. Much much more.
Fast forward to the mid 1970s and another creation gave the beer industry another boom. So simple, so easy, yet not introduced to the masses during the previous 6,000 or so years give or take a few millenniums. We're talking about-yes you guessed it-light beer. Less calories, fewer carbs, although did anyone consider carbs in the 70s? Seriously speaking, light beer did/does offer a more moderate alcohol content than its leaded version and that positive tangible cannot be overlooked. Did you wonder how most light beers are made. Have you noticed the process isn't being bragged about by the heavies. Two words: more water. Why couldn't I have thought of it?
For my money the concept of light beer reminds me of this analogy: You're at a fast food restaurant with someone and they order the super sized burger complete with more fries than necessary and they wash it down with a diet soda.
In this country, light beer far outsells its "regular" brand by a sizeable margin. Not only do more people prefer it, they drink MORE of the stuff. One third of the calories doesn't really justify drinking twice as much does it? We rarely see someone blazing through a sixer of Guinness during a fishing trip or on bowling night.
This isn't supposed to be a rant to admonish lagers or light beers for that matter although I'm sure it reads that way. Maybe my one true objective is to champion the underdog, which are the other 60 some other styles of beer which are doomed to be ignored, labeled and worst of all, never tasted. The next time you're at the local pub, ask the bartender for a sample of a beer that you've never had before. Here's hoping they have such a creature. Who knows-you just might like it.
