The best beer... statistically

The idea of a blind tasting beer fest would be so much fun and also really cool to see the results but as lots of people mentioned reasons why it would be very difficult to make it a reality on a big scale. The solution is to have group of beer nerd friends and do it small scale. Still a lot of fun. You basically need to be a host and provide 4-5 different beers of a style, the other patrons don’t even get to know what Brewers/ beers are in the mix, offer them up blindly and let them record their ratings. Then afterwards reveal the results and the name of the beers. Then beer nerd discussions begin. It’s a lot of fun.

 

I’d agree.

Seltzer’s are growing by leaps and bounds, and I haven’t a clue who owns what but White Claw and Truly have a huge head start. I do see a ton of these at the pool and beach and honestly I find them refreshing and less filling than light beers. It’s typical in some restaurants to put a bottle of Pelligrino on the table with dinner, with good reason. Seltzer’s I agree might put a bit of a hurt on the light lager margins.

 

Permit me to suggest an alternative term/perspective: rather than thinking in terms of "good" perhaps think in terms of "preferred".

The vast majority of beer consumers "prefer" to drink beers that are light in color, light in body and light in flavor. For example in America that would mean Bud Light, in Canada that would mean Bud, in the UK that would mean Carling Lager, in Belgium that would mean Jupiler, in...

Does this help the discourse? Or will semantics rule here?

Cheers!

 

Well, let me be the first to tell you I have historically bought, and as timing has it including the other day a 12 pack for the first time in a few years, for lighter meal beer alternative over a few weeks after having five heavy BA stouts over Thanksgiving weekend. Somewhat new to craft (6 years), but for the previous 20 years drank mostly whiskey/bourbon while at bars, and Guinness (local Irish bars) or Budweiser outside in the summer or at times with a meal.

Most people in Chicago drink Miller Lite (Chicago is one of the few markets Miller Lite leads over Bud Light) for a buzz with less calories, same with seltzers. I never liked light beer, prefer some taste or just water. I do like the taste of Budweiser, but found many craft beers better tasting which is why I mostly purchase craft.

There are many craft Pilsners, lagers and other lighter style beers I pick up, mostly in the Summer. I understand most people here don't like Budweiser, perfectly understand. I consider most pop "swill", I drink water and/or tea when not having a beer.

The Boston Beer Co. owns Truly, also Wicked Tea and Angry Orchard Cider. Beer is a small fraction of their current sales. White Claw is owned by Mark Anthony Brands out of Ireland, they also make Mike's Hard Lemonade.

 

@John_M , I appreciate what you're getting at, and you've done a great job of laying out the non-taste reasons that people choose light beers.

Lots of those factor in to.why I didn't say I thought bud or snow or Carling or whatever was THE best beer.

First, I think we have to acknowledge that the only fair definition of "best" in this super broad context is something like, "the beer that most beer drinkers prefer to drink most often". Otherwise we're just talking about our preferences or putting some.other parameters around the question.

That said, I would wager that if you amassed a large group of beer drinkers and systematically fed them blind beers.to rate in some sort of pure hedonic contest, the winner would end up being some kind of pale lager. Would it be bud light? Probably not. The romantic in me likes to imagine that it would be some German helles or perhaps a kolsch. But I would be absolutely shocked if it were a stout or a lambic or a dopplebock.

I would.be curious to hear more anecdotal info about that Baltimore party, what types of non bud beer seemed most.popular? What did you resupply with?

 

I think a blind taste test really only works when it’s isolated to same beer style. You can’t put out a Bud Light against KBBS, Lou Pepe, and a Heady Topper blindly and get any results worth comparing. However a blind competition against a few AALs (where the participants don’t even know which AALs are used in the test) is really the way to go.

 

Could Tuborg be the statistically best beer? I remember the commercial: "Tuborg - Wherever You Are". If it really is wherever you are it must be the best

 

It's Carlsberg that advertises *Probably* the Best Beer in the World.

Guess that ends the thread.

 

Hah. But based on the history of that recipe, color me highly skeptical.

 

Fosters.

Noting more needs to be said, you all know it's the best (after Tuborg of course). I recall it's a racing beer, I still hear that roar, and just one word: Fosters.

 

Guess you haven't seen the latest news on Foster's needing an image reboot. Something about having dwindled to being in only a few bars across Australia -- I'll see if I can dig up the story.

 

Are you suggesting this isn't true for craft beer?

Just curious, as it has little to do with the points made in the discussion.

 

But, but, but, it’s just gotta be “the one beer to have if you are having more than one…”

 

@beer_beer
Australian for beer! Roight.