Vino vs. beer

1: Beer is cheaper. Even world-class beer is cheaper per serving than the wine equivalent of BMC.
2: Beer is easier to find. The highest rated wine in the world isn't the kind of thing that is readily available wherever you go. Many out of this world fantastic beers are.
3: More disparate flavors in beer. The differences in flavor between a DIPA and a Gueuze are much greater than the flavor differences between a Cabernet and a Merlot.
4: Beer is lower in alcohol. If you love how a beer tastes, you can drink more of it than you can wine, for the most part. (Imperial stouts, barley wines, etc exempted).
5: Beer is more consistent. The best wine in the world may only be made once. Recreate the same exact recipe the year later and it could be completely different. With few exceptions, beer flavors aren't going to vary because of things like the specific soil makeup that the barley was grown in from one year to the next.

Beer easily wins any contest against Wine.

 

Nah, that's a bit too far. Yellowtail is at worst the Yuengling of wine and you can get a 750 mL for ~$5. You can get a gallon of Carlos Rossi for $13. There are definitely cheap wines. The difference is the ceiling, which runs $30-50 for beer (e.g. Fruet, Rare) and doesn't exist for wine.

 

But what about the difference between a Late Harvest Riesling and a Dry Vouvray? (<--- a more apt comparison)

Overall I'm not so sure I agree with that statement; wine does have a much broader range than you are giving it credit for. The gulf between a Vinho Verde and Vintage Port, and all points in between, is pretty great.

 

Both fair points, I suppose. Saying world class beer is cheaper than BMC wine was an exaggeration to make a point. As far as flavor differences, it is entirely possible that I just haven't had enough experience with wine to be able to pick them out as I can with beer.

 

I get Kosta Browne at cost, or at last I did, I've got about 10 vintages of KB at cost which I've cellared at perfect conditions. Market price of top-end wine (such as KB) is a good argument as to why putting $ towards wine could be considered an investment. I've done such. I've actually made $ this way, with wine. Old wine .

 

Really good wine beats the pants off of really good beer, but most of those wines cost 35-40+/bottle.

 

I like wine, but I really only drink it when it's free. My favorite is Kendall Jackson Vintners reserve cab. But it's 22$ a bottle and about as low quality I'm willing to pay for on wine (I'll drink anything free). In the beer world, 22$ buys a world class, top 5% beer. As long as the abv is as high as the wine (or close, 10%+), I take the beer all day, every day.

 

In my wife's village in France we can buy world class wine for around $2 per liter and bottle it ourselves. That's pretty hard to beat even as a homebrewer. Having said that I'll still keep drinking beer and loving it. And I'll still keep drinking wine and loving it.

 

I agree, but please edify me about "**** Womblery"- I love it. From context, I understand. The **** part is easy, but who or what was Womblery? Tonight, with a big family group, we drank great beer and very good wine- at a reasonable tariff. Cheers!

 

#3- DIPA and Gueuze may be as far apart as beer and wine. Merlot and Cab are both indigenous Bordeaux grape varieties and necessarily are generally similar in flavor and aromatic profile- cab usually capable of more power, but not always. I've noticed some serious vinious qualities in lambics and other esoteric (mostly) Belgian brews, so the lines aren't to me so clear cut. Fermented beverages are deeply historic and deserve serious study. Beer and wine was always safer than water.

 

This post just justify's the high inflation of beer lately. Why if they are willing to pay 100+ dollar for this wine why not 20+ dollars for this beer?

 

Great question. From a quality to cost ratio, and taking a cheap wine and an awesome world class beer at the same price point, the beer is always going to win. That said, I have purchased and enjoyed to my satisfaction several very expensive bottles of wine and several cheaper beers. The same goes for spirits. Now if you were to put a world class wine against a world class beer and cost was not a factor, I think even the most steadfast beer enthusiast might have to pause before answering once they had an opportunity to taste it. There is no reason to limit yourself to just one type of adult beverage when there are so many great ones to experience, beer advocate or otherwise. I am happy to drink all the world has to offer and appreciate the stuff that is deserving.

 

I agree with that. And would add that you can't pick until you've had both
And for me, I probably would choose the beer much more for wine.
Now if you set a good rye, bourbon, or scotch in front of me.. gimme a few minutes here.. can I try it again?? Now the beer again.. Now one more taste of the rye..

 

If the choice is between a world class beer and poor quality wine, I'll take the beer every time. My true passion is for beer, but wine isn't too far behind. Growing up on the Central Coast of California, wine is a big part of the culture. Whether it be a buttery oaked Chardonnay or delicate Pinot Noir from my hometown of San Luis Obispo, or a jammy and spicy Zin from Paso Robles nearby, and every varietal in between, there is a lot to appreciate about wine. Besides, Firestone might not be pumping out there amazing barrel aged beers, especially their Anniversaries, without the input on blending methods provided by the awesome winemakers in Paso. That alone should allow beer geeks to appreciate wine.

 

Couple things: I wouldn't go so far as to say wines can never be recreated. Non-Vintage champagne for example tries to approximate the same profile from year to year. Also you can get a half case of quality wine for $100 or less. I also hear a lot of beer lovers on here say that they've only like sweeter wines. Well that's like giving an opinion on beer and saying you only like Lindeman's Framboise or Peche. You're missing out on what it's about and basing a judgment on it.

 

Agreed with the idea of consistency across vintages. Most domestic wines under $15 (especially blends) will be pretty damn similar from year to yer since the can pull from all of "California".

 

No, it just means that other wines, bore, or don't please me. Some times I can tolerate them with the right food pairing, but do not wish to drink them stand-alone. Tried enough from various styles to countries of origin to know what I like. Wine freaks tell me because I like sweet wines, my taste is stunted/ignorant just makes me hope I don't come off so condescending when explain why I like craft beer vice BMC. Sure there are plenty of wines that could blow my mind, but based on a fairly long sampling, they don't cause near a fraction the excitement great beer has for me to seek them out.

Perhaps my socio-economic status affects that, but I kind of doubt that since I love to try new foods & travel. I would be way more interested trying top of the line Sushi or Sashimi, but was plenty happy with the cheap stuff I could get on the conveyor-belt places & delis I could get in Hawaii. Not sure that stuff would taste 100 times or even twice better. Came up working class in the South & I am comfortable, but no one is jealous of my life-style to be sure.

 

what a great answer!!

 

YAWN!!! Is this a site about beer?