These
days in the United States, the craft beer industry is booming. Ales and lagers of various tints and
hues find their ways into the bars, taverns, and store shelves of even the
smallest, less involved communities.
But what’s with the color?
After all, everything that the U.S. has grown up with for the past 30
years has been the inoffensively light-complected offerings of Bud, Miller, and
Coors. Surely the light-colored
stuff is the real deal. Surely
REAL beer cannot possibly be red, brown, or even black.
With
so many questions racing through the minds of those less acquainted with craft beer,
one of the questions always remains the same—“Why is THAT beer so DARK?” (*look
of disgust). The answer is
simple: it’s all in the grains.
As
it turns out, different beer styles call for different types of grains. Different types of grains yield
different flavors. And different
flavors create a fascinating world of brews that require your attention…NOW.
However,
there’s still that soul-searching dilemma that confounds those new to craft
beer: “Why would anyone want to
drink a beer with so much alcohol?
That’s what dark beers are, right?” Simply put:
No. Not necessarily. The color of the beer does not
determine the alcohol content; the amount of sugars extracted from the grains
determine the alcohol content.
For
example, Bud Light Platinum at 6% ABV contains more alcohol by volume than
Guinness Draught at a mere ~4.1% ABV.
Heck, Bud Light, Miller Lite, and Coors Light all have higher alcohol
content than the O-so-dark beer, Guinness Draught.
That
said, color isn’t so important.
The color of the beer really doesn’t make much difference in overall
heaviness or taste of the beer.
Though the color of the beer could be used as an indicator of how the
beer will most likely taste, that’s not always clear cut, either. Perhaps the real importance of a beer’s
color just depends on someone’s personal preference.
-Marc & Dan
By the way, these are our beers ;)
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