[mntlblok]

Originally Posted by Blueblaze

Well, if it were true, I'd be able to choke down a [fill in scary name here] IPA, so long as it's served in a frozen mug. OK, if I'm being honest I've never met the beer I couldn't choke down. But the fact is, lagers taste better cold and many ales, especially English stouts, are better at room temperature. It has more to do with where and at what temperature the yeast ferments (top or bottom, cold or warm) than bitterness.

The bitterness of beer is simply the hops, which was never supposed to improve the taste, in the first place. The only reason people started using hops was that it kept the beer from going bad longer, back before refrigeration was invented. Apparently, even microscopic bacteria that don't mind the taste of pond scum draw the line at eating hops! So if you put a massive amount in your beer, you can ship it all the way from England to India in a sailboat before it has to be thrown out. That's why IPA's are called "INDIA Pale Ales".

Now *that* makes sense. I'm all for everyone being allowed their taste preferences, but I sure don't understand some of them. That "bitter" can be thought of in positive terms just doesn't register and I long ago stopped trying to choke down IPAs. No problem with a few cubes of ice also being included in said frosted mug. It *has* struck me as odd that it seems that the "second" beer seldom arrives with that frosted mug. :-) Surely it wouldn't be all for "show". . .