Maybe it’s because the weather turned rainy and particularly fall-like this week, or perhaps I’m just getting cranky in my old age, but I thought now would be a good time to turn our collective attention to some of the outdated myths about beer that continue in circulation even today, when we have such a wealth of diverse brews at our disposal. Let’s start with the basics:
Myth #1 – Dark Beer is Heavy
Couldn’t be further from the truth, folks. Colour in beer comes purely from the grain used in its creation, with darker beers containing more toasted or roasted barley malt and paler beers containing less or no darker malts. And roasting malt doesn’t make it heavier or more caloric.
Myth #2 – Ale is Stronger than Lager
The funny thing about this popular North American myth is that Brits think the exact opposite, with the perception in the U.K. being that way because best bitters normally sit around 4% alcohol by volume and lagers generally come in around 5%. The truth is that alcohol comes from the amount of sugars provided for fermentation and has nothing to do with whether that fermentation takes place at warmer (ale) or cooler (lager) temperatures.
Myth #3 – Beer Makes You Fat
Inactivity and bad diet make you fat. Beer, when enjoyed in moderation and as part of balanced lifestyle, doesn’t.
Myth #4 – Stout is a “Meal in a Glass”
Most stouts are no more caloric or filling than the yellow lager many people knock back by the pint on a Saturday night. The reason we think otherwise is because we expect something that has a very dark colour to be richer than something that’s pale. See Myth #1.
Myth #5 – Bock is Brewed Each Spring After the Brewing Tanks are Cleaned
This one is so prevalent that it even made it into the pages of the landmark Time-Life book series, “Foods of the World,” in the “Wine and Spirits” volume. The idea is that the brewer cleans his or her tanks once a year and ferments the gunk scraped off the sides into a beer called bock. Suffice to say that any brewer who did this once wouldn’t be in business long enough to do it again. (Bock is simply a Germanic style of strong lager, likely originating in the town of Einbeck, from which the corruption “bock” was formed.)
