3 July 2014 - Best Beer HQ

5 myths about beer BUSTED!

5 beer myths busted

You shouldn’t believe everything you hear about beer – except anything you read at Best Beer HQ. You can trust us, promise. We’ll never willingly put you wrong, which is why we’re shining a light on 5 silly myths about beer.

No doubt you’ve heard all these myths about beer before…

1. You’ll get a beer belly from drinking too much beer

This is a bigger hoax than, well, yours and my beer guts combined. Whoever coined the phrase “beer belly” or “beer gut” obviously has a thing against beer, because you’re far more likely to get a large belly by eating too much unhealthy food or not exercising enough.

Beer guts are caused by taking in too many calories. Sure, beer has some of those, but not as many as the Big Mac you eat on the way home from the pub. In fact, in a 2011 study researchers associated weight gain only with binge drinking.

Enjoying just a few beers now and again will not give you a beer gut.

2. Beer is best served cold

While most beer drinkers would generally agree that beer is best served cold, it’s not actually always the case. Sure, most of the beers put out by major commercial breweries should be chilled before drinking – but that’s because they’re supposed to be refreshing and thirst-quenching.

However, the flavour of a beer typically diminishes when it’s cooled down, and you lose some of the aromatics when you serve a beer that’s too cold. Guinness is a prime example of a beer that shouldn’t be served too cold, as are many traditional English ales.

Which brings us on to the next great beer myth…

3. The English drink warm beer

It’s patently untrue that the British drink “warm” beer. The truth is, lagers in the United Kingdom are served as cold as anywhere else in the world. In fact, many of the more popular beers are served extra cold, just like they are in the United States of America.

It’s only traditional English ales that aren’t served cold, and they’re actually served at room temperature (or the temperature of the cellar, which is pretty cool anyway) because they taste better that way.

Like we said above, serving beer cold can ruin its flavour, and the flavours in an English ale are supposed to be enjoyed – not obscured by the cold.

4. Beer before liquor, never sicker; liquor before beer, you’re in the clear

Sorry, folks – you’re probably going to get sick and have a terrible hangover the next day no matter what order you drink in. That is if you’re going to drink too much alcohol in one sitting. Drinking in moderation is always the key if you want to feel good the next morning.

Because of its lower alcohol content, drinking beer before liquor may only delay the onset of drunkenness – but it’s not going to stop you getting sick later on. Alcohol is alcohol, and too much will make you sick.

5. Beer kills brain cells

We can see where this one came from: after a few too many beers you stumble, slur words and forget things. What’s actually going on is the alcohol from all the beer you have drunk is interfering with the cells in your brain that send and receive information. Studies show that beer doesn’t actually kill them.

In fact, one study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology showed that moderate alcohol consumption actually reduced the risk of your brain suffering from cognitive decline and dementia later in life.

While you’re here, you might as well crack open another beer and check out this article about the best beer names in the world.

Weird and Interesting United Kingdom /