Drinking beer direct from the bottle

Yorky

Yorky

RIP 21/01/2024
Joined
3 Oct 2016
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This appears to be prevalent hereabouts.

I have never done it.

Is it a fear of infection from unwashed glasses?

Is it a worldwide trend?
 
I suppose it saves on washing up! My partner drinks lager from cans and that seems common here (not in pubs). There is a Mexican beer which is traditionally served in a bottle with a lime wedge stuffed into the neck.

I think I have drunk beer from bottles in the past - but that might have been when outdoors. It minimises the risk of critters dropping in the drink.
 
I am not a big beer drinker. I may have a beer with boiled seafood or at the fishing camp after a hot day on the lake. I prefer it in an ice cold mug or pilsner. Most beer drinkers that I know drink from the bottle or can with a beer cozy to keep it cold. A cozy is a foam sleeve. There are cozys for both cans and bottles. The ones for bottles have a zipper on it. Corona or XX Mexican beer are served with the lime in the bottle neck. Some people add a little salt to the bottle rim.

I am not even close to being a connoisseur of beer. It makes me run to the bathroom.
 
I've brewed my own beer...quite a lot, actually. This predated my interest in cooking, which I don't find to be a coincidence. The reason I mention this is because there's a certain snobbery that comes with brewing your own beer, where you learn the Right Way to do things. So, here's what I can tell you:

The color of the bottle matters
  • Brown or opaque bottles are best because sunlight can affect the beer. Green bottles are okay, but not as good.
  • Clear bottles offer no resistance to the sunlight, and can result in beer developing a bad aroma, called "skunking".
  • This isn't too much of a danger if you don't go outside with it. Normally, the problem is when you have bottles sitting in a car for an extended period. But, beers like Corona beg to be consumed by the beach. which typically is sunny.
Beer is better enjoyed in a glass - My opinion, perhaps, but here's why:
  • Your sense of taste is connected to your sense of smell. Bottles and cans are designed for storage, and you really can't smell the beer when it's in the container.
  • Pouring the beer releases the smells as the foam settles.
  • Microbrewed and home brewed beers have a thin Vitamin B deposit at the bottom of the bottle. This is typically filtered out by major breweries because people think there's something wrong with it. If you pour the beer into a glass, you have a better chance of having it mixed with your drink. Besides the minor nutritional benefit, Vitamin B can help ward off hangover symptoms.
  • The color of the beer also has an affect on your appreciation of the beer. Do you think Guinness Stout is jet black? Hold it up to the light, and you'll see that it's slightly reddish. And, the head of foam is really unlike any other beer. Guinness consumed directly from the bottle is high treason for all of the above reasons! :laugh:
  • If you do want to add a wedge of citrus to the beer, you can squeeze the juices out and have them mingle more efficiently with the beer, vs jamming it in the bottle. As someone who used to reuse beer bottles for my brewing, I'm also sensitive to the difficulty of cleaning out a bottle that has something stuck in it, but that's a personal choice.
Having said all that, I will drink directly from the bottle if I'm at a friend's house and I'm offered a beer...no sense in them having to clean a glass just because I'm a fancy-pants former home brewer. Also, macro-brewed beers (like Miller, Budweiser, etc) aren't affected by the above because lagers have no appreciable aroma, and who cares what a lager looks like after all?
 
morning glory said:
Is there no end to your talents and expertise? :ohmy::happy: Seriously, I'm impressed.
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:shy:

Beer brewing is a lot like cooking food, actually: you have ingredients, recipes, different styles from different countries, and opportunities to freestyle it and still end up with something very satisfying.
 
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I'd rather drink beer out of a glass or a bottle. Back in the 1960s when canned beer became the vogue, we used to drink it straight from the can and I got a kidney infection which was put down to the reaction between the beer and the metal (cans weren't so good quality in those days)
 
Elawin said:
I'd rather drink beer out of a glass or a bottle. Back in the 1960s when canned beer became the vogue, we used to drink it straight from the can and I got a kidney infection which was put down to the reaction between the beer and the metal (cans weren't so good quality in those days)
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Oh my...that’s terrible! The quality of cans – or, really, the quality of the sealing of the cans – is significantly better now. Not quite sure why, but canned beer is starting to make a bit of a comeback. I see a lot more craft beer manufacturers putting their beer in cans.
 
Try drinking Guinness from the bottle using a straw. Served that way in a "trendy pub" in Leeds City Centre.

Took one look at the bottles then straight to the person serving. They don't use glasses. No glasses in what they called a pub.
 
classic33 said:
Try drinking Guinness from the bottle using a straw. Served that way in a "trendy pub" in Leeds City Centre.

Took one look at the bottles then straight to the person serving. They don't use glasses. No glasses in what they called a pub.
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It's been 30 odd years since I lived in Leeds and about 16 since I've visited.

There was nowt like that in my day, God forbid!
 
I've brewed beer in the past as well, when we had the room. I will not purchase beer in cans. One of the largest boat shows in the world is the Ft. Lauderdale International. A buddy in California always has beer for the crew party. Probably 20 years ago he helped a start up brewer get up and running. Now he gets free beer for life. The brewery is Lagunitas Brewing Company.
 
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