Drinking beer is like a right of passage for men. The minute you have your first frosty brew, you sprout a hair or two on your chest. However, there are certain beers that separate the men from the boys. Yes, friends. We’re talking about dark beers.
Like light beers, dark beers aren’t all one color. They can be as light as amber and go all the way to a deep, dark chocolate color. And, as you may have guessed, there are several different varieties to suit anyone’s taste. So the next time your girlfriend turns her snobby pale ale drinking nose away from dark beer let her know they don’t all taste the same. For example, you could have:
Dark Lager: These have really rich flavors because they’re made with roasted hops and barley.
Brown Ale: This is lighter and more copper-colored that anything else, but it has a nice mild flavor.
Porter: The barley flavors reign supreme over the hops in this full-bodied, dark beer.
Stout: These are like the darker, thicker brother of Porter ales. The barley is still strong, but more evenly matched with the hops than in a Porter.
Dark beer has earned a reputation as a cold weather brew and with good reason; it’s heavy and meant to be sipped slowly and enjoyed. It warms you right up and it’s more about savoring the taste rather than knocking back a 12-pack. But you can still absolutely reach for a dark beer in the warmer months. Try a lighter stout or porter – you can really never go wrong with a cold pint of Guinness.
How do you feel about dark beers? Do you think there’s a reason why men tend to gravitate toward it?