It happens sometimes… Every now and then someone tells me that they “simply do not like the taste of beer.” I have a hard time understanding such a broad statement. That is like saying: ‘I don’t like bread’ or ‘I don’t like fruit…’ C’mon, are you telling me that there is not one fruit out there that you like?

Beer, like fruit has such a wide range of flavor that odds are there will be one or two that will tickle your fancy. Many people just won’t venture out to try new and different flavors. What’s the big deal if you take a sip of something you don’t like? Just spit it out or swallow it and move on! We are no longer little children that cry or run around with our tongues hanging out when we taste something a little sour.

If you drink black coffee, for instance, you may very likely enjoy porter or stout due to the roasted flavor similarities, but many people mentally do not make the connection. In fact, during WWII, the Italians drank a “coffee” made from roasted barley (a primary ingredient in stout) because coffee beans were not to be had. Some Italian specialty shops still sell the roasted barley for this purpose, called orzo (the Italian word for barley).

There is no denying the fact that more and more people are drinking craft beer every year. This is a result of the wide availability of flavorful beer and the adventurous people who dare drink it. If we left it up to the macro brewers, yellow, fizzy and flavorless beer is all we would see in the cooler. Vive la difference!

I would guess that the person who makes the generalized “I don’t like beer” statement is basing their dislike on the typical bland American macro-lagers — which is kind of ironic, because I could say the same thing! The fact is that the major brewers spend millions of dollars to develop beers that are the least offensive (lacking any flavor) to the largest number of people. They are not trying to carve a niche; they want macro sales for their bland macro beer.

Maybe the person who fits the profile of this article doesn’t fit the macro brewery profile. Maybe they really want beer with flavor; maybe something better than Bud? There are hundreds of craft beer choices out there. Beer offers a much broader range of flavor than the default epicurean favorite, wine. Yes, I throw down the gauntlet, I said it! Beer is better than wine at delivering varying intensities of flavor; ranging from sweet to bitter, roasted and toasted to fruity and fizzy. You just have to find the right beer for you…