Posted on 03/12/2016 6:05:35 PM PST by rickmichaels
Like a Big Mac or a Coke, a Budweiser is one of the global economys more reliable pleasures, cheaply available almost everywhere.
Historically, like the double-pattie burger and the iconic cola, the global dominance of light, fizzy, relatively bland, central European-style lager from Budweiser to Molson and Corona relied as much on cleanliness and consistency as it did on taste, as anyone who has tasted a Bud can tell you.
In a talk to a gastronomy conference at the University of Toronto Mississauga this weekend, food historian Jeffrey Pilcher will argue that lager conquered the world, after first conquering ale, because it was viewed as clean in an age preoccupied with hygiene.
In Language of Beer: Sensory and Social Constructions in the Rise of a Global Commodity, he also describes how the modern craft beer trend has risen in resistance to this gastronomic hegemony.
Lager is basically the McDonalds of beer. It is safe, dependable, but most importantly, it seems clean, because it is bottom fermented at cold temperatures, unlike ale, which is brewed warm, in a more inviting environment for pathogens.
In the 19th century, as international trade kicked into high gear, the global popularity of lager resulted from associations with discourses of hygiene, writes Pilcher, professor of historical and cultural studies at the University of Toronto Scarborough.
In an interview, Pilcher points out that Louis Pasteur the grandfather of germ control, whose technique of heating liquids to make them safe to drink made possible many modern commodity beverages, from milk to juice was a lager man, praising its microbiological safety.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.nationalpost.com ...
The only lagers I still drink are Dunkels, Schwarzbiers, and Doppelbocks. Everything else is an ale.
My favorite beer of this type is Pilsner Urquell from Czech Republic.
A whiter shade of ale?
LISTER: Of course. Lager! The only thing that can kill a vindaloo!
"The room was humming harder, as the ceiling flew away."
I don't usually get that with Bud.
I just call out for another drink.
Only the dumb and unrefined drink ales.
Look for Primator Maibock, also Czech.
I like Dos Equis green.
Interesting that “warmer brewing increases pathogens”. If such be the case, why did they send ALE to and from India after heavily hopping the brew? Wouldn’t “nice clean lager” have been the smarter choice, rather than India Pale Ale?
That’s what this article is implying, even though they should know better.
Lager is popular because it is light and refreshing. Sheesh!
Budweiser, Molson, and gagomatic corona, I would rather drink fermented skunk urine
ping
Aw, come on. Have a Budweiser--a real one!
I haven't had Lister, but I've killed vindaloo with Taj Mahal lager.
Dos Equis larger (green bottle) is an excellent beer, although I don’t usually drink beer, but when I do...
Marzen, Spaten lagers. Two of mine.
Ale be darned! /rimshot
Thanks Fiddlstix.
And I think I never got 'round to doing a Digest ping, so, hey, this one? Completely filling and tastes great.
Connections, Episode 8, 'Eat, Drink and be Merry'
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