WTF! Someone please explain...

OK, HBT. I witnessed something nearly heartbreaking yesterday and I still can't quite get my head around it. Please someone explain this one to me:

So there I am, sitting in a small local bar on the way home from work. I'm just stopping in to grab a beer and unwind a little so I can leave work behind and go home happy for the family. I'm always looking to try something different or at least not the same ol' swill/dishwater that passes for beer in the eyes of the average American drinker. They actually have Samual Smith's Oatmeal Stout so I am all set. Here's where things stop making sense to me...

The fellow sitting a couple of seats down starts snickering at me for being snobbish and generally too good for the BMC on tap (it was all LIGHT BMC on top of that...). Now, rather than varbally and mentally crushing this fool, I decide to try and take a higher road and seize the opportunity to educate and spread the love of really good beer. I attempt to explain that enjoy the flavor complexity, etc. and that I generally get a better experience with SS Oatmeal Stout than with ice-cold light beers that are comparatively flavorless. To make a long story shorter, this fellow tells me that I'm out of my mind, that there is no difference in what I'm drinking and the BMC he has had too many of, etc. He states that there is plenty of flavor in his beer and he likes it just the way it is. He then proceeds to pick up the salt shaker and SALT HIS BEER!!! Whaaaaaaaaaat????

After recovering from nearly falling straight off of my stool I fight the urge to point out how unbelievably wrong it is to say there is nothing wrong with the flavor of BMC but then having to SALT it to enjoy it? Has anyone else done that or witnessed that? I don't get the point of having to salt a beer to enjoy it when literally hundreds of other, better quality beers are available?

Your thoughts?

-Tripod

Tripod said:

Your thoughts? -Tripod

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Find a new bar.

Forgive them father. They know not what they do.......They are too frigging drunk!

My dad has been salting his bud (in cans) for decades. It does make it taste better (not a BMC bash, just an observation). It was quite common for me to see that as a kid.

Obviously, he doesn't understand the concept of flavor. Sure salt seasons, but it is way more powerful in flavor than the beer itself.

Now that I think, I don't know why the salting thing ever got started for light lagers. hmm.

Tripod said:

He then proceeds to pick up the salt shaker and SALT HIS BEER!!! Whaaaaaaaaaat????
...
Has anyone else done that or witnessed that? I don't get the point of having to salt a beer to enjoy it when literally hundreds of other, better quality beers are available?

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I see it fairly frequently in Texas, generally by Hispanic men. There are what I believe to be beer salts sold in conventience stores in lime and lemon flavors. Maybe it is a carryover from the tequila "salt and lime" ritual? It appears to be a workingman's routine; I have not seen it performed by anyone who didn't look like they worked their ass off all day. Salt replacement for that lost in hard work? Cerveza-as-gatorade?

Perhaps one of our Latin brothers or sisters can correct me if (lo siento) I am misreporting the scenario.

Smile, drink you beer, unwind and go home to your family.
I think you missed your objective when you chose to try to reason with someone who you noted has no taste?
Q: What is a well-seasoned beer?
A: Lots & lots of lawry's season salt!

Don't forget the lime!

You can't fix stupid.

I don't reccomend it but I've seen salt and I've also seen worse - RAW EGG and TOMATO JUICE (not together)!!

I saw a guy do something similar when I was taking a GC/MS class down in Atlanta. A guy in the class salted his beer one day at lunch and explained to me that some beer just need salt. Same lunch, a girl tells me that hefeweizens are meant to be served with a slice of citrus. I realized it was a battle not worth fighting because, hey, if they are enjoying themselves, who am I to spoil the party.

BierMuncher said:

You can't fix stupid.

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But you can kick it in the face. (That's always an option)

You should have asked the guy if you were the beer snob, why was he snickering at you for your beer choice.

My cousin douses everything in Lawrys (except beer.) It's actually damn good when you pile it on bacon and then use the grease to cook eggs. It doesn't seem very healthy, tho :cross:

I'll agree that your mistake was trying to reason with some ******* at a bar who is snickering at you for drinking a beer you enjoy. His lack of taste notwithstanding, I don't give a **** about people who can't use manners around strangers. You can be an ******* around friends, but anyone that is being a f*ck-ass to a perfect stranger is just looking for a fight.

Salting your beer is a kinda redneck thing; I too, saw the old man salt beer in a bar. Some would do tomato juice. Redneck version of Mexican tastes.

Have you choked down a BUD Chelada? The worst beer ever.

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/29/37389

Bopper359 said:

I don't reccomend it but I've seen salt and I've also seen worse - RAW EGG and TOMATO JUICE (not together)!!

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A friend of mine's dad used to drink Pabst and tomato juice. I'd never seen anything like it. I was horrified.

Of course, the guy is dead now. Not that there's any connection. That we know of.

Trying to explain that craft beers have more flavor that BMC to an old drunk BMC guy is like trying to convince a teetotaler that beer tastes good. Some people just don't have the taste buds for it. Either they can't taste it, or aren't interested in something new...either way, it's a lost cause.

Yeah, I guess I should have just said "whatever" and turned away. Beer just tends to bring out the professor/philosopher in me and I'm generally a friendly dude so small-talk in a bar didn't seem out of place. I don't meet many strangers if you know what I mean.

Once I saw the salt thing, I didn't try and keep reasoning. I was trying to take a don't-knock-it(Oatmeal Stout)-til-you-try-it approach but was totally blown away by having to salt a BMC to enjoy it.

Someone much wiser than me said "never argue with an idiot, they'll drag you down to their level and win with experience..."

-Tripod

You should have bought him a beer; it speaks for itself! RDWHAHB; to each his own I suppose?

Although, I still don't get how you were the beer snob if he was the one questioning/snickering...

salude!

I was in Guatemala and they served Michalada, it is basically a bloody marry with beer instead of vodka. I didn't want to be the "ugly American" so I tried a sip of it. You know what it feels like when mile comes out of your nose? Well try that with some Tabasco and Tomato juice. By far one of the worse things I have ever drank in my life. I think some one mentioned it here earlier but Bud makes Chiada. If you want to try it let it be known you have been warned.

Seen the salty beer thing. Glad it's not me drinking it.

MoRoToRiUm said:

You should have bought him a beer; it speaks for itself!

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He would not have enjoyed it.

I make absolutely no attempts to change someone's beer opinions, be it a BMC + salt drinker or a beer "snob" who never drinks anything but IPAs.

There are two local breweries that offer craft lite, one even calls it "Somethin' Lite". Better that than BMC getting the sale.

I remember when I was a kid the old-timers used to do that all the time. But then they used to eat things like blood sausage and head cheese, too. I guess I never thought of it as all that unusual, even though I don't see it nearly as much any more.

TwoHeadsBrewing said:

Trying to explain that craft beers have more flavor that BMC...

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Uh, apparently you haven't heard. Miller Lite is Triple Hopped. I'll bet the OP's Oatmeal Stout wasn't "Triple Hopped." Who's the puss now?

When I was young we would always play a trick on our friends, when they got up from the table we would put salt in their beer. We did it so often to one of my friends that he got used to the taste and started putting salt in his own beer.

Bernie Brewer said:

I remember when I was a kid the old-timers used to do that all the time. But then they used to eat things like blood sausage and head cheese, too. I guess I never thought of it as all that unusual, even though I don't see it nearly as much any more.

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You still see that? I don't see any of the old stuff I used to see. I saw some horrible ethnic kinda things to eat in bars as a kid. Like 'kippers'. And pickled eggs. And big dill pickles. And pickled bologna with hot peppers. All that stuff has been gone a long time.

I definitely used to put salt in my beer (BMC) back in the day before I knew $hit about beer.

Occasionally we'll go to Mexico and recently a bartender made me the following drink one day: 10 oz beer, 1 shot tequila, juice of 1/2 lime & a few shakes of salt all dumped together...I had about 5 of those one day while playing volleyball in the pool. I don't remember getting out of the pool...

Henry Hill said:

You still see that? I don't see any of the old stuff I used to see. I saw some horrible ethnic kinda things to eat in bars as a kid. Like 'kippers'. And pickled eggs. And big dill pickles. And pickled bologna with hot peppers. All that stuff has been gone a long time.

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Not gone, grasshopper... just that you haven't been in the right places.

Many moons ago I have done the salt thing with draft beer to get some taste and head/carbonation on the beer.

To each his own and let us enjoy the differences.

A well-made michelada is a thing of beauty IMHO.

OTOH, I had a girlfriend who took me fishing all the time and we'd drink Beast with Snap-E-Tom all day long.

For folks like that, I have one response: a good-natured smile and "hey, they make it; somebody's gotta drink it." Then, I just go on enjoying my beer. That usually stops the mockery, at least. It usually takes the beer out of the conversation, for sure.

It's not worth starting a war with folks like that. We have no duty to convert the infidels.


TL

Both of my grandpappys would add a pinch of salt to their beer on summer days. I also see it often when traveling to Mexico.

As for the Michelada, there are several ways to make them. Most involve salt and lime and it goes from there. Tomato juice, Magi sauce, hot sauce, English sauce (worcestershire), and occasionally tequila. Given a choice between Corona and a michelada, I'll take the latter.

Last year in Queretato we stopped in at a restaurant that had "Sangre de Hitler" on the cocktail menu. The German guy I was working with found it hilarious when he heard the translation; Blood of Hitler. Of course we ordered a couple. It was beer, tomato juice and hot sauce.

On a hot Texas night at the picnic table outside & someone hands me an ice cold Tecate with salt & lime, I'm gonna drink it. Is it my favorite beverage? No but it's not the worst thing either. That being said, budweiser smells like rhino farts, I have never tasted it, can't get past the smell.

I've had Tecate with Twang lemon/lime beer salt. Not too bad, really.

My dad drinks BMC (Natty Light or Busch Light usually) and he salts the stuff too.

I suppose I'd do what I could to make BMC taste good, too. However, I think my recipe would be one part BMC per 750 parts Hop Devil.

I learned my lesson after trying to convince a friend that beer is meant to be drank from a glass, not a bottle. He claimed that pouring the beer into the glass made it taste watered down.

"Well, yeah, if you pour it into a glass full of f***ing water!"

We argued for a while until I just gave up. There's no helping some people.

I understand what he means. Drinking out of the bottle seems fuller, probably because of the way the carbonation hits your lips. With a glass, however, you can appreciate more of the subtle flavors

I do both, depending on mood, beer type, and laziness.

BierMuncher said:

You can't fix stupid.

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+1

Also, I know this guy is not your friend but i have had friends kinda do the same thing. If you have friends like this - Take them to what I call a beer lovers bar. For me that would be the flying saucer. They have about 70 beers on tap, but a good beer similar in color and buy it for them. I have converter several "XXXBMC is the only beer" to wow i have been missing alot. all it takes is a nudge...

Brew-Happy said:

My dad has been salting his bud (in cans) for decades. It does make it taste better (not a BMC bash, just an observation). It was quite common for me to see that as a kid.

Obviously, he doesn't understand the concept of flavor. Sure salt seasons, but it is way more powerful in flavor than the beer itself.

Now that I think, I don't know why the salting thing ever got started for light lagers. hmm.

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To put the "freshness" and a head back into and on the otherwise bland brew...

There are three philosophies for putting salt into beer - all of which seem to have had a purpose at one time or another.

An old wives' tale said that putting a sprinkle of salt in your beer would stave off cramping during hard work. Dehydration can cause cramping of the muscles, because of the depletion of minerals in the body. Adding salt to the beer would make the worker thirsty, and thus he would drink more beer to relieve the dehydration.

Others add salt to beer for flavor purposes; post-prohibition (1933) beer had turned into somewhat of an ugly being. Breweries had to cut costs and started to use cheaper ingredients like rice and corn, which made for a nearly flavorless beer. These beers are still around, though most people have become accustomed to flavorless beer and so have no need for the salt. Many South and Central American beer drinkers will add salt and sometimes hot sauce and/or lemon, for flavor, or to mask off flavor in beer.

It also was added to knock the carbonation out so more beer could be drunk. Similar to cask.