Light Beer

I don’t drink. Not so much for moral reasons, though there certainly are moral arguments for limiting one’s consumption, but simply because I can’t stand the taste of alcohol. Even though I don’t drink, I have noticed a phenomenon in beer consumption that I find very interesting and indeed, somewhat amusing.

I live in Boulder, Colorado, a town known for being home to a large assortment of craft and micro brew beers and for generally having very good taste in beer. As you can imagine, having such high standards in beer means there’s also a lot of open disdain for mass-produced light beers. They are oftentimes mocked as the drink of poor college students, people who are ignorant of what good beer is and those who like the taste of flavored dishwater. And yet, even with all the snide commenting, if you put a cold 24-pack of Coors Light down in a room of people and come back in a little bit you’ll find it strangely all consumed. I guess beer is beer, even if it’s considered bad beer. People love to hate on those big-label light beers, but they drink them anyway.