Salt in beer?

mykulmorris

mykulmorris

Joined
Jul 8, 2007
Messages
1,690
It might sound like a dumb question but, I've seen some guys put salt in their beer... is it just for the taste, or is there another reason besides the taste???
-M
 
Same here. Started in 1969 @ OSU at the south Heildeberg. First beer of my young college adult life was a warm Weideman (sp?), then moved on to the higher class of Schiltz, Burger, etc. Salt was really the only thing that would give your intestines a fighting chance against the beer . . . :)
Be safe.
 
I heard of people putting a splash of Coca Cola in their beer to cut down the nastiness of some beers. I actually tried it last night and it does make some beers go down easier. Beers high in hops tend to fare well from this practice.
 
I don't have one in front of me (unfortunately) but I remember when you put some salt in a beer, in addition to adding taste, made it fizz up a little, if the beer was a little flat.
 
It will put a head on the beer. I used to enjoy reading the Dortmunder series of comic crime novels by Donald Westlake for 40 years. One of the characters named Stan Murch put salt in his beer when it got flat as he would spend the whole evening drinking just one beer. Regrettably the author of this series of novels died recently.
 
micheladas

from wikipedia

The Michelada or cerveza preparada is a term loosely defining a Mexican alcoholic beverage made with beer, lime juice and assorted sauces, spices, peppers, tomato juices or Clamato[1]. It is served in a chilled salt rimmed glass.[2] There are numerous variations of the beverage throughout Mexico and Latin America.[3] A common variation includes Clamato or Tomato juice.[4]

Recently, major U.S. beer producers have begun marketing cervezas preparadas, illustrating the wide variety of recipes in the Chelada/ Michelada category, and to serve the large Latin American population in the country. For example, Miller Brewing Company produces Miller Chill which is a "Chelada-style light lager with a hint of salt and lime.".[5] Going a different route, Anheuser-Busch is manufacturing Budweiser Chelada and Bud Light Chelada as a combination of lager, clamato, lime juice, and salt.[6]

In Mexico, Micheladas are considered a good remedy for hangovers.There are different types of variations of Micheladas; for example in Mexico City, the most common form of a Michelada is prepared with beer, lime, salt, and hot sauce/or chili. Some do add slices of orange, but this step is optional.
 
I had heard it was not only to take down the taste of beer, but to prevent a head on it. ????????????

Saw this online

Putting salt in beer stems from a few philosophies - 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.

The last reason we found, which also makes no sense, was to add salt to beer to knock the carbonation out. Why not just pour the beer out hard or swirl it a couple times?

Really and truly, there is no reason to add salt to your beer (unless you are 80-something and traditions die hard with you). Nowadays, adding salt to your beer is a complete oddity, something of the past. Save the salt for a good steak, and leave the beer alone!
Click to expand...
 
When I drank, a clamato in a Tecate was really good. I also have fished down in Cabo San Lucas where you sweat so profusely, you lose alot of salt. I would end the day fishing with some lime and salt beers, and liked the way it tasted. Clamato is pretty salty.

Now, I do not drink at all, and have to watch my salt intake. My feet will swell up like the Staypuft marshmallow man.
 
Heresy. A good beer requires no addition.

Back when I was hanging out a lot in our favorite bar, half tomato juice and half beer was popular... a "bloody beer". A combo of lemon/lime soda and beer was called a "shanty".
All horrid, of course. Blasphemy. Perversion.
Beer is a noble and holy beverage, responsible for civilization and agriculture. (according to some...)
Stay away from watery swill and enjoy.
 
I'm totally with mwerner on this. If your beer is so tasteless you have to add stuff (salt, juice, lime, etc) to it, maybe you should try a real beer :confused:

That being said, this is *my* opinion. The beer you have is yours to enjoy so of course you're free to enjoy it ANY way you like :thumbup:
 
In local belief we consider salt with beer is an excellent way to rid the sore throat.

Both salt and beer have cooling effects in heated bodies.
 
mwerner said:
Heresy. A good beer requires no addition.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but salting beer is a way of dealing with watery swill. I've drunk with a few old navy boys and they all salted their beer. They picked up the habit in the Pacific where the Asian rice beers were pretty awful.
 
mwerner said:
Heresy. A good beer requires no addition.

Back when I was hanging out a lot in our favorite bar, half tomato juice and half beer was popular... a "bloody beer". A combo of lemon/lime soda and beer was called a "shanty".
All horrid, of course. Blasphemy. Perversion.
Beer is a noble and holy beverage, responsible for civilization and agriculture. (according to some...)
Stay away from watery swill and enjoy.
Click to expand...

Absolute truth.
 
I think addding the salt makes the local wenches look more attractive. Of course, that might just be the beer doing that.
 
i think this adding stuff (salt, hot sauce, lime, tomato or clam juice) to beer more pertains to light lager beers like corona, bud and the rest of the mass produced swill. and i think it does work to improve flavor or at least add a little nuance, especially in warmer climates. its worth a try during the summer if those are the beers you like. but in general, no one is adding salt to the more refined microbrews or higher priced beers. in those instances it would detract, not add flavor.
 
According to Alton Brown from Good Eats salt blocks or covers up the bitterness. He said salt is better on grapefruit than sugar because something about salt blocks a bitter receptor on the tounge.
I am assuming that salt would do the same thing for beer since it can be bitter.
 
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