American Beer: Love It or Hate It?

[tersono]

hmm - I'd say that the majority of American beer is over-rated, not under-rated. There are exceptions, but they're few and far between. Same goes for most of the European Lagers. Most of it barely qualifies as beer in my book - more like stale donkey pee with added gas...

Nothing comes close to a good Old English Ale served straight from the barrel at the right temperature (i.e. not too cold). Old Tom, from preference...

 

[Queso]

Not a fan. All the ones I've tried taste weak, like they've been watered down.

German beer FTW!

 

[dubhe]

Stella is the premium "full of crap and additives" beer if ever there was one.

Yes but at least it still tastes good, they have the right proportion of crap and additives!

"Pint of Old Spitfire please, room temperature with bits in it."

Quite agree, a proper beer that you have to 'pull' will always win, but I can't drink it all night, so once I don't care about taste anymore I move on to Stella

 

[arkitect]

Nothing comes close to a good Old English Ale served straight from the barrel at the right temperature (i.e. not too cold). Old Tom, from preference...

Another vote for…

 

[Mord]

Yes but at least it still tastes good, they have the right proportion of crap and additives!

0_o

Tastes like arse if you ask me, I can't drink anymore for medical reasons so it's been a while though.

 

[dubhe]

And you can only have lager with curry, that's like a law

 

[yg17]

The major brands, Budweiser, Coors, Miller, etc all taste like piss. Smaller, local breweries here have good beer though

 

[themoonisdown09]

I mainly drink domestic beers... Samuel Adams, Coors Light, a local restaurant chain called Big River Grille and Brewery Works that makes the best beer.

Some domestics I like are Red Stripe (I drink only when I'm in Jamaica) and Dos Equis (I drink only when I'm in Mexico).

 

[mkrishnan]

I'd just echo that no one who seems to say American beer is bad seems to actually have drank any good American beer. I mean, by American beer standards, Sam Adams is... a 4/10. It's not bad. Budweiser is a 1/10 or worse. But you can't judge American beer even by Sam Adams, because it's not generally considered great beer. You have to at least try some American beers that are considered higher on the scale.

If you look at a large scale popularity contest like...

http://beeradvocate.com/top_beers.php

There are numerous American beers in the top 100 -- these are the 8/10 or 9/10 or even 10/10 beers. And one may not be able to find all of them in a liquor or grocery store in one's neighborhood, but at least some of them will be available -- there are numerous "large microbreweries" (to the extent that this isn't an oxymoron) on the list. So before one dismisses American beer, one should at least have tried these brands -- Dogfish Head, Bell's, Great Lakes Brewing Company, Portsmouth Brewery, Russian River, etc.

But you're judging American beers without even trying any of them.

 

[OutThere]

You mean there are other beers?

 

[ButtUglyJeff]

Sam Adams and microbrews are the only US beers I enjoy. I'm into Canadian and UK bottled beers..............

 

[themoonisdown09]

I'd just echo that no one who seems to say American beer is bad seems to actually have drank any good American beer. I mean, by American beer standards, Sam Adams is... a 4/10. It's not bad. Budweiser is a 1/10 or worse. But you can't judge American beer even by Sam Adams, because it's not generally considered great beer. You have to at least try some American beers that are considered higher on the scale.

If you look at a large scale popularity contest like...

http://beeradvocate.com/top_beers.php

There are numerous American beers in the top 100 -- these are the 8/10 or 9/10 or even 10/10 beers. And one may not be able to find all of them in a liquor or grocery store in one's neighborhood, but at least some of them will be available -- there are numerous "large microbreweries" (to the extent that this isn't an oxymoron) on the list. So before one dismisses American beer, one should at least have tried these brands -- Dogfish Head, Bell's, Great Lakes Brewing Company, Portsmouth Brewery, Russian River, etc.

But you're judging American beers without even trying any of them.

I don't know where you would even be able to find half of those brands around here. There are a couple specialty shops that have lots of different kinds... but probably not those that are on the top 100 list.

 

[OutThere]

http://beeradvocate.com/top_beers.php

That site has always kind of made me angry...the people who post regularly tend to be incredibly snobby about their beer, to the point that they regularly put down legitimately very good beers for not having the best aroma or 'mouthfeel'. In my book they're as bad as wine snobs and 'audiophiles'.

 

[elmancho]

nothing as good as a English/Irish/german pint !
Sorry Americans

 

[JNB]

Considering there are over 10,000 different different beers brewed commercially in the US, and hundreds of thousands home-brewed (the only decent thing Alan Cranston ever did, IMHO), saying American beers are categorically good or bad is the epitome of overgeneralizing.

Unfortunately, since over 90% of the market is dominated by three breweries, most folks get the impression that it all is like that. Every style or variety of beer made in the world today is available from a US brewery. from the palest Pilsners to the thickest Imperial Stouts, and every imaginable variation in between, including the use of a huge selection of non-traditional grains and adjuncts.

What put the US behind the curve was Prohibition, which destroyed the industry (we had as many or more commercial breweries pre-Prohibition as today), and then the rise of the "national" brewers (A-B & their ilk) following that. Consequently, the American palate was stunted for decades. We're making up for lost time, though!

I'll gladly put a good American brew against its counterpart from anywhere else in the world. You'll never see a Bud in my hand, though.

 

[mkrishnan]

I don't know where you would even be able to find half of those brands around here. There are a couple specialty shops that have lots of different kinds... but probably not those that are on the top 100 list.

I found that (what I consider) good beer was much harder to find than I expected in the South, than in other parts of the country. You may be limited to what's available in ATL or Savannah or even on Hilton Head...

That site has always kind of made me angry...the people who post regularly tend to be incredibly snobby about their beer, to the point that they regularly put down legitimately very good beers for not having the best aroma or 'mouthfeel'. In my book they're as bad as wine snobs and 'audiophiles'.

Hmmm, they can be a bit picky and over the top (I don't think they're worse than the people doing SEM imaging of their new Macbooks to determine if they should return them )... but at least one cannot argue that they're dominated by no-taste Americans who are putting large scale breweries on the top of the list. The list is populated with small to moderate size breweries around the world, and the list seems to stay reasonably stable. Not saying one should use it as a definition what is good beer, though. I'm more saying that people seem to dismiss American beer without drinking any of the good stuff.

It would not be reasonable to dismiss British culture after going to a football game and seeing a bunch of hooligans beat the crap out of each other. It would not be reasonable to dismiss Italian cuisine because one "does not like spaghetti." And yet this is exactly what happens to American beer.

 

[sangosimo]

I love to hate america in general, so this ethos naturally extends to beer.

 

[Melrose]

I thought we went over this in another thread?

HOt summer days, occasionally, may call for an extra cold cheapo American beer.

Every other time, it's either Boddington's, Guinness, or Heineken.

 

[Abstract]

'Liquified used bread that tastes of diseased horse urine' pretty much sums up my experiences with beer.

And what do the bad American beers taste like?

I don't think either of those places are necessarily beer meccas. LA is more of a cocktail town, and Chicago (and the midwest in general) is more of a watered down domestic beer kind of area (no offense to the midwesterners out there!).

That's just a poor excuse.


Anyway, of course there are good American beers, but you can't just go anywhere and have a good beer option. At most bars, and even proper pubs, the beer options won't be good. So while you can obviously name 1, 2, or 20 good beers, they're the exception. It's like you need to hunt around to find a pub with great beers, or go to select beer stockers who are rather snooty regarding their beer.

In Canada, you'll have at least 1 decent choice at a pub, although usually not "excellent". That's better than most countries, I'd say. In Australia, it's a bit like America, where the same 5 (bad) beers are available everywhere. However, I think Aussie bad beers are better than the typical US beers, so that's OK, I guess. Besides, one of the most widely available Aussie beers is actually quite good (if you like dark beers), so for me, there's always something good on tap. If you like lagers, you're out of luck.

UK.....same deal, except their good beers are better than good Canadian or Aussie beers.

And you can only have lager with curry, that's like a law

You just made like......10 UK friends here, at least.

 

[mkrishnan]

Anyway, there are good American beers, but you can't just go anywhere and have a good beer option. Most of the beers available at bars and pubs aren't the good stuff, so while you can obviously name 1, 2, or 20 good beers, they're the exception. It's like you need to hunt a bit to find a pub with great beers.

This really depends on the kind of bar, and it's more true for draught selection than for bottled selection. Pubs and other bars that have a stronger emphasis on beer in my experience, particularly in the midwest, have at least a couple of reasonably good international beers on tap and typically one reasonably good local beer (usually 312 in Chicago... which I think is at least quite passable).

If you go to the 21-year-old college bars that do $2 shots and have ladies' nights three times a week, then yes, you won't find any good beer there.

 

[~Shard~]

Most American beer is pretty low on alcoholic content - we call them "training beer" here in Canada. We have some great beers here, especially from some choice microbreweries, and I also enjoy many European beers - American beer just doesn't cut it unfortunately.

 

[question fear]

Mmmm. Sam Octoberfest.

/drool

My friend is pregnant right now, and she basically informed her husband she will hurt him if he didn't stash some away for after the baby is born. Her biggest complaint about being pregnant was she couldn't enjoy Sam Octoberfest with the rest of us. (Don't worry, they aren't alcoholics, it's just become a running joke.)

If you have had bad luck with American beer, try Sam Adams. Its great. Or try anything by the Magic Hat guys in Vermont. There are a number of great beers being brewed here in the States, you just have to search them out.

Agreed, there are some awesome brewers in the US, you just have to find them. I second Magic Hat and Sam Adams. There's also Saranac Brewing Co, and there's one in Portland, ME that offers some amazing beers as well. And the Brooklyn Beer people are also quite good.

Of course, my favorite brewery for being fancy pants with beer is Canadian...Unibroue. Drink too much of any of their beers and you're toast. But the flavors are incredible if you don't mind strong ale flavors. I remember only being able to find them during a few visits to Canada, and then they started popping up in liquor stores all down the east coast...heaven.

 

[BigHungry04]

When I drink for the expressed purpose of getting drunk I drink Coors Light, but when I drink just for the flavor of the beer, I usually stick with Sam Adams, Guinness, Molson Canadian, or back when it was around Anheuser World Select/Lager.

 

[themoonisdown09]

My friend is pregnant right now, and she basically informed her husband she will hurt him if he didn't stash some away for after the baby is born. Her biggest complaint about being pregnant was she couldn't enjoy Sam Octoberfest with the rest of us. (Don't worry, they aren't alcoholics, it's just become a running joke.)

I recently finished a case of Sam Adams Octoberfest. I love that stuff. I guess I'll have to wait another year for it again.

 

[Unspeaked]

Considering there are over 10,000 different different beers brewed commercially in the US, and hundreds of thousands home-brewed (the only decent thing Alan Cranston ever did, IMHO), saying American beers are categorically good or bad is the epitome of overgeneralizing.

Unfortunately, since over 90% of the market is dominated by three breweries, most folks get the impression that it all is like that. Every style or variety of beer made in the world today is available from a US brewery. from the palest Pilsners to the thickest Imperial Stouts, and every imaginable variation in between, including the use of a huge selection of non-traditional grains and adjuncts.

What put the US behind the curve was Prohibition, which destroyed the industry (we had as many or more commercial breweries pre-Prohibition as today), and then the rise of the "national" brewers (A-B & their ilk) following that. Consequently, the American palate was stunted for decades. We're making up for lost time, though!

I'll gladly put a good American brew against its counterpart from anywhere else in the world. You'll never see a Bud in my hand, though.

+1

This just about sums up my sentiment exactly.