My God... Blue... I never thought I'd say this. BUT YOU ARE EXACTLY CORRECT!!!! GOTTA LOVE THE PABST, BABAY!
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American Beer: Love It or Hate It?
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My God... Blue... I never thought I'd say this. BUT YOU ARE EXACTLY CORRECT!!!! GOTTA LOVE THE PABST, BABAY!
I think not.
You can't expect 100% of America to be full of great bars, just like you can't expect 100% of Europe to be.
Good luck finding a decent beer in the majority of Spain or Italy - import or domestic.
I whole-heartedly disagree.
Can't remember the last time I went somewhere in the US that didn't have at least 1 good import and 1 good domestic on tap, and I'm not particularly picky about the bars/restaurants I go to.
(And most places had far more than 2 good taps!)
I like Bud Light and such. Beer is disgusting no matter where it's from. It's quite simply the worst form alcohol can take. So for me, the less it has flavor, the better. Nasty stuff like Guinness tastes like fermented coffee. And don't get me started on those Belgian monks.
Its all a question of what you can get versus what you are used to. I'm originally from Arizona. Way back in the day, Coors was not available on the East Coast. Naturally, many people were crazy about it, wanted it, raved about it. Wanted me to smuggle some east for them.
My reaction was, are you kidding me? Coors? That stuff that leaked out from under the urinal after the 7th inning stretch at a baseball game? Seriously?
Now that Coors is available on the East Coast, it's no big deal. People realize it is what it is, urea plus CO2.
Now, Leinenkugels, from Wisconsin, is some seriously good American beer.
But I'd have to say my favorite drinkin' beer is Coopers Spakling Ale from the land of Oz. My favorite I-just-mowed-the-lawn-hot-sweaty beer is Michelob Ultra Amber. And I have survived many a night of Bayerische Brau Kaiserslautern as well...
My reaction was, are you kidding me? Coors? That stuff that leaked out from under the urinal after the 7th inning stretch at a baseball game? Seriously?
Now that Coors is available on the East Coast, it's no big deal. People realize it is what it is, urea plus CO2.
Now, Leinenkugels, from Wisconsin, is some seriously good American beer.
But I'd have to say my favorite drinkin' beer is Coopers Spakling Ale from the land of Oz. My favorite I-just-mowed-the-lawn-hot-sweaty beer is Michelob Ultra Amber. And I have survived many a night of Bayerische Brau Kaiserslautern as well...
I love that stuff, but being from WI it is harder to get now that I live in TX. They've made in roads and my local grocery store carries a couple varieties but I've asked and for some bizarre reason they cannot get the Red so I have to make due. Luckily I'm headed back in a little over a week for a little vacation.
The general rule when going to the bar is to find the local macro brew rather than the typical, Miller, Bud, and Coors that are on tap. Most bars will have those, a local macro (Leinie's, Shiner, etc) and maybe one international offering. Usually the local macro is at least better than the national macro brews.
I cannot think of a better beer than Sam Adams. Plain or in any of the seasonal varieties, it is wonderful. Yuengling is another gem. I know it's been around forever, but Tennessee just secured distribution within the past year. Whenever I was in Virginia, South, or North Carolina I used to buy all I could get back. Leinenkugel makes some good stuff as does New Belgium. If I'm broke, or throwing a party, I'll buy something cheap like Pabst, but otherwise I like to enjoy something decent. There are bars here that offer ridiculous prices on your standard domestics (Miller Lite, Coors, Bud Light, etc.) that you can't refuse. Try telling me you would turn down $6 all-you-can-drink Bud Light or a $3 pitcher of Pabst for something more expensive.
When you get to my age your priorities are slightly different
So I would definitely turn down cheap quantity for more expensive quality.
I can't really improve on JohnNotBeatle's comments, except to add in two breweries here in California that are excellent:
Russian River
Stone Brewing Co
Russian River
Stone Brewing Co
Personally, I think the Smoked Porter is overrated, but that's me.
But you just can't go wrong with Dogfish Head and Southern Tier.
Holy crap I am so sick of this.
ALE IS BEER. LAGER IS BEER. STOUT IS BEER. PORTER IS BEER
Those particular beers are crap, but to say that lagers are crap based on that is beyond ridiculous.
What killed almost all the breweries was Prohibition (I can't believe the political party responsible for that still exists), and what forced them to turn to rice was the grain rationing of WWII. They just never got rid of the 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 think that the total number of breweries is still less than half of pre-18th amendment levels.
I suppose it's partly because of living in New England, but I see Sam Adams damn near everywhere. I've only been to one place with an absolutely craptastic selection, where the best they had was Sam Adams Light.
Most crappy American beer is rather average (5-ish% ABV), but when compared to similar styles (particularly between American and English Barleywines), it's usually slightly stronger.Most American beer is pretty low on alcoholic content - we call them "training beer" here in Canada.
Plus, both Dogfish Head and Sam Adams have pushed beer to its limits in alcohol. Dogfish head has two beers at 18%, and two more at 20%, and Sam Adams had the Millennium at 21%, and the Utopias, which is the current record holder, at 25%.
I brought a bomber each of La Fin du Monde and Delerium Tremens to a party one time. That was a good night.
Hmm, I've never really had any coffee notes come to me from Guinness. Maybe it was the Extra Stout?
When you get to my age your priorities are slightly different…
So I would definitely turn down cheap quantity for more expensive quality.
I'm 23, and I would absolutely turn those down for something better, even if it was more expensive.
I think the problem is availability. I have no doubt that some of the American microbrews and smaller breweries' beers that have been named are good, but they are difficult to find because they are not nationally available. These beers are typically only available regionally.
In Canada, you can walk into almost any bar/pub or even a restaurant with a limited bar and ask for an Alexander Keith's Pale Ale, a Creemore Springs, and a Sleeman's Cream Ale or Honey Brown, and you can be sure that they'll have at least one of them. Both on tap and bottled. I don't think that's possible in the U.S.
I mean, not to say that Moosehead is a good Canadian beer, but the American version of it is far worse than the Canadian version of it. When I was in Chicago, we bought it, and thought it tasted different, and then noticed that it was bottled by one of the big American three in the U.S. (I don't remember which one).
For better or worse, Budweiser, Miller and Coors dominate the market, and when people think of American beers, that's what comes to mind.
Unspeaked, I'll definitely try to find some of the brews that you mentioned ("Ruination IPA from Stone (really, anything Stone brews is excellent), Dogfish Head's 90 Minute IPA and nearly anything brewed by The Lost Abbey in California"). And some of the other suggestions from others. Hell, I'm even going to start a list in my YouNote app on my iPhone so I'll have it handy when I'm out. If you're up to it, maybe edit your first post to include a list of the suggestions from some of the contributers to this thread?
In Canada, you can walk into almost any bar/pub or even a restaurant with a limited bar and ask for an Alexander Keith's Pale Ale, a Creemore Springs, and a Sleeman's Cream Ale or Honey Brown, and you can be sure that they'll have at least one of them. Both on tap and bottled. I don't think that's possible in the U.S.
I mean, not to say that Moosehead is a good Canadian beer, but the American version of it is far worse than the Canadian version of it. When I was in Chicago, we bought it, and thought it tasted different, and then noticed that it was bottled by one of the big American three in the U.S. (I don't remember which one).
For better or worse, Budweiser, Miller and Coors dominate the market, and when people think of American beers, that's what comes to mind.
Unspeaked, I'll definitely try to find some of the brews that you mentioned ("Ruination IPA from Stone (really, anything Stone brews is excellent), Dogfish Head's 90 Minute IPA and nearly anything brewed by The Lost Abbey in California"). And some of the other suggestions from others. Hell, I'm even going to start a list in my YouNote app on my iPhone so I'll have it handy when I'm out. If you're up to it, maybe edit your first post to include a list of the suggestions from some of the contributers to this thread?
haven't tried every single american beer of course, I'll drink Bud or Sam Adams if i have to but wouldn't be my choice if i had some Canadian beers on the menu, i don't hate american beer, but i don't think its good beer in general (liek i said i haven't tried evry beer tho. I'm sure there some good one out there)
oh and moosehead isss good beer...lol
oh and moosehead isss good beer...lol
Mmmm, fermented coffee...
I honestly don't drink a lot of beer either - I prefer red wine.
I've collected all the suggestions and added them to the first post.
One thing you'll notice looking at the list, most of the good brewers in the US are concentrated in the "blue" states (and more specifically, on the coasts).
I suppose if you're fortunately enough to have only lived in these states (like me), good beer is not difficult to find. For people in the south especially, I think it might be more of a chore.
But even there, once you educate yourself, you'll be stumbling upon bars/liquor stores/restaurants that sell excellent beer that you never even realized were there...
Mmmm, fermented coffee...
I honestly don't drink a lot of beer either - I prefer red wine.
Thank you! I like red in the winter and white in the summer. May I also assume you enjoy good Cognac, dear sir?
I don't know if I'd go so far as to say anything Leinenkugels, they have quite a variety and while I've tried most, some are definitely surprising if you're not prepared.
Their Summer Shandy, and Berry Weiss beers, while good, have an overbearing citrus and berry flavor respectively. The latter is so pervasive that, at least to me, it tastes more like a wine cooler than a beer, both are decent when in the right mood but will definitely surprise an unsuspecting consumer.
Their Red is very good as are many of their seasonal offerings. I'm currently liking the Fireside Nut Brown (seasonal), although when in WI, I'll usually opt for their Red. The Sunset Wheat and Honey Weiss are available year round outside of WI (along with the previously mentioned Berry Weiss), and both are decent choices if no other choices are available
Their OktoberFest was decent, as is their Big Butt but they are only seasonal offerings. I was not a fan of their seasonal Apple Spice beer (although I wasn't sure what to expect so it may be a decent mood beer like the Berry and Summer Shandy).
Their Original is OK, and was a staple in college due to the lack of Red at the bars I frequented.
Top 3 college beer...$50/keg, how can you go wrong?
To be fair I'd imagine that their ubiquity could have something to do with the fact that Alexander Keith's is owned by InBev, Creemore Springs is owned by Molson and Sleeman's is owned by Sapporo...major international corporations interested in maximum distribution.
As far as good American beer goes...I'm partial to Magic Hat, I'm not sure of its availability outside of the northeast, however.
Cheers. Right on man. Thanks for organizing.
Yes, I know. Fair or not, that doesn't change the fact that they are good beers that are widely distributed across Canada. Good on those corporations for making those yummy beers available instead of just distributing watered down, yellow, fizzy liquid like Budweiser, Coors and Miller.
I stay well clear of American beers from the big breweries, on account of the fact that they're bloody terrible. Budweiser, Coors, Miller et al are awful, and that's even before you come to the Light (or 'Lite') varients. Ugh.
However, I'll qualify this by saying two things. First, the same is true of most country's mega-breweries they more often than not produce barely drinkable concoctions that are best avoided by the discerning drinker. You're much better advised to try beers from smaller breweries who actually take some pride in their work and put out a good quality product which actually has some flavour about it.
Which brings me on to my second point look past the likes of Budweiser and Coors and there are some lovely American beers out there, more often than not from smaller, independent breweries. Unfortunately, not many manage to work their way over here but if you know where to look you can find some interesting and delicious beers. San Francisco's Anchor Brewery and the Sierra Nevada Brewing Co are two companies who have managed to get their wares available over here, and they have some very nice beers in their ranges. Hopefully we'll see more breweries following their example.
So, do I love or hate American beer? Well, it depends on the American beer...
However, I'll qualify this by saying two things. First, the same is true of most country's mega-breweries they more often than not produce barely drinkable concoctions that are best avoided by the discerning drinker. You're much better advised to try beers from smaller breweries who actually take some pride in their work and put out a good quality product which actually has some flavour about it.
Which brings me on to my second point look past the likes of Budweiser and Coors and there are some lovely American beers out there, more often than not from smaller, independent breweries. Unfortunately, not many manage to work their way over here but if you know where to look you can find some interesting and delicious beers. San Francisco's Anchor Brewery and the Sierra Nevada Brewing Co are two companies who have managed to get their wares available over here, and they have some very nice beers in their ranges. Hopefully we'll see more breweries following their example.
So, do I love or hate American beer? Well, it depends on the American beer...
Eww. My motto is to only drink coors when a) they've run out of everything else, and b) I'm so drunk already that I won't notice I'm consuming piss water.
When I lived in Boston a few years ago I had some friends go nuts while we were in NJ for a wedding...they stocked up on Yuengling like there was no tomorrow. And apparently Yuengling is big in Key West, I was there on vacation and the bars proudly advertised it. Yuengling. The pitchers we buy cheap at rugby socials. People actually get excited about it.
There's no accounting for what people want when they can't have it.