I usually assume when Europeans complain about American beers, they just are complaining about our “domestic” beers like Bud Light, Coors, PBR, etc. which makes sense, they are our bottom shelf beers.
I recently chatted with someone at a party who said “no, all American beers are bad” including microbrewery beers.
I’ve never been to Europe so I wouldn’t know, but I do like my Left Handed Milk Stout, NWPAs, and hell even the hipstered out IPAs.
Are these what y’all are referencing?
I’m curious what they have available over there. Most of our microbreweries don’t reach outside of their own state, let alone internationally.
I’m confident that we have some brews that could go head to head with their best, and I bet they have some that could compete with our worst.
There should be a beer equivalent to the movie “Bottle Shock”
European mainstream beer isn’t anything to brag about.
That people in the Netherlands actually buy Heineken’s makes me thing that they must like skunky beer there.
I think it’s of-a-kind
Domestic/mass-produced European beers are much better than domestic/mass-produced American beers.
And European craft beers are better than American craft beers.America has a lot of bad domestic and bad craft beers, but there are enough craft beers that some have gotta be good even if just by luck.
Personally I don’t think it’s a big deal: yes American beers taste like water or fruit water, but I like water, it’s refreshing. Water that gives me a buzz if I drink enough is a win in my book.
I think a lot of American breweries confuse “interesting” beer with “good” beer, because in the US, as long as it doesn’t taste like Coors, you’re fine.
It’s the chicken bacon ranch pizza problem. It’s good. I like it. But I don’t want it every time I have pizza. I definitely can’t eat a whole chicken bacon ranch pizza, even if I spread the leftovers over the week. But a slice every now and then is great.
“Good” American beer is generally pretty fatiguing to drink. Good European beer isn’t. That’s how it is for me at least.
I thought you meant chicken bacon ranch pizza flavoured beer, which I also wouldn’t be surprised about if it existed in the US
But that’s kinda what I’m talking about: by sheer luck some of those interesting beers have gotta be good.
People hate Coors because it tastes like water, but idk why someone would hate that; water is good.
Sure it’s a bad beer in the sense that it isn’t very beer-ey, but it’s a fine drink because it doesn’t taste like anything. I don’t see how someone can like Perrier water, but not like Coors, they’re practically the same.
Never had it
I would question your friend on what they are drinking and where.
The easiest to find Australian beer in the US is Fosters. But go to Australia and few people there actually drink it because it’s not good and there are so many better options.
I once traveled to the UK and had a Newcastle Brown straight from the tap and it was delicious. Went back home to the US and picked up some bottles, it was old and tasted like barely a shadow of the fresh UK stuff.
If I judged Australia or UK beers on what I can find easily in the US, I would also think their beers are ass.
So if he is trying only what he can get in his country, 1) it’s probably old and 2) it’s rarely the “best” a country has to offer.
It’s funny as I was reading the comments and I was actually thinking about fosters specifically and how ass nasty it is
I have had a good Newcastle and boddington’s and Sammy smith on tap in the states at a Irish bar so frigging delicious although Sammy smith is good in general but probably some of them are too sweet to be considered beer.
American, but I enjoy beer and have tried hundreds. I tend to like sweeter or richer Belgian and German ales the most. Things like König Ludwig, Tripel Karmeliet, Augustiner, Weihenstephaner, Ayinger, Paulaner, and St. Bernardus will always top my list.
If you like those, here are some US recommendations that are also damn good. Note, some of these are quite regional.
- Tröeg’s - Mad Elf
- Fat Heads - Alpenglow
- Boulevard - Bourbon Barrel Quad
- Royal Docks - VLAD
- Dark Horse - Scotty Karate
- Descutes - The Abyss
- Fat Heads - Goggle Fogger
- Sierra Nevada - Kellerweiss
- Terrestrial - Blue Dream
- Thirsty Dog - Irish Setter Red
- Penn Brewery - Penn Weizen
- Ommegang - Manhattan Shine
- Sibling Revelry - Lavender Wit
- Ithaca - Apricot Wheat
Also, shoutout to almost anything by Unibroue - They’re from Montreal, but hey that’s not Europe.
The Abyss changed my life. Before I had one of those, I thought I liked dark beer. That beer made me realize that unless it’s actively absorbing light, it’s not dark enough.
I’ve had friends call it “soy sauce beer” though, so it’s still not for everyone.
Glad to see Tröeg’s in that list! Their Perpetual IPA has been my favorite beer for years.
As a commonwealther who has tried American beer when she turned 21, I can tell you the complaints are just Europeans making a big deal as Europeans do. Err, I should clarify; American beer is an acquired taste, yes, but all beer is an acquired taste. I didn’t like European beer any more.
Rule of thumb, if a European is complaining about American customs, it’s most likely their pessimism for the sake of it. They hate American beer. They hate velveeta and decry it as fake cheese even though fake cheese wouldn’t cause an allergic reaction. They hate that Americans put dressing on salad, saying “why don’t you want to taste the salad”. They hate Americanized spaghetti even though it was Italians that Americanized spaghetti. They hate New York pizza. They hate the American fast food industry. All while they seldom question why they consider haggis, snails, casu marzu “delicacies”. The only stereotypical thing I’ve never seen them hate on, ironically, is Buffalo wings.
Wait there’s no salad dressing in Europe?
There probably is, but many have told me it’s not the norm to pour ranch dressing on salad.
Not a European, but i don’t buy that. American mass-produced beers are bad. That used to be all beers, but it’s not anymore. American microbrews have come a long way and frequently win awards, including international awards. The only objective evidence shows good American beers are good.
I think it’s down to history, wounded pride or self-defensiveness, and as someone else mentioned: the aged swill you get from “imports” may not be good.
Personally, I think German beer is awful, and quite a few American microbrews do German styles so much better. But I’m adult enough to understand I’ve never been to Germany and that what we get for imports may not be their best or freshest. I’m willing to give German brewers the benefit of the doubt, despite what I’ve experienced from them
It’s true they really don’t cross the Atlantic all that well but they’re great fresh
One of these days I hope to find out. Several times Ive had internal conversations debating whether it’s reasonable to organize a trip around beer
I took one of those once. I think at least. I can’t actually remember…
Most trips are organised around arbitrary goals, why not beer? People want to try pizza in Italy, or see the northern lights, or swim with dolphins - all geologically locked, ultimately frivolous goals. But if it brings you joy and you can afford it, why not?
Had a short conversation on reddit with a guy from Chile (South America at least) that regularly had a German brewery ship him a crate of beer. Maybe you could do that for special occasions, pretty sure quite a few breweries would accommodate you with such a request. If you care, I’ll list some of my all-time favourites:
Störtebeker (basically all of their offers, not much of a Porter/Schwarzbier (stout) fan myself though, so I don’t drink those)
Lammsbräu (especially the Urtyp)
Tannenzäpfle Rothaus
Andechser Klosterbräu (especially the Helles)
Tegernseer Helles
Reading through the first one I see a partnership with Olde Mecklenburg, what do you think: https://www.ombbeer.com/location-overview/
… just a bit over 13 hours drive
Sounds like beer I’d try, though I was a bit surprised to see a beergarden. Mecklenburg, as in the former duchy and now part of the state of Mecklenburg-Western-Pommerania is distinctly northern German with influences from Eastern German and the culture of the former GDR. None of those being Biergarten-Kultur which is distinctly Bavarian- also a 10h drive from Mecklenburg.
But hey keep the coops coming, everyone can only improve
Struggled to find beer that I like in usa- I’ve not been there much though.
It’s increasingly hard here though (UK).
Shitty lager, or hipster-grapefruit-jizz or guiness is the normal choice in most pubs, and even in many so called “real ale” pubs, those of them still left. A decent pint of bitter is hen’s teeth these days. I guess fashions change and there’s no money in old style beers that I prefer. You can’t argue with the bottom line.
I find shitty lager in US is not as nice as shitty european lager - it just seems to have an odd taste - but it’s not what i want to drink… I guess german/czech lager is about as good as it gets, for lager/pils - but still not very flavourful.
Belgium is good, but not really for a session beer. It’s for a different type of drinking.
Yeah moving to the UK from Germany it was a big shock how bad the ‘standard’ beers were.
In Germany you could just order ‘a beer’ and get something good, in the UK it would be like birra moretti or something
I liked the ales though…
A decent pint of bitter is hen’s teeth these days. I guess fashions change and there’s no money in old style beers
I hear that. I enjoy IPAs that aren’t too fruity or floral, but sometimes I just want a pint of bitter like my grandfather used to illegally buy me in his local when I was a teenager (“Yes, he’s nineteen, just scrawny. Sad really, he needs feeding up.”)
One thing to note is that there are a lot of bad American beers in small and mid-sized cities. Basically what happened is that in the 2010s it became trendy to go to a brewery with a food truck and just hang out. As a result a ton of “breweries” opened that were more or less selling the experience, with a handful of low effort trendy selections to serve as a hook.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t good beers though. America is the land of people who do their own thing, often regardless of social norms and established conventions. There’s a lot of great beers across a broad range of categories, it just takes a bit of digging.
As a sidenote a lot of these D tier breweries are closing and/or rebranding. Changing consumer sentiment means merely being a craft brewery is no longer a hook, while rising real estate costs make the entire endeavor more expensive. The breweries in shitty locations tend to close. The ones in good locations tend to massively reduce their own output, while offering a variety of local alcohol and expanded food options.
yes.
I’m an american who lives in france, and i brew my own beer. American beer tastes like shit, even the microbrewed stuff. Everyone wants to make an IPA, and they all taste over hopped. It’s either that swill or the staples of the American frat party: bud light, miller light, coors, etc.
Best beers are hands down made in Belgium, and i will throw hands.
Stella Artois
Meh, I prefer Pilsener. Either the Czech stuff or from Northern Germany. Sometimes a nice wheat bear is good too. The only beer one can drink in Bavaria, the rest tastes like shit.
I do like a Grimbergen Blonde every now and then though.
Alright, let me finish my beer and then we throw hands. Belgian beer is meh.
come at me bro
IPAs suck, it’s true.
the thing is, pale ales don’t have to suck. with the right hops and the right amount at the right time, it can be almost pleasant. Not my favorite, but i could understand the appeal.
However, you want a good beer, check out a lambic.
Or gueuze. They tend to be a bit hard to find in the US. Sour Flanders red ales are another good style, and also difficult to find.
IIRC, a proper lambic is made with spontaneous fermentation, which makes each batch slightly different.
Generic American beer sucks. Craft American beer is fucking awesome.
I experienced the same in Australia when I visited so assume it’s probably the same most places.
Imagine giving a fucking about what Europeans think.
Beer is good only in Belgium.
- An Italian
Belgian beer is sooo good, but your local (southern) german beer is always better
Belgian beer is good but it is so heavy I can only drink one before I feel off.
Heavy in taste or heavy in abv? We have both light in taste and light in alcohol beers, sometimes even both at the same time :)
Heavy in taste/texture. It feels like a rock in my stomach. They still taste good!
They are heavy in both really. In Amsterdam I had my first quadruppel though and now my threshold for heavy in taste is much higher.
Are you south-tirolian or why do you have a German nickname?
That is called a nickname, it has nothing to do with my real name. I am originally from Rome.
Just curious, how did you come up with that nickname?
I was studying biology, and I would sell my soul for a passing mark on my exam.
You Italians have a beer up by Lago di Como called “Spluga” or something like that. It was damned good especially with the wood fired pizza I had there.
I’m from the Netherlands, and we say the same for Heineken and also for the Belgian variant Jupiler. The truth is, at a party or festival it’s mostly these or Bud that are available, and people drink a lot of it. At home I’ll mostly drink Krombacher, or some other German brand since I live close to the border.
I’ve been to the US once, and stayed in the Boston area. I drank a lot of Sam Adams lager there, which was decent enough for me. I’d assume every region will have it’s own decent brand of lager, just as it is here in Europe.
