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?
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.
Never had it
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.
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.I thought you meant chicken bacon ranch pizza flavoured beer, which I also wouldn’t be surprised about if it existed in the US
Same. Also. Now I’m hungry.
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”
I’m a big fan of Blue Moon for a witbier.
Try to find Allagash White by Allagash Brewing. Much nicer.
Going out on a limb and saying “Midwesterner spotted”
Chicagoan checking in- I love that beer
New England. Even closer to Allagash 🙂
When asking the waiter for a local craft beer, got pretty decent ones.
Stuff like Miller like is just a less sugary alternative to cokeà or to pretend your drinking during a business event
Not a European, but a well traveled person who has drunk beers in Kenya, Ethiopia, South Africa, Botswana, Senegal, UK, Poland, China, and the UK, as well as drunk beers from Belgium, Germany, Czech Republic etc, I stopped drinking beer when I drunk American beer. Sure, there are some good microbrews, but holy moly, there are some questionable things that pass for beer in America.
Long time American beer drinker here. The craft breweries here brew some strange stuff these days. There are sooo many breweries now it’s hard to stand out brewing something as simple as a porter. Now it has to be chocolate pecan graham cracker infused porter.
Idk who you talked to, but I think most European beer enthusiasts would agree that a lot of American beers are awesome. Especially what you mentioned: various IPAs and Stouts, you guys started the modern interpretation of those styles.
Maybe someone who thinks only lagers are legit beer and everything else is “hipster crap”. I’ve met some people with those opinions.
I’ve not tasted many American beers so I could not tell if they all taste like crap, and I also do not drink at all anymore. But being French, I can say that our Belgian neighbors have some exceptionally good beers, as well as Germans do. I loved a few of those, back then. But then they may also be a tad too… tasty for an uninitiated palate ;)
I’m pretty confident there must some local breweries in a few US places that can make quality beer too, the issue would then mostly be to find enough customers willing to drink it because it’s no use to make the best beer ever if most your customers prefer Budweiser or stuff like that.
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.
Imagine giving a fucking about what Europeans think.
Prairie Artisan Ales is one of the most unique craft breweries I’ve ever experienced. The downside is it’s in Oklahoma, so I’ll never visit again, but if you get a chance to find some at a local liquor store or import, try it out. Plus the can designs are cool. They have some delicious stuff.
But yeah LeftHand in Longmont, Colorado is incredible.
As for European, Belgian Tripel, it is hands down the best.
But yeah LeftHand in Longmont, Colorado is incredible.
Their Milk stout is pretty popular in my city
Real talk, it’s your common mass produced and internationally sold beers that suck. S’ok, a lot of mass produced Canadian beer sucks too (lookin’ at you, Alexander Keith’s. Pride of Nova Scotia indeed.)
The issue is that the good stuff doesn’t often make it outside of your borders. I’ve had decent beer when actually in the U.S before.
Will say I will drink a cold PBR if there’s no other valid choice, but if someone just has Coors or Bud (especially Bud - but especially Bud Light) I’ll stick with water. Only other American beer that reaches Canada I’d probably drink is Lucky Lager, but that’s more out of nostalgia for west coast teenaged mayham than its own merits, and Kokanee would produce the same effect and caveat anyway.
Edit: After thinking about it more, I’ve enjoyed Sam Adams limited releases before, and we get those sometimes.
I’ve enjoyed Sam Adams limited releases before,
The Summer Ale is nice on a hot day
American. I visit Germany once every few years. Each time, I see American beer get better and better. I think, this time when I visit Germany I’ll finally be able to say “Yes, you do beer incredibly well, but American beer has gotten much better, come visit me, I can’t wait to show you.”
I have one sip of German beer and all my hopes and dreams are shattered. We cannot make a beer as good as Kölsch, it seems. Tbf there’s cheap German beers that taste like swill, but it isn’t hard to find just amazing Kölsch in Köln.
Personally, I’ve had plenty of good American Kolsches
Really? I’ve had lots of excellent Kolsch in USA . Try Rosenstadt in Portland for example.
I think this brings up another good point- some states do MUCH better than others. From what I’ve seen, the best beers come from the West Coast (especially the Northwest), the Mountain West, Midwest, and Northeast.
Someone here said they hated the beers in Texas and yea, like don’t expect a great authentic taco scene in North Dakota. The worst beer I’ve ever had was from Florida.
Part of that probably has to do with agriculture. A substantial share of the world hop supply is grown in the Willamette Valley.
75% in fact!
Full disclosure, I’m a Seattle born beer enjoyed so I mainly drink microbrews, or what some folks have told me is “fancy beer”.
My parents moved to the PNW from California in the 80s, and they were amazed at the sheer amount of options. Back then it really was just Bud, Coors, and PBR, but even back then the microbrew scene was budding in Portland and Seattle. My dad would tell me how when they would go back to visit old friends in California, it was either amazing wine of shit beer. People’s minds were blown when they would bring some stuff down from up north to the party.
You’re both confusing Willamette with Yakima
Originally from the PNW as well! I have chosen “fancy beer” most of my life. When I was younger and looking to get trashed, the higher ABV and better flavor made due a good bargain. Now that I don’t really tend to get trashed, I like to drink “fancy beer” because I enjoy the flavor still.
A little tip, if you still live in the area:
If you homebrew and have soda kegs, February is about the optimal time for “no-chill” brewing. Just rack the hot wort into a corney keg, seal, and flip it to ensure pasteurization. After letting it sit for a few mins to become sterile, flip back upright and put outside in the cold (ideally in a bit of snow if available) and you get a bit of a cold crash while still not needing to use a chiller.
Ooooh I want to get into home brewing! I joined the Lemmy community a few weeks ago.
I moved the Chicago for the entertainment industry, and I was pleasantly surprised by the beer here. I would say the difference between PNW and Midwest beers are that PNW likes to go big and bold- high ABV and IBUs. The Midwest likes to make beers that you can drink a lot of (Alagash White is a good one)
Ooooh! I like that approach. I used to get half-pints in brewpubs specifically so that I could drink more varieties. For homebrewing, I really recommend the looking into Milds and Bitters. If going full-grain for your wort, you can pack a ton of flavor in at a low ABV.
Alagash White is great. Have any other suggestions?
Mass produced beers are pretty bad. Ironically the bigger the brand the worse the beer generally. Americans are known for bud and Coors which are especially shit
What’s the difference between bud light and having sex in a canoe?
None.
Both are fucking close to water.
Bud Light is how you stay hydrated between shots
