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?
Not as bad as American “chocolate” .
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 live in Europe, but was an expert taste panelist at New Belgium Brewing in the US when I lived there.
Lefthand Milk Stout Nitro is a great beer.
There’s a lot of good beer all over the world (okay, much of it anyway). Quality has a LOT more to do with freshness, cleanliness, and lack of dissolved oxygen in the beer. You can also find bad beer most anywhere. Don’t let someone making silly blanket statement get ya down.
I will just go ahead and contradict myself by making a blanket statement that the low end of food is just better in most of the EU cuz of how much stricter the rules are. From McDonald’s to the grocery store, you kinda can’t get “terrible” food.
Love that you randomly called out left hand and new Belgium. Good name drops 💜
New Belgium is amazing.
1554 is one of my favorites, and I introduced my friend to the Voodoo ranger series and that’s how he left the land of domestic beers.
Thank you for your service. 🫡
1554 is one of the GOATs of beer
Ooh I haven’t had the porter in a while actually… go Colorado!
Wow, care to tell us more about New Belgium?
How do you become an expert taster? Did you have to taste every batch to make sure it comes out tasting “correct”? How do they manage that on such a large scale?
Sure! The tasting part is complex but to grossly simplify it:
Each site has a bunch of people who are taster verified and have other jobs (rigorous program that takes a while to be part of) and they 1+ taste panel per day on each site which has a mix of new beers, old shelf beers, all the new releases, all from all of the sites, plus other market stuff (competitor products). You don’t usually know what you’re tasting outside of trainings so you just use a bunch of chemical words to describe the beer (no, you don’t say “fruity”, you talk about the specific fruit compound like acetaldehyde or ethyl hexonoate).
They only use the data of attributes you’re best at, so each taster is like an instrument that they’re also Corsa calibrating with spiked samples throughout all of that.
The best part, by far? Free snacks; good ones too. We already had limitless free beer so that doesn’t incentivize anyone
Beyond that NBB was dope. Love the people, love the beer, the company actually stands up for what it believes in. Based af, if it was in Europe I’d 100% work for them still. But we did wanna leave the US so…
Wow, how fascinating, thanks!
It makes total sense in hindsight that people have specialties. I guess I figured it to be a bit like the wine world where everybody has to have roughly the same skills in order to get by.
Woot! I drink fat tire from new Belgium as a everyday beer, although right now I am drinking modelo especial lol…
New Belgium is the shit. Trippel in particular is delicious.
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.
The fuck? American craft beer is absolutely delicious. A lot of light beer brands are also good. Who’s saying American beer sucks?
I’ve had plenty of really good craft beer but anything mass produced is fine at best and gutter water at worst.
Exactly. Imagine if we judged European beer based on nothing but Heineken.
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
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
Thanks. I’ll take a look
I took one of those once. I think at least. I can’t actually remember…
Beer is good only in Belgium.
- An Italian
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.
Belgian beer is sooo good, but your local (southern) german beer is always better
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.
Might I suggest Carrobiolo, in Monza? They make some pretty awesome stuff.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Alright, let me finish my beer and then we throw hands. Belgian beer is meh.
come at me bro
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.
Stella Artois
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
Same. Also. Now I’m hungry.
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.
My American friends made me drink Keystone Ice and this was one of the most disgusting things I did ever drink. The rest was also not great. A few American beers were passable but I had better ones in most European countries.
We have many options for people who just want to drink a bunch of cheap beer. Bud Light, Miller Light, Coors Light, Natural Light, Milwaukee’s Best Light, the list goes on. Most agree the stuff you can buy in a 24 pack at Walmart isn’t good quality beer.
But places like Dogfish Head, Ardent, Foothills, Bell’s, Cigar City, Oskar Blues, Three Notched, Flying Dog, Elysian, Anchor, Lagunitas and many others produce some great beers.
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
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
As a vetted german beer enthusiast, may I say that the big-brand beers are on average as good (or bad) as the american beers I know. Differences imho originate from drinking preferences (light beers) and allowed ingredients or additives, but that has a minor impact on sensory quality. Personally I often missed aroma and bitterness (hops) and gravity of most beers I tried in the USA, but that‘s just me.
