So a friend told me about an American beer pub in Amsterdam, he said it was great and we should go. After sampling Bud and the like, my expections were obviously low, very low. However, it turns out that you can indeed brew some superb beers! Loads of IPA's, PA's, Stouts etc... All made I presume by independents. http://www.beertemple.nl/bieren.php I will return, mainly as it doesn't matter which country produces IPA etc... (there are Dutch independents who also brew them), these are rare beers in the NL and I miss them from home. Warning, second mortgage required if you want to get pished.
I wouldn't use Bud to judge American Beers, and the reputation the US has for poor beers had been well deserved, but the past few decades there had been an explosion of high quality domestic beers. I would recommend Sam Adams beers. Their Boston Lager is a pretty good example of a good US brew, and they have all kinds of different varieties.
The best beer will always be german. They even have laws written that the quality of beer has to be the highest standard.
Unfortunately we Euro's do tend to judge you fellas by the mass produced stuff, but the micro brewery stuff is indeed superbg! I was out tonight plotting another trip to the Dam, especially for the USA beer pub! FYI. This beer stands up against Belgian and German beer quite easily, which is why this Englishman loves it, as we produce in our micro breweries similar beers!
Went on a bicycle pub roll during St. Patricks day and visited a number of micro breweries in town. Many excellent IPAs to be had. There is a micro brewery down the street that sells the house beers at $5 a growler (64 oz). Hard to pass that up since a pint costs about the same in a pub.
I can't say anything bad about German beers. I learned to love beer while living in Germany, but the Reinheitsgebot also limits the different types of ingredients you can add to beer recipes, so there are just some things that Germans can't do to beer that limits them.
Sam Adams...and Rogue. Rogue Dead Guy is my favorite. Try it. Also, if you're into flavored beers, try Kentucky Bourbon Ale. It has a caramel taste.
I disagree, although I like their beer. The Germans have little variety in their beer, British, US and Belgian beer has far far more variety.
Agreed - German beer rules are obsessed with purity of ingredients, but as laudable as that is it doesn't necessarily guarentee the best outcome from brewing, or the greatest variety of flavours. The UK now has a huge number of quality small breweries making a huge variety of excellent beers. There are some good US beers, though, just not the mass produced stuff, which is as bad as mass produced beer the world over.
Am surprised there is so little proselytising for Belgian Beers .It hurts to me say it , but they even head the UK Real Ales . Some of the Belgian full flavoured ales are as high as 9.0% alcohol . High priced , but you do not need too many before you realise that sitting still and not moving is your safest option .
I would be in support of the Belgian-style beer. Two that I routinely get are Brooklyn Local 2 and Unibroque Trois Pistoles (Canadian).
Ah, an IPA lover. I strongly suggest you get yourself a few bottles of this wonderful brew. Dogfish Head 120 minute IPA Brews out of Delaware. The most recent batch came out 18.5% ABV. Gotta drink it slow! LOL
I've had the 90 minute IPA. Good stuff. I look forward to the 120 minute IPA, though I've only seen it once.
Best I've had in a while (other than homebrews) is the Dogfish Head 60 minute. Also, the Port Mondo Triple IPA is fantastic. I'm fortunate to live in microbrew country and have been brewing my own for 26 years.
My views on Americans -- certainly the ones here -- are changing quite fast . Hidden depths . Sensitivity toward really important matters . Real care in the community etc .
The popular mainstream American beers are garbage. They are more about the image they have than anything that's in them or how they taste. Good American beer can be found in our microbrewaries and smaller brewhouses. A local favorite is Yuengling. Killians is pretty damn good too. I've never been an IPA fan myself. I prefer honey browns or irish reds.
The US has a lot of good microbrews I'm not sure why people are surprised by this, Americans love beer.
I suspect people from elsewhere might be surprised about it because of the apparent dominance of mass-produced beer from large brewing corporations, and the apparent relative lack of public/cultural focus on microbreweries compared with places like Belgium, Germany and the UK. Viewed from outside, it just doesn't seem as common a thing for people over there to be interested in, if you see what I mean. It's a mistake, of course - there are undoubtedly plenty of fine microbreweries over there. I don't know how hard you have to look for them, though, or how commonly their beers find their way into regular, mainstream bars (as opposed to more specialist places and their own taprooms). The numbers of them might also be smaller at the moment in terms of 'microbrewery per head of population' compared with those aforementioned European countries (although the USA is a big place, so even though that ratio may be lower there are obviously still plenty around!). I guess those factors might also help support the misconception that they aren't so common over there, or at least aren't so prominent within the market or so popular among the public.
They're not really that hard to find but they are considerably more expensive, I think that's the main reason.
It's the same here for bottled craft beers/ales (as opposed to cans of the mass produced stuff), but the reverse is almost always true in pubs. Despite being more expensive to produce and more difficult to keep and serve properly, draft cask ale is usually quite alot cheaper at the bar than the big name lager brands. It's simply down to market placement and label premium charging on the well known brands. Why people ever drink that stuff is beyond me, when there is much better stuff easily available that's much cheaper!
I gather from CAMRA that they are coming on remarkably well. It is one of the many hopeful signs coming out of the 'States that suggest that all is not yet lost over there, despite everything!
I am lucky to live in a state that promotes and has a good number of Micro brews. Most liquor stores have more Micros than mass produced stuff in our little city. New Belgium Brewing and Tommyknocker brewery was good to me last year.
