Ash UK/US

Earlier tonight I was thinking about my next trip to England, this time I maybe taking an American friend with me, I was thinking about things we could see and do as it will be her first time there. One thought I had was 'she could try some good beer'... then I got to thinking, is it just an old stereotype that American beer is lousy? Kind of like how us brits can't shake the bad teeth stereotype. We have a lot or local micro breweries and craft beers knocking out some good drinks here in GR, one them, Founders, is now being exported to England.

What do you think, is this a common theme across the country or do most of you think the majority or American made beer is still crap?

Guindalf

The major, mass-produced, mass-market beers are crap. They are made to a specific formula that can be duplicated anywhere in the country..er...world so it tastes the same.

What gives beer its character, in my humble opinion, is the water (not the purified stuff used to brew Miller Lite!) and the natural surroundings of a brewery. Anyone who's tasted Dublin Guinness as opposed to NW London Guinness knows exactly what I'm talking about.

I doubt there's a micro-brewer in the States that can match the sheer pleasure I get from a fresh pint of Theakston's Old Peculiar!

So yes, the big stuff is mostly crap, but then again, so was Watney's Red Barrel! There are some better ones, but just as an Aussie most likely wouldn't be seen dead with a Foster's in his hand, it's all a matter of seeking out the good stuff!

Beaverstate

There are 104 microbreweries just in the Portland Oregon metro area, to classify them all as crap is ego beyond belief. Not a single one of them make Bud, Coors or Guinness.

Pulaski

American mass-produced beers are crap, and find that they have a very unpleasant aftertaste.

The American microbrewery beers are a very mixed bunch, some are excellent, some are acceptable, but I find that others are unpleasant. Generally I avoid beers with fruit flavours. I have identified a number of microbrewery beers that I prefer to most beers from the UK, and I now find that British beers often lack the flavours of good American microbrewery beers.

There are certainly good British beers that I enjoy, but they are very different from good American microbrewery beers.

rbackhouse

I have a English owned/run micro brewery up the road from me that's mission is "To supply North Carolina with authentic UK style beers in both keg and cask conditioned forms."

It was some of the worst tasting beer I've had in a long time. Based on this I would say this would put off Americans trying UK styled beers not encouraging them

Pulaski

Given the stereotypical, and in my experience widely if not close to universally held opinion of British beer in America, if that is their marketing pitch then they have stacked the deck heavily against themselves.

Ash UK/US

We will of course go to a pub regardless... because even with the number of micro breweries we have here there is something unique in being able to WALK to and from a pub, not a bar... that is something that I have not found replicated in Grand Rapids.

RoadWarriorFromLP

The history of American beer can be summarized as follows:

-The US once had a large number of craft brewers, but Prohibition put many of the smaller ones out of business permanently.

-During the 30s, they figured out how to put beer in a can.

-Post WWII, the large American breweries invented fast fermentation processes that allowed them to mass produce it, which allowed them to meet surging demand for beer. (The Greatest Generation were quite thirsty when they returned from the war.) At the same time, the growth of suburbs tended to encourage many of them to drink it at home instead of in bars.

As a result, American beer truly was wretched, almost by design. For decades, the large producers were motivated to focus on quantity instead of quality and they could sell every drop of it that they could make. You had a couple of generations of people who were raised on this stuff, so they got used to it. (I suppose that it went well with such culinary delights as Jello, Kool-Aid and Spam.)

markonline1

Totally unjustified! Bud, Coors, Miller, as has been discussed are crap. Then again, so is Carling, Fosters, Carlsbeg and most of the other stuff you find rooted to your average British bar (and I know the last 2 aren't British before anyone chimes in). Once you go past those big breweries though, the US has great beer, far far better than back home. 2 breweries that started small but have now entered semi mainstream are Sierra Nevada and New Belgium. Both have awesome beers available. Then go even smaller and your local brews will probably knock anything available back home out of the park. I have a local brewery that has just opened a new tasting room by me. They have some of my favourite beers ever. They have a stout that, as far as I'm concerned, leaves Guiness trailing in its wake. And then you have beers like Pliny The Elder. I've yet to try it as it's a seasonal beer. When it's realesed, it's like an iPhone release. I've been told it's an outstanding beer. The reviews I've read list it as a world class beer.
Since moving here, I would say it's the U.K. That has shite, weak, tasteless beer!

markonline1

I too have a local brew pub, English Ales, in my town. I'm there probably a lot more than I should be. It's run as brewing English style beer. The place does a great trade and supplies an awful lot of places regionally.

Anian

The classic cask ales of my old local UK pubs taste weak and crappy next to anything by my local US craft breweries. I'm not one of those who drinks the super strong IPAs either. That said, buy a 22oz bomber from any UK supermarket and you are likely to get something just as good as anything from a US micro brewery. Wetherspoons is supposedly one of the places you are more likely to get a decent beer in the UK.

london_calling

First of all, Carling is American. Second the average British bar usually has a decent real ale or two, plus Brit lagers such as Old Speckled Hen and any number of beers from elsewhere in Europe. I'd say there's more variety than what American bars often feature.

Pulaski

Carling is Canadian.

Old Speckled Hen is a pale ale.

The variety of beers in US bars and restaurants is as variable as it it in the UK - some have loads and good quality beers, others mostly sell nasty swill and offer one guest ale/craft beer.

london_calling

It's Canadian now but I read it started off as a Coors beer. I've seen it behind the bar in Brooklyn for $2. You just schooled me on Speckled Hen being a pale ale. Never thought of it that way.

Oakvillian

How can you not have thought of Old Speckled Hen as an ale? It's not a remotely lager-like beer... But then again, I spent too many years of my youth in Oxfordshire tied houses where Morland, Brakspear, Hook Norton, Wychwood (formerly Eagle) etc were the house ales, so I suppose I have a somewhat biased viewpoint.