Has American Craft Beer exceeded European Beer.

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by BreakingBad, Nov 19, 2012.

?

Has American Craft beer surpassed European beer?

  1. Yes

    75.5%
  2. No

    24.5%
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. BreakingBad

    BreakingBad Initiate (0) Sep 17, 2012

    I know people idolize European beer like there is some magic voodoo that makes it taste amazing but I feel that they are afraid to experiment with really big beers and just stick to old recipes (don't get me wrong some of those recipes are damn good). What do you guys think?
     
  2. cavedave

    cavedave Grand Pooh-Bah (4,145) Mar 12, 2009 New York
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Funny to think that Europe is following America into the new era of craft experimentalism, but that is exactly what is happening. They shit on us as ignorant upstarts and big-flavor-loving, anti tradition, noobs, but the beer lovers over there are starting to demand the same innovations and big flavors we Americans now enjoy.

    We have bigger country, better ingredients, less jaded consumer base, our beers are better, our beer culture not so much.
     
  3. doopiedoopiedoo

    doopiedoopiedoo Initiate (0) Oct 2, 2010 Netherlands

    Not surpassed. Just added a new dimension.
    I like what American brewers are doing, pushing the enveloppes not being bothered or held back by tradition.
     
  4. mulder1010

    mulder1010 Initiate (0) Aug 29, 2008 Australia

    I would say near equal. US brewers can not match the best Euro lambics and sours and the Euros can not match US IPA's. Imperial Stouts are totally different as both areas have different taste profiles
     
  5. StJamesGate

    StJamesGate Grand Pooh-Bah (3,462) Oct 8, 2007 New York
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Does big equal good?

    Any fool can dump more hops into a DIPA, it takes real skill to get flavor into a 3.8% session beer.
     
  6. HenrikO

    HenrikO Initiate (0) Jun 19, 2011 Sweden

    I dunno about that. In the craft beer circles I know about (mainly the UK and Sweden, to a lesser extent Norway/Denmark), US craft brewing is idolized and looked up to - and rightly so, overall I think the best beer in the world today is made in the US (this is not to say that other countries don't make good beer, it's just that the US is ahead of the pack in terms of overall level of excellence). In ten years of living in the UK I haven't heard anyone shit on US beer and brewing, rather the opposite. All the best craft brewers over here (e.g. Kernel, Magic Rock, Summer Wine) often cite US brewers as their main influences.

    But to say that "European" brewers are "afraid to experiment" is also wrong - the variety and range in Europe is as great as the one in the US. The UK is often seen by outsiders as being very "traditional" but that simply isn't true anymore, there are many breweries here that routinely experiment, use weird ingredients, mix yeast strands and what have you. Even a _very_ traditional beer country like Germany has a growing craft beer scene. And some of the most exciting beer in Europe today is IMHO made in Italy, which has seen a (heavily US-influenced) craft beer boom in just a few years.

    For a lot of people, US beer equals Bud and Miller Lite and of course those people will say that US beer sucks - but I don't much care about their opinion since they don't know first thing about what's going on in US brewing overall. In the same way, I find I can easily dismiss people who think of "European" (it's not one country, folks, it's 30+ different ones, all with their own beer and brewing traditions) brewing as being somehow "too traditional" - it just demonstrates they don't know very much about what's going on in European brewing.
     
  7. mychalg9

    mychalg9 Pooh-Bah (2,061) Apr 8, 2010 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Society

    In terms of variety, I'd say yes. They do a few styles and they do them best, and I don't think we can match their quality of those styles, nor am I even sure if we want/need to.
     
    Cyrano41 and BedetheVenerable like this.
  8. AlcahueteJ

    AlcahueteJ Grand Pooh-Bah (3,088) Dec 4, 2004 Massachusetts
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Germany still crushes it with lagers when compared to the US, and hefeweizens for that matter. There's been some solid American hefeweizens the last years, such as Kellerweis and Dreamweaver. As mentioned above, the best place on earth to get a fine lambic or gueuze is Belgium. Also mentioned in a previous post, the US hasn't exactly come out with a variety of sessionable offerings that are complex from 3% to 4% like the English have (not to mention the multitude of bars that use cask as a gimmick and have no idea how to do it properly). Therefore, I think you could say it's equal, but definitely not surpassed. The US is unmatched with IPAs and big beers, but there just isn't enough of the former to say they've surpassed Europe.
     
  9. keithmurray

    keithmurray Pooh-Bah (2,943) Oct 7, 2009 Connecticut
    Pooh-Bah Society

    No. And the proof is in the pudding. No American brewer can make a reasonable facimile of a German Pilsener or a German Dopplebock or a German Hefeweizen. American brewers may certainly be more EXTREME vs. their German counterparts, but they aren't exceeding them in terms of quality or consistency.
     
  10. herrburgess

    herrburgess Grand Pooh-Bah (3,053) Nov 4, 2009 South Carolina
    Pooh-Bah Society

    When I lived in Europe I was constantly told by people -- the large majority of whom had never explored U.S. craft beer -- that European beer was superior.

    Now I live in the U.S. and frequent the BA message boards where I am told by people -- the large majority of whom have never explored European beer at its source -- that U.S. craft beer is superior.

    If anything, no one has surpassed the other; rather the type of ignorance that used to be the exclusive domain of European snobs has come full-circle.
     
    zid, brikelly, Tom_Gilman and 29 others like this.
  11. cavedave

    cavedave Grand Pooh-Bah (4,145) Mar 12, 2009 New York
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Agree with everything you say, and glad to see you don't feel European nations shit on us. There are many nations in Europe, each with their own traditions, and it is good to see some traditions that fell by the wayside (lambic, gueuze, hoppy IPA's, others) are being revived behind the popularity of them in USA, and new traditions of boundary pushing are being explored, also behind the impetus of American fine beer lovers and fine beer brewers. Italy and UK stand out, but the rest of Europe is blossoming as well under the light of American excellence, as we did originally under the lights of European excellence.
     
    pixieskid likes this.
  12. TongoRad

    TongoRad Grand Pooh-Bah (3,848) Jun 3, 2004 New Jersey
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Not to quibble with your main point, but the two styles I underlined are exactly where we are actually making inroads- so let's give credit where it's due. A couple of examples- Rammstein Blonde and SN Kellerweiss for hefes and Sunshine Pils and Pikeland Pils are more than reasonable facsimiles of their continental counterparts- they can definitely hold their own. Now if you had said Helles and Dunkel, on the other hand we'd be in more full agreement.
     
  13. mulder1010

    mulder1010 Initiate (0) Aug 29, 2008 Australia

    if you take the context of what BA is the US is near equal. In the larger scheme the US is still way behind. Agree on the German styles in a big way.
     
    RobertColianni likes this.
  14. brewbetter

    brewbetter Initiate (0) Jun 2, 2012 Nauru

    Regarding Beer Culture:
    More and more Americans are drinking beer that is not light lager while more and more Europeans are drinking beer that is light lager.


    Regarding Beer:
    In terms of variety and innovation, I think it undeniable that America is now the leader.

    In terms of interest in brewing, with so many small breweries and so many individuals brewing themselves, I think America is now leader.

    In terms of quality of beers available, I think it is up for debate, but America is getting better. I still give the edge to USA, but having to follow beer releases, fly across the country, or trade for something doesn't count as really available in my book.
     
    gentlystewed and whodeyvols like this.
  15. FlakyBiscuit

    FlakyBiscuit Initiate (0) Sep 11, 2012 Pennsylvania

    I think America has developed a beer culture of its own and makes it tough to compare. We have so many styles and so much experimentation that it makes it fun to go try all these styles. Some are hits and some are misses. I would say that the tried and true classic beers are still European made. I have been fortunate to travel to Germany and Belgium. The beers in those countries are amazing and define the styles.
     
  16. dennis3951

    dennis3951 Initiate (0) Mar 6, 2008 New Jersey

    American beer culture has a lot to do with watching sports in person or on TV. In fact i'll bet that 50% or more of the beer (swill & craft) is drunk in front of a TV. I don't think that is the case in Europe.
     
  17. pixieskid

    pixieskid Initiate (0) Jun 4, 2009 Germany

    First problem with your poll; you are comparing one country with a conglomeration of countries with different traditions, people, beer cultures and brewing abilities/techniques.

    Secondly, there is no reason to say one is "better" than the other. We are comparing apples to oranges and one thing that I don't think enough people realize is that the saying "the grass is greener on the other side" is one of the most profound and relate-able sayings I can think of.

    Europeans (people I personally know from France, Germany, Scandinavia, Netherlands) are always on the lookout for fresh IPAs/DIPAs, BA/Imperial Stouts in general and especially from the states.
    On the other hand, I have friends in the states that pine for Lambic/Gueuze, Abbey styles, Saisons, Biere de Garde, etc.

    In regards to the poll my answer is NO, because I don't think there needs to be a comparison nor do I think that the point of this thread is all that clear/well thought out...
     
  18. billandsuz

    billandsuz Pooh-Bah (2,023) Sep 1, 2004 New York
    Pooh-Bah Society

    i don't think beer is a competition.

    if it were, Amercans succeeded in surpassing the traditions of European beer in most every way. American brewers are generally much more adventurous and American beer drinkers (5% of us anyway) are willing to try different ideas.

    we have a long way to go though when it comes to accepting beer as food and culture. we also have this odd idea that all people who speak German, Flemish or English with an accent worship beer with historic measure.

    it's just beer.
     
    Zimbo, seanyfo and Tschnab like this.
  19. pixieskid

    pixieskid Initiate (0) Jun 4, 2009 Germany

    Google strongest beer in the world (the other beer site has a list of the strongest) and take a look at who is producing the "really big beers"...
     
  20. billandsuz

    billandsuz Pooh-Bah (2,023) Sep 1, 2004 New York
    Pooh-Bah Society


    wow, you have compared all the German and American pils, dopples and hefe's? an there is not even a reasonable facsimile among any of them?
    amazing.
    maybe you don't get out much. or worse, you are certain you have.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.