Just a question I've been wondering... I randomly thought of this question after hearing people talk about how Heineken is superior to "any American beer" because it's an import. Flawless logic and zero ignorance on that one, no? Personally, I buy U.S. made beers at least 95% of the time. I get an import every now and then. It's probably also safe to say about 75% of the U.S. beers I buy are made in Michigan.
There was a time when I thought that Imports were better. Sad thing is it was beers like Heineken and other filth like that. The only comparison I had at the time were BMC beers, so I was neither right nor wrong. It was a pick your poison kind of thing. Now, I hardly buy anything from the imported shelf. Most of that is because of the fact that good imported beer is hardly distributed in TX. I mean we can get most of the Trappist beers, but we don't get Shelton Brothers so selection is slim. We get about 5-10 Mikkeller beers where as people that get Shelton Brothers distro get about 10 times that many. Sadly, even to this day there are people who only drink imports like Stella and Heineken because it's "better" without knowing why. It's the reason that shit beer costs more than some really good micros. In the end, I'll leave the uninformed and blissfully happy masses to overpay for swill.
If I had my way I would drink 70% Belgian stuff and 30% American stuff. I just prefer a lot of the stuff made over there. The problem is the price. Local stuff is cheaper. $8 for a Pannepot 330 ML bottle vs 16$ for a Smutty 12 pack. Half the price but 1/6th the beer! lol I will say that I have been drinking a lot of Jack's Abby lately. Big fan of the growler to be honest. Cheap and fresh!
If someone here lives in another country, but buys mostly U.S. made beer, how should they respond to this poll?
I do buy a lot of imports and the majority will be from Italy. But I do love American craft so those are my go to's.
There was a time that you were correct in thinking that. Luckily we're past that now. Though I drink a fair number of beers from the UK, Germany, and Belgium, the majority are still Americans.
this needs a third option: I buy whatever the hiccup I feel like buying on the basis of merit, not where it is made....
Beers like Heineken and Stella Artois are superior to American BMC beers. But are there really people that use the logic that Heineken is better than American craft beer just because it's imported? But if we're talking imported beers from the Monks and such vs. American craft beer, then it's a debate.
U.S.A. There are so many American brews which make my tastebuds happy, there's not much of a need to go overseas. The Samuel Smith lineup is one exception though.
I buy about 99% American craft beer...however, I recently was introduced to, and fell in love with, Samichlaus out of Austria. If you have not tried this beer I highly recommend it. http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/285/776
I buy more american but that is mostly because there is so much more available at the prices I can afford. I buy a lot of belgians but most are pretty expensive so I can't buy all that I would like to.
I buy vastly more American beer than anything else. I will buy a small amount of Canadian beer, and I buy lambic/gueuze from Belgium, but that pretty much covers it.
Yes I buy about 50/50, since I'm not a fan of high ABV, overhopped barrel aged monstrosities I tend to buy a lot of German beer, along with some Belgian styles.
Accidentally clicked imports, but I almost always grab US. Exceptions would be Evil Twin, Belgian beer, and one of my favorite go-tos, Kostritzer Schwarzbier
I mostly buy American but do also get lambics/gueuze from Belgium and some Scandinavian beers (Nøgne Ø, Mikkeller, Evil Twin etc.) when i can afford them.
I stand by my love for the American and especially the West Coast craft beer scenes, but there's many good beers made in England, Germany, and especially Belgium, that I see no reason to let my nationality get in the way of having whatever beer I'm in the mood for.
I usually buy American made beer. Its usually cheaper and the quality is pretty much the same. I would love to buy more import beer but the price is tough. I really enjoy the import styles though. Very subtle, smooth, and of a high quality. I really like that in a beer but the price is just too much too often.
No country has a monopoly on "good" beer. I drink more or less exclusively beer brewed in the UK because I'm a devotee of cask ale , that comes from my local pubs and the beers there are locally brewed.I feel totally happy and fulfilled doing this. If I wanted to drink bottled beer then the world would be my oyster.No shortage of beer from around the world.But from my tiny corner I wouldn't be able to build up a picture of beers country by country, it would be more a case of pick one here, pick one there. I'm sure that local availability is the overriding factor in what people buy.
I use to be predominately Belgium especially the Trappist and Strong Dark Ales. Now it's dominated by American beers with the occasional Trappist or Quad/Strong Dark Ales.
Imports. Perhaps it will get leveled out soon here, but imports schooled my taste buds, so I have to maintain a loyalty.
It's pretty half and half or me. I love a lot of domestic craft beer like black butte, victory at sea, green flash double stout, sculpin, Pliny the elder, alesmith everything, and many stone brews to name a few *BUT* I also enjoy many imports such as taddy porter, trappist rochefort beers, fullers esb and London porter, st bernardus, schnieder Weiss hopfen Weiss, aventinus, d. Carnegie porter, westmalle and so on and so forth. I say judge a beer on the merits o it's character and not its country of origin.
Imports, mostly from England/ UK but Belgium and Germany as well. 3/4 of my beer dollars go to 2 breweries; Fuller, Smith & Turner and Greene King/ Moorland. The US Breweries I buy from are: Boston Beer Co. (Sam Adams) Brooklyn Ommegang Sierra Nevada Offshore Ale Co Ithaca Great Lakes
I never buy American beer, except when I'm in the USA. It's too expensive and you've no idea what condition it will be in. I mostly buy imported Belgian beer.
I buy beers from all over, and I frequently buy Belgian, German, and English. However, aside from Belgians, American breweries have taken many traditional old-world styles of beers to an entirely new level, outdoing their European counterparts. A few other posters have brought price into the equation and I will agree. I can find American brews that are just as good (if not better) than the imports for a lesser price. Not to mention I'm getting .8 ounces more a lot of the time.
I buy almost all American micros, the majority being from Colorado, then probably California and Oregon. I'll pick up a Chimay or something from Unibroue every once in a while, but I find enough variety domestically to keep things interesting most of the time. That being said, the only thing in my fridge right now is half a sixer of Paulaner Hefeweizen - go figure.
I have to use opposite logic because I live in the U.S., and the import stuff at the store that I frequent does not seem to turnover very frequently. I also have that mental roadblock about the freshness of imports whenever I go into a better store. And besides, with all of this good beer available to me here in Michigan, I can't possibly expand my horizons without pickling my liver.
I'm a big fan of German Beers, but I also love American craft beers, it's really down to what I'm buying... probably 70% American 25% German 5% misc other.
One of the primary reasons I signed onto BA is because I didn't know where to start with anything international, so I needed some guidance. Still, imports are slowly increasing to me I'm still at about a 75/25 ratio.
A lot of people on this website could keep themselves very happy not buying beer out of state. Unless you live in North Dakota or Rhode Island etc...you could easily subsist on home state breweries only. Having said that though I feel like I purchase whatever I'm in the mood for at the time...origin doesn't really play into my decision.
