Has American Craft Beer exceeded European Beer.

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

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Has American Craft beer surpassed European beer?

  1. Yes

    75.5%
  2. No

    24.5%
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  1. pixieskid

    pixieskid Initiate (0) Jun 4, 2009 Germany

    You'd be surprised at how many sub-par US breweries/beers there are...if you added up the 50 most popular/loved/sought after breweries in both the US and Europe(since the OP designed this thread by that parameter) I think we would be surprised at who was "better".
     
  2. jmw

    jmw Initiate (0) Feb 4, 2009 North Carolina

    Nope.
     
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  3. jesskidden

    jesskidden Grand Pooh-Bah (3,071) Aug 10, 2005 New Jersey
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    That would primarily be because, in the US, brewers are not legally permitted to "freeze distill" their products (beyond the token 0.5% of volume allowed for US style "ice beers"), nor are such products able to be sold as a "malt beverage" (the US legal term for all beer).

    For instance, Brewdog's Sink the Bismarck (imported by Anchor) is registered with the US TTB (# 12045001000250) as a "DISTILLED SPIRIT", class #699 - "OTHER SPECIALTIES & PROPRIETARIES".
     
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  4. marquis

    marquis Pooh-Bah (2,301) Nov 20, 2005 England
    Pooh-Bah Society

    There's no reason why it should be. Brewers and plant are no better in one country than another, the old brewing countries have different cultures so brew slightly differently.Germany and the Czech Republic excel in what they do best, the UK has a vast range of tasty low gravity beers and many pubs which know what they are doing in the cellar regarding cask ales.
    It's good that America has revived many long forgotten beer styles and with new varieties of ingredients the spectrum is wider than ever before.But these ingredients are used just as much outside the US as in.Most Americans understandably take the view that as the US beer scene is developing out of all recognition it's running ahead of the rest but of course a lot of this progress was simply catching up ! And the rest of the world hasn't been standing still while this happened. The micro revolution began here don't forget (we now have over 1000 "craft" breweries in the UK), there was change in the offing a few decades ago.
    Sorry CaveDave, a glance at the homebrewing section will dispel the notion that you have better ingredients. Domestic malt is recognised as bland and many homebrewers use imported expensive malt. Hops are a different matter though for some beer styles the older European varieties are still unbeaten.
    Penultimately, we are discussing matters of taste and opinion.I rarely for example drink bottled beer and the sight of rows of exotic bottles does nothing for me. I've also got through my phase of wanting strong or extreme beers.Interesting but I just like my pints in a lovely pub with good company.
    Finally, America is a big and populous place.It shouldn't be compared with any individual country but with say Europe as a whole.
     
  5. Mavajo

    Mavajo Initiate (0) Feb 10, 2007 Georgia

    The Europeans still have two things on the States: Lambics and Belgian Trappist beers. No one in the States has given the Europeans a legitimate run for their money in either category, IMO. Even the best State-side imitations are just that -- imitations.
     
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  6. Archemedies

    Archemedies Initiate (0) Dec 8, 2011 Massachusetts

    Give Jacks Abby another year or two. They are mainly just creating lagers, but have dwelled into other German styles like rauchbiers, schwarzbiers and pilsners. They are killing it here in MA. Kiwi Rising, an imperial pilsner, which just got rereleased a few days ago is out of this world. We are quickly catching up on German styles.
     
  7. pixieskid

    pixieskid Initiate (0) Jun 4, 2009 Germany

    Huh well then that is exactly the reason, didn't know that...thanks for sharing.
     
  8. pixieskid

    pixieskid Initiate (0) Jun 4, 2009 Germany

    The three styles you just listed are lagers...
     
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  9. pixieskid

    pixieskid Initiate (0) Jun 4, 2009 Germany

    Not all "Trappist" beers are Belgian...besides, Trappist is not even a style.
     
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  10. keithmurray

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

    Hey Bill,

    Maybe saying there was no 'reasonable facimile' was being a bit harsh. But in accordance with the sentiment of the post, have I had an American brewed beer that was in the vein of a German or Belgian style beer and thought "this is just as good or better than what is produced across the pond", that answer is simply 'no'. Americans have yet to surpass them in terms of quality or consistency.
     
  11. hopfenunmaltz

    hopfenunmaltz Pooh-Bah (2,611) Jun 8, 2005 Michigan
    Pooh-Bah Society

    The American breweries do well in some of the lager categories at the WBC. There was a video from German TV that covered the state of the German beer industry after SN got a Gold for a Pilsner in 2010. The top 3 doppelbocks were all from America in 2010 IIRC.
     
  12. HenrikO

    HenrikO Initiate (0) Jun 19, 2011 Sweden

    Oh, I know that there are many sub-par US breweries! I've had far too many generic, boring, and often downright bad "American Brown Ales" in my US travels, for example. But I stand by my original opinion that the best beer in the world currently is made in the US (which of course does not mean that ALL US beers are better than ALL European beers). There are simply so many breweries from the US I would classify as "world-leading".

    I wouldn't say that the US is necessarily miles ahead though, just ahead. Europe is catching up fast, and watch out for Japan, New Zealand and Australia.
     
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  13. Domingo

    Domingo Grand Pooh-Bah (4,206) Apr 23, 2005 Colorado
    Pooh-Bah Society

    In some ways yes, in others, no. Overall - probably...but we have a looooong way to go in other ways.
    The sheer variety we have is pretty fortunate, though. There are large areas in Europe where you're essentially encountering Heineken clones, but then again there are places like Bruges or Bamberg that are something special, too. Just as similar, BMC still rules a lot of this country but we have places like Portland and Asheville as well.
     
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  14. Errto

    Errto Zealot (643) Oct 20, 2009 Connecticut

    Yes, but that doesn't mean it'll taste good. Sure, there's a new(-ish) crop of craft beer drinkers who think the stronger and hoppier the better, end of story, but my experience says hardly anyone stays in that state very long.

    Making a world-class big beer I don't think is any easier than making a world-class small beer. There's room in the world for both.
     
  15. aasher

    aasher Grand Pooh-Bah (4,471) Jan 27, 2010 Indiana
    Pooh-Bah

    Americans had passed the rest of the world awhile ago. We make everything and at a high level. just look at all the high quality IPAs coming from numerous local markets. The Germans are limited to ten or so styles. The Belgians are limited to ten or so styles. The English are too traditional. This isn't even close.
     
  16. billandsuz

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

    fair enough. its an opinion after all.
     
  17. herrburgess

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

    There are a handful. Problem is, they are following the German brewing practices very closely, not only in terms of their ingredients, styles, and processes, but also in terms of distribution. World-class German-style beer is almost exclusively consumed as fresh, and as close to the source, as possible. Brewers like Olde Mecklenburg in NC and New Glarus in WI understand this, and refuse to distribute beyond their immediate area. If you can find their products fresh, I think you'll find that a handful of U.S. brewers have managed to replicate world-class German styles here. Now, have they actually *surpassed* the best examples from Europe instead of simply matching them in quality and consistency? Despite my love for these brewers, I'd still say no.
     
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  18. Domingo

    Domingo Grand Pooh-Bah (4,206) Apr 23, 2005 Colorado
    Pooh-Bah Society

    While I don't necessarily disagree with you, I'm pretty sure the brewers in those countries could just as easily say that we usually just throw a boatload of hops and a high gravity yeast at everything. We then muddle out the problems by aging it in a bourbon barrel and declare it "rare" to justify a higher price.
    If we're going to generalize, it does go both ways.
     
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  19. pixieskid

    pixieskid Initiate (0) Jun 4, 2009 Germany

    Yeah and look at all of the low-quality IPAs coming out of numerous local markets...

    In regards to German/Belgian/English: just because they have historical roots and practices, doesn't mean there aren't progressive breweries in those countries.

    An example of each and that doesn't include a dozen world class breweries I could name of the top of my head from "Europe":
    German; Freigeist/Braustelle
    Belgian; De Struise
    England; Kernal
     
  20. pixieskid

    pixieskid Initiate (0) Jun 4, 2009 Germany

    Way easier to hide flaws in strong beers than in low abv beers.
     
    BigCheese likes this.
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