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%
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  1. lester619

    lester619 Initiate (0) Apr 17, 2009 Wisconsin

    By light years. I admit to a certain amount of ingorance when it comes to European beers. But if there was a run-of -the-mill, skunky German lager in a green bottle in front of me, I think I would go for a Coors Light.
     
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  2. dandano

    dandano Initiate (0) Nov 19, 2012 Virginia

    I found a craft beer store in Paris when I went this spring. Many French craft beers in addition to the expected Belgians. As in the U.S., some were okay, and one or two (Cuvee d'Oscar comes to mind) were very good. And here I was thinking there was no craft beer in France! Also, I have had at least one American Hefe from Devil's Backbone that was very good, although they don't sell that one in stores.

    I don't know who came up with the original question here, and I don't think anyone is "out in front," but there is *always* more to find out about beer brewing in any region.
     
  3. Mavajo

    Mavajo Initiate (0) Feb 10, 2007 Georgia

    I never said "trappist beer" was a style, so I don't know why you keep going on about that. You're not teaching me anything new here, kid.

    Yes, in general, I find the Belgian style beers brewed by the Trappist breweries to be a cut above the rest -- the one notable exception perhaps being St. Bernardus, although you can make a claim that they might as well be a "cousin" of the Trappist breweries, considering they used to brew for Westvleteren.
     
  4. bulletrain76

    bulletrain76 Maven (1,287) Nov 6, 2007 California

    You must be drinking the wrong beers then. They aren't the majority, but there are plenty of pilsners, hefeweizens, and doppelbocks made in the US that rival anything in Germany.
     
  5. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,181) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society



    All of my local Pilsner craft breweries use imported German Pilsner Malt: Sly Fox Pikeland Pils, Victory Prima Pils, Troegs Sunshine Pils, Stoudt’s Pils.

    Due to this ‘competition’ the local brewpubs use imported German Pilsner malt to make their Pilsners: Iron Hill, Manayunk, Triumph, etc.

    Victory is widely distributed to most US states (30 states?).

    Sam Adams Noble Pils is brewed with imported malt and is available in every US state:

    “Samuel Adams Noble Pils is brewed according to the Bohemian tradition. We start with a special Bohemian spring barley that has been crafted using old world, labor intensive techniques, called floor malting.”

    I suppose that I am lucky that I have lots of Pilsner choices that are not made from 2-row malt?

    Cheers!

    P.S. I am doing a reply simply to 'add on' to this discussion.
     
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  6. cinghialetwo

    cinghialetwo Initiate (0) Oct 20, 2012

    it is impossible say "we are the best"
    Everybody can improve from the otthers. Someone , copy, someone develop new beers.I hope to taste a lot of beer, and I hope in future brewers try to improve the craft beer.
     
    Giovannilucano likes this.
  7. stupac2

    stupac2 Pooh-Bah (2,031) Feb 22, 2011 California
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Questions end in question marks.
     
  8. steveh

    steveh Grand Pooh-Bah (4,030) Oct 8, 2003 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Never mind that if you pour that German beer vigorously into a good glass you can dissipate all the skunkiness and have a more flavorful beverage than Coors Light will ever be.

    (I honestly can't think of any good reason to choose a Coors Light)
     
  9. herrburgess

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



    Would be interested to know the producers they use. Do you know from having toured the breweries?
     
  10. bulletrain76

    bulletrain76 Maven (1,287) Nov 6, 2007 California

    I regret that I didn't try any of their beers when I was at GABF this year. But Chuckanut's lagers were outstanding and I know they use Weyermann. I work with their former head brewer and he has the red overalls. Lucky bastard. We use all Weyermann for our lagers as well. We started using the super sacks which are pretty awesome. I think I'm going to try to make a tent out of one.

    Things might change in the future as the demand for more flavorful malt grows in the US, but as long as our malting barley is mainly grown to be malted for adjunct lagers, that's going to be hard.
     
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  11. youbrewidrink

    youbrewidrink Initiate (0) Apr 9, 2009 Vermont
    Deactivated

    What's with the" who's better" .There is great beer from both. Why does everything have to be a competition.
     
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  12. Vanlingleipa

    Vanlingleipa Maven (1,424) May 19, 2011 California
    Trader

    Just what we needed: another exercise in ethnocentricbeerism and another chance for people who don't know their ass from a butt plug to pontificate.

    Personally, I feel damn warm and fuzzy about living in a time where the wild tastiness of new American brewhouses is coming of age in an era where Europeans have preserved and still brew beer styles that have existed for centuries. And best of all, how American and European brewers seem committed to learning from each other.

    All we have to do is sit back, pop a top, and enjoy the view.
     
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  13. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,181) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Of the four mentioned breweries I have only been to Stoudt’s and I had a conversation with one of the brewers. He mentioned they used imported German Pilsner Malt but made no mention of the maltster (and I didn’t ask).

    Victory doesn’t detail the maltster on their website:

    “Ingredients

    At Victory we believe that the very best ingredients are necessary in order to brew the very best beer. Here, German malted barley, a mix of European and American whole flower hops, 45 unique yeast strains (for our wide variety of beers), and the highest quality local water is blended to create our refined brews.

    Note: Victory is one of only a few breweries in the country that uses whole flower hops. While almost all other breweries used pelletized hops, Bill and Ron insist on using the whole-flower varieties. This unprocessed form of hops imparts better flavor and aroma to beer.”

    Sly Fox lists for the Pikeland Pils: A Northern German style Pilsner brewed with imported German Pils malt and hopped with German and Czech hops. Light in body, light straw in color and dry

    All that I could find on the Troegs website was mention of: “ …we bring in malt from Germany packed in bags and shipped in containers.”

    I know that Iron Hill, Manayunk, and Triumph utilize German Pilsner malt since it was detailed in their beer menus. I don’t recall if they made mention of the maltster.

    So, all I know is that German Pilsner malt is used but I don’t really know from which maltster.

    Cheers!

    P.S. I would guess that Sam Adams uses Weyermann floor malted Bohemian Pilsner malt but that is only a guess.
     
  14. Aaron58

    Aaron58 Zealot (607) Dec 16, 2007 Massachusetts

    Its impossible to say whats "better", but I will say this. Im a retailer with what I consider a small, but very well seclected Craft beer selection. When I first started in this business in 2006, we had a large european selection. Always had Chimay, St. Bernardus, Carolous, Affligem, plus things like ommegang, unibroue and other very belgian inspired brews. In 2012, i have a significantly smaller amount of these types of beers based on what the customers are looking for. My entire selection is almost all domestic, and specifically local(MA). I feel as though people are drinking way more domestic than imported these days. Even the big stores in my area, some very well known for beer, I notice have a very slow turnover with Belgians, UK, and other euros
     
  15. Giovannilucano

    Giovannilucano Maven (1,424) Feb 24, 2011 Pennsylvania

    This is a topic which can be very sensitive to both sides. Let me add my experience and thoughts to it.

    Despite me being an Italian, I do have the greatest respect for many American breweries, and I enjoy many great brews made here. At the same time, I also have love for many of the European beers, because I for one was raised in Italian tradition and this also lets me respect the German, Spanish, French, Austrian, and many more countries tradition.

    I cannot speak for any other Europeans or Americans who do live abroad, but I can say for one thing, that I personally love to be humble with my love for both American and European beer. I am THE Italian Beer avvocato and will carry this with me for a long time to come...

    And also there are those who do not believe in carrying tradition, and to me this is also respectable.

    Better ingredients? Tough one! Hmm my wife has traveled to Italy as well and comments very highly on the quality and freshness of Italian ingredients and the lifestyle of food culture. I for one have traveled to many states in America, living in some of the coolest places, and I have seen the emergence of slow food in many states, and this makes me happy. Whether you believe in Slow Food or not, we Italians have enjoyed this approach to food, and it is this approach to beer that we take in. We can follow tradition AND experiment at the same time!

    My good fellows and ladies, how ever you enjoy your beer, enjoy it with all your heart and passion! :grinning: I hope to make you guys and ladies happy with my passion!

    Salute, amici!
     
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  16. Sarlacc83

    Sarlacc83 Initiate (0) Mar 2, 2008 Oregon

    Until I can walk into my grocery store and get a beer as good as Trappistes Rochefort 10 for < $2 a bottle or a sour as good as Cantillon or 3F for <$5 per bottle (Yes, they are that cheap over in Belgium), then the answer is a resounding no.
     
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  17. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,181) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    This past weekend I had a pint of Smuttynose Vunderbar Pilsner. As you can read in the below description that beer is made with German malt. I thought it was an OK beer but not up to par with the other Pilsners I mentioned.

    “Made for taking a break from the Sturm und Drang of modern life, this elegantly refreshing pilsner was created with German malt balanced with the spicy tang of Czech Saaz hops. The bread and biscuit flavors of the grain are topped with the floral character of the Noble hop, which may just get you to shimmy into your favorite lederhosen, bust into a quick schuhplattler and loudly proclaim, “Das ist Vunderbar!”

    Cheers!

    P.S. Smuttynose has a pretty good distributuon; something like 20 states.
     
  18. hopfenunmaltz

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

    So, did they spell it phonetically so that it would be pronounced correctly? A German would pronounce that as Funderbar, BTW.
     
  19. lester619

    lester619 Initiate (0) Apr 17, 2009 Wisconsin

    I can think of a few, but point taken.
     
  20. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,181) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    For those interested in beer competitions below is from the recent World Beer Cup 2012 fact sheet:

    “Breweries from the following 21 countries won awards in 2012 (awards won):
    Argentina (2)
    Australia (4)
    Austria (3)
    Belgium (8)
    Bolivia (1)
    Canada (13)
    China (1)
    Czech Republic (2)
    Denmark (1)
    Germany (23)
    Haiti (1)
    Iceland (1)
    Italy (2)
    Japan (4)
    Lithuania (2)
    Malta (1)
    Mexico (1)
    Netherlands (3)
    Russian Federation
    (1)
    United Kingdom (2)
    USA (208)”

    Cheers!
     
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