So one of the many questions rolling around my head, particularly since living in the United States, has been: why is American beer so bad?
It really is bad. I know Brits get mocked for flat, warm beer (I love it – the taste is terrific), but American beer – your Buds and Millers – really is absolutely dreadful. Tastes of nothing at all, doesn’t refresh or quench or present any of the pleasurable qualities that beer has brought to me many, many times over the past 20 years. In fact, just about the only thing American beer does do is get you drunk – if you can stand to drink enough of it.
Well, I have found out the answer. There was a History Channel documentary on US brewing history at the weekend and it was pretty easy to divine the historical and cultural reasons behind this peculiarity that an entire nation loves drinking rat’s piss while everyone else in the world has spent centuries savouring their beer.
And this is the three-part answer:
- It wasn’t always like this. Americans used to love decent tasting beer. But during World War One, there was a massive backlash against the Germans in the US. At the time, most of the breweries were German or based on German beers or called German names. They took a massive hit and new “American” brewing companies appeared and prospered amid the patriotic fervour.
- Before this had time to shake itself out, Prohibition kicked in. From 1920 to 1933, it was illegal to produce alcoholic drinks. So the brewing industry used its factories to produce other sorts of goods instead. Not only did this cause serious brewers to up and leave the country but it effectively hit reset on the nation’s palate. After Prohibition ended, all that was left was a few giant American breweries able to effectively shape a nation’s taste.
- Before great beer was able to make its inevitable way back into people’s lives, America went through the Second World War and then, crucially, entered the great modern era of advertising. The best example was Miller Lite – which was originally a diet beer aimed at women. The ads – with the still-used tagline “Great Taste…Less Filling!” – were hugely successful and showed working men enjoying Miller. It became one of the first lifestyle approaches to advertising. And, in the way that the greatest ads flip reality, it sold a dreadful tasteless liquid as possessing a “great taste”. Miller Lite and Bud Lite continue to be advertised with unbelievable logic-altering force to this day.
But there is good news.
Micro-brewers save the day
Over the past 15 years or so, there has been the Great Rise of the microbrewery with the United States. With no calamities in between, the American public slowly began to realise its palate and good beer began to find more and more of a market.
Although the light beers still take the majority of the market, the microbreweries are growing in strength and you can find a lot of decent beers in the US these days. Although you may have to seek them out.
I can recommend Anchor Steam from San Francisco. I also tried Brooklyn Beer last weekend in New York, which was pretty good. Sierra Nevada is widely available in Los Angeles and is very enjoyable. And my new favourite is Arrogant Bastard which I had at Baby Blues BBQ on Lincoln the other day. The writing on the label was worth the cost itself. Another good location is Father’s Office in Santa Monica and Culver City which specialises in very, very good beers from the US and elsewhere.
More importantly there are beer festivals across the year. I just missed the Los Angeles one. And there is a Great American Beer Festival. Also, according to one local, who was listening in to my explanation of the above at the LA Galaxy match on Saturday and turned around and told me he was pleased I recognised the microbrewing industry, there is a beer festival coming up near Los Angeles in the next month (may have to track it down).
Anyway, so there you go: an explanation of why American beer is so bad, plus an optimistic ending.
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I’m a long-time fan of Stone and Sierra Nevada, but I’ve recently discovered Pliny the Elder IPA from Russian River, and it’s ruined me for just about every other beer. Availability is limited (reportedly Russian River vet whomever they supply to), but I’ve seen it recently at Father’s Office 2 (the Culver City “adjacent” location).
BTW, this may be what the chap at the Galaxy match was referring to: http://www.lacabal.org/beerfest/
Cheers Geoff. Will check out the beerfest and Pliny the Elder.
Father’s Office 2 is good in that it has more room but I think some of the friendliness of Father’s Office in Santa Monica is lost. The staff also seem a bit more snooty – I fear a dangerous culture of arrogance is brewing.
Very nice article Kieren. I have had these same thoughts for years and did see the PBS doc on American breweries. I am a home brewer and lover great beer especially the Belgian styles. I have had this idea for a few years now to somehow, with contributions from the beer lovers across America, create a 30 second ad during the Super Bowl, that slams the cheap American beer and promotes the quality and flavor etc of microbrews and homebrews. Cheers.
why this common misconception that beer in britain/europe is WARM and FLAT? we love it ICE COLD just like any other country, although certain beers are to be served at room temperature. And its not as fizzy as coke like all american beers but it definately isnt flat..
Why the simplistic title “American Beer is so bad.” For one, the american micro and craft brewer take with great pride beers that are produced right here in America. Although brewing beers of certain European styles, these unique US craft beers are well sought after and in my opinion rival, and in some cases defeat some of the most coveted of Euro styles. There are also the American versions of many of Euro styles that implement new and inventive brewing techniques and use new and native ingredients to the US. Saying “American” Beer is bad is short cited; if one were to compare the great restuarants of the globe to our plethora of fast food chains and over commercialized eateries you could easily make the case that “American” food is completely god awful. A grave disservice to great chefs and culinary genius that happens here. Not trying to attack but only to ask that if it is “American” beer that is to blame, make sure to properly title that it is the massively overproduced, overmarketed “Macro” beers such as Budweiser, Coors and Miller. All of which I must add are all foreign owned. Being a brewer myself I love my “American” beers and say that they are certainly some of the best in the world. We have breweries such as Russian River, Three Floyds, Jolly Pumkin, the list can go on, to thank for such a claim. Cheers and keep enjoying fine, small, craft, micro, or simply put, brewed with passion and from the heart “American” beers.
You have to be out of your mind, or completely ill-informed. Twenty-five years ago that statement would be accurate, but given the great beers that have been developed in America since then and the surge of the micro breweries, that has changed and America is probably only behind the UK in making the best beer.
No real American beer drinker considers Budweiser, Coors and the like (mostly owned by non-American companies) real beer.
Perhaps next time you should actually no what you are babbling about before you write such a moronic article.
@Eric and yakofujimato: I’m not sure what to say, the post ends quite clearly with a rundown of the resurgence of micro-breweries and good beer.
This post is an effort to explain why it is that the US has been dominated – and continues to be so – by a small range of below-par beers. Unless you are denying that’s true – and it’s really isn’t hard to pull out figures that show it is – then please hold off on the abuse.
Agree completely. I have now been in the US for nearly 3 months and have grown sick to the back teeth of urine samples such as Bud, Miller and Coors etc. They are so bad, I often find myself spitting them out and pouring them down the sink.
Yes, if you spend time seeking them out, there are some rather good micro-breweries (New Belgium from Colorado being notable for producing brews such as “Fat Tire”) although, I do not believe that Sam Adams (another good brewery) can any longer be considered a “micro.”
I have long since wondered why American “mainstream” brews are so repellent; your article has elucidated that point to me, clearly and articulately.
I concur with your analysis and have vowed to only buy quality beer from now on (when I can find it) even though, sadly, it’s double the cost of those disgusting, generic domestic varieties.
Saying things like “there are good beers in America, but you have to seek them out” only means you are probably buying your beer at 7-11.
This phrase proves that even some so-called beer aficionados have no clue what they’re talking about when it comes to American brews.
I live in a pretty small town in Minnesota and even my po-dunk little liquor store carries some of the absolute top in micro-brews. Surly Beer for one has one the highest rated brews *in the world* labeled Darkness.
Even the snooty and highbrow beeradvocate.com has 6 American brews in their top 10 all-time best brews…
http://beeradvocate.com/top_beers
Bottom line is if you think a good brew is hard to find in the US you are probably just lazy and really don’t have any idea what constitutes a good brew in the first place.
@Wow: It really depends on where you live. I have to say though that in the past year I have seen a massive increase in decent beer available in liquor stores.
And restaurants are holding more and more decent beers. However, bars are still dominated by the rat’s piss varieties of Bud, Coors, Miller etc.
So, it’s undeniably getting better, but still some way to go.
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