Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I didn't say all micros hide imperfections with hops, but there are over 2,000 brewers in the US alone and I have had a lot of bad beers. In the US we do have a bit of an issue with balance, or maybe that is my issue, I like malt/hop balanced beers and we tend to lean hoppy. I do go for super hoppy at times, and i really like beers like Pliny the elder, zombie dust, etc. Although, about a year ago I think I hit a bit of a wall with IPAs. I was sitting at Falling Rock in Denver drinking a beer I had liked, but my friend stepped away and I was contemplating the beer and I realized that I needed to move away from IPAs.
Anyway, my main point is that there are a lot of poorly tasting beers that get a break because they are small. There are also beers that get a bad break because they are big. I try to drink and not think about the label, just whether I like the beer or not.
Brewers brew that type of beer that the people want. You can get superbly balanced beers from any number of European breweries. They've been doing balanced for centuries. I find it kind of boring. That's why I love American craft beer. There is some new coming at every turn.
My fridge is full of Stone, Green Flash, Avery, Bear Republic, Russian River, Ballast Point, Sierra Nevada and Dogfish Head. So as you can tell I prefer a hop forward beer for the most part. And while I've not tried all the offerings from Blue Moon or Leiny's I've yet to have one I've liked. One or two decent offerings does not a good brewer make. The one thing I can say is all the breweries I mentioned have 5 or 6 brews I'd rate at B+ or higher. But right now my favorite is Founders. I have yet to have one from them that is not stellar.
Again what beers do you think get lauded that you think shouldn't?
Brewers brew that type of beer that the people want. You can get superbly balanced beers from any number of European breweries. They've been doing balanced for centuries. I find it kind of boring. That's why I love American craft beer. There is some new coming at every turn.
My fridge is full of Stone, Green Flash, Avery, Bear Republic, Russian River, Ballast Point, Sierra Nevada and Dogfish Head. So as you can tell I prefer a hop forward beer for the most part. And while I've not tried all the offerings from Blue Moon or Leiny's I've yet to have one I've liked. One or two decent offerings does not a good brewer make. The one thing I can say is all the breweries I mentioned have 5 or 6 brews I'd rate at B+ or higher. But right now my favorite is Founders. I have yet to have one from them that is not stellar.
Again what beers do you think get lauded that you think shouldn't?
Oh, sorry, I completely missed that question. I enjoy all of the above breweries you mentioned, except Stone. ACtually I just picked up Sculpin from Ballast Point to try that one, I have heard good things about it.
I try not to disparage beer, because people get emotional when talking about beer, and I personally think most beer is good beer, for different people's tastes or different occassions. If someone says, "I like X beer, and I personally don't, I wouldn't say, "That's bad beer." I would ask why, "Oh, what do you like about it?" I personally don't like snobs of any food or drink because everyone has different tastes.
That said, I personally don't like, in no particular order or anything, just off the top of my head:
Flying Dog Brewery - I actually dumped a few of their beers out, I found what I tried very offputting. I have friends that like their beer, but I stopped trying after three different beers.
I don't understand the fascination with Dogfishhead 120, but I do like the 60 and 90 minute versions..I like many of their other beers
Sierra Nevada Porter was a disappointment to me when I first had it, I had heard great things about it
Oh, sorry, I completely missed that question. I enjoy all of the above breweries you mentioned, except Stone. ACtually I just picked up Sculpin from Ballast Point to try that one, I have heard good things about it.
I try not to disparage beer, because people get emotional when talking about beer, and I personally think most beer is good beer, for different people's tastes or different occassions. If someone says, "I like X beer, and I personally don't, I wouldn't say, "That's bad beer." I would ask why, "Oh, what do you like about it?" I personally don't like snobs of any food or drink because everyone has different tastes.
That said, I personally don't like, in no particular order or anything, just off the top of my head:
Flying Dog Brewery - I actually dumped a few of their beers out, I found what I tried very offputting. I have friends that like their beer, but I stopped trying after three different beers.
I don't understand the fascination with Dogfishhead 120, but I do like the 60 and 90 minute versions..I like many of their other beers
Sierra Nevada Porter was a disappointment to me when I first had it, I had heard great things about it
I would tend to agree with you on Flying Dog I don't go out of my way to drink their beers. Dogfish 120 is also one I'm not super crazy about. It's much better if it's aged a year or two though. I also tend to steer clear of Sierra Nevada's darker offerings. Try their Estate ale it's excellent and very well balanced.
Leinenkugels -The Vanilla Porter seasonal was awesome this winter, but the guy at the store I shop at says they are having a hard time keeping it on the shelf.
The local grocery stores are loaded w/ this, which I tried over the weekend since my bf picked some up.
Not bad, but not exactly great either. Tasted rather bland & weak. I definitely prefer higher alcohol content brews when it comes to fancy flavors.
I'd whine too if it dealt with my livelihood. Craft brewers are constantly kicked out of prime shelf space and big brewers use illegal tactics to push craft taps out and have bars put macro on. In Texas, the wholesaler's association or whatever they're called contributed to 2 bills that would benefit craft beer being "forgotten" in the state senate but passed in the house. They have the money to hire lawyers to argue against these bills that would help create jobs and a better business environment for craft brewers.
I have a bit of a problem with that list. It's one thing to exclude the giants like InBev, but some smaller breweries are caught up in the game.
Take August Shell. They're a small brewery and the second oldest family-owned brewery in America. It's not fair to call them not traditional when they use corn in their beer out of tradition.
Another is Narragansett, which like them or not are fairly create and are really a craft brewer.
Even Yuengling, which is probably the most controversial of these, is still a pretty small brewer that makes a better product than Bud. Yuengling is a macro beer, but their exclusion is a bit puzzling when you consider Sam Adam's inclusion. Sam Adam's is second in size of American-owned breweries to Yuengling (and they're pretty close). Sam Adams has a bigger distribution nextwork (available on the West Coast, for example) and advertises much more on TV. Sam Adam's product has also declined in recent years, which is something that most craft brewers will tell you in private, but won't say in public.
The big reason is politics and money. If the craft brewers association wanted to just be an organization representing the little guy, it would make sense. But they have to have Sam Adams. Boston Brewing was an important beer for creating awareness of craft beers. They were once the little guy (although wasn't everyone?). They've moved beyond that, but there are political reasons for honoring its place in history. But the main reason Sam Adams is included, is because they make most of the money for the organization. Without Sam Adams, the craft brewers would have less influence.
I guess what I'm saying is to not to lump some of the American breweries on this list with InBev and SabMillerCoors.
Actually, August Shell says it way better than I can:
Quote:
The question we have for the Brewers Association is why are we being punished for brewing with a locally grown ingredient, which started out of necessity, and has continued out of tradition? And why is it only bad to use adjuncts if you are brewing an American Lager, yet perfectly acceptable to use them in basically any Belgian style of beer, IPA’s or double IPA’s? The use of adjuncts in those styles is to lighten the beer, period. Labeling us as strictly an “adjunct brewer” as you so kindly have in your list of ‘Domestic, Non-Craft Brewers,’ is false. What you fail to give us credit for is that we also make a dozen traditional German-style beers that are all-malt and have never contained adjuncts. Yes, we brew our American Lager beers with a small portion of corn. This is the traditional way we’ve always brewed them, and the way we will continue to brew them. Have you looked at the price of corn lately? For us, it’s more expensive than malt. If we were so concerned about producing the cheapest beer possible, our American Lagers would be all malt! We brew them this way because that is the way we always have done it, not because it is cheaper. We put the same amount of pride and effort into producing our American Lagers as we do our line up of all-malt “specialty” beers, since we can’t dare call them “craft.” I know for a fact the same holds true for our friends at the Yuengling and Straub breweries. For you to say that the three oldest, family-owned breweries in America are “not traditional” is downright disrespectful, rude and quite frankly, embarrassing. If you want to keep us on your list of shame, then so be it. That is your decision. We will continue to pour our heart and soul into every drop of beer that we make in this small, independent, and traditional brewery. Just like every other craft brewery out there does, and just like we have done for over a century and a half. Shame on you.
The question we have for the Brewers Association is why are we being punished for brewing with a locally grown ingredient, which started out of necessity, and has continued out of tradition? And why is it only bad to use adjuncts if you are brewing an American Lager, yet perfectly acceptable to use them in basically any Belgian style of beer, IPA’s or double IPA’s? The use of adjuncts in those styles is to lighten the beer, period. Labeling us as strictly an “adjunct brewer” as you so kindly have in your list of ‘Domestic, Non-Craft Brewers,’ is false.
Agreed. One of the fascinating facts about brewing history is that when Anheiser-Busch developed the original recipe for Budweiser, with corn and rice "adjuncts" replacing part of the barley in the mashbill, they were both more expensive than barley, and were incorporated to counteract the cloudiness that you get with high-protein American six-row barley. That's why it was tagged "The King of Beer" because it was more expensive to make.
Traditional European two-row barley doesn't have the same cloudiness problem, because it's much lower protein. But the six-row is the dominant variety grown in the US, so something had to be done.
Personally I'm averse to InBev/A-B beers today, but I'd really be interested to get a taste of an original recipe Budweiser from its heyday. I wouldn't be surprised if they were a LOT more drinkable back then. And Michelob was considered a premium brand! How things have changed.
I'd really be interested to get a taste of an original recipe Budweiser from its heyday. I wouldn't be surprised if they were a LOT more drinkable back then. And Michelob was considered a premium brand! How things have changed.
You're probably right about the Budweiser. And wasn't Miller once touted as "the champagne of beers"?
As for Michelob ... I've killed a lot of brain cells since weekends were made for it.
You're probably right about the Budweiser. And wasn't Miller once touted as "the champagne of beers"?
That would be the Miller High Life. It's Miller's longest running beer (from 1903). The slogan was originally "The Champagne of Bottled Beers." This was a reference to its bubbliness, not its quality.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
