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...I would add that American Beer follows American Taste. Since you're focussed on British styles, the British style of cooking is famously bland, and boiled and "pale" in flavor....
I suspect here you're appealing to an outdated stereotype of English (not British) food. I don't think anyone ever calls Welsh or Scottish food bland, do they?
Fair's fair....have you been to the UK in the last 20-40 yrs? They have some amazing food. They were doing "Fusion" "Slow food" and "Locally Sourced" decades before we discovered it here. When i moved here in the 70's I was a manager for Courage brewery at one of their gastro pubs in Hampshire. We had trout from the local stream, Dover Sole from the channel, dairy for the local farm a mile away, vegetables from local farms 1/4 mile away. It was simple, clean, uncomplicated and amazing. The crappy brit food that visitors try and think is typical brit food is no different than over here us eating at some hole in the wall or cheap chain restaurant.
That sounds delicious. I want to go there, and wash it down with some cask aged, gravity served pints from a local pub.
No, that's not my complaint. My complaint is: (1) the US beer scene isn't as good as it thinks it is; (2) in particular, there are things that European beers excel at that are not found as much in the US. To some extent I was complaining that it's not really very innovative at all, any more than me adding a load of extra spice to a curry is innovative.
I think there's a danger of home bias, here: compare the local stuff with what gets imported from Europe, which may not be the best. Mentions of Newcastle and Smithwick's are a flag for that. Newkie brown is widely regarded as a cheap and inoffensive brown ale, and Smithwick's as a slightly better but still lower-end beer. Almost by definition, the best UK stuff (mostly cask ales) cannot be transported across the Atlantic. Newkie brown is no more a top UK beer than Sam Adams is a top US one.
I am *not* saying that all American microbrew beer is bad. I particularly enjoy some of the Rye ales that get produced here. I'm not slamming the whole scene; that would be ignorant. But it's just as ignorant to act as if it is clearly leading some kind of renaissance, with everyone else trailing.
I think we agree more than we disagree. I was just getting a little defensive about some of the comments made. :-)
Ironically (and not trying to call you out, just having a discussion), IPA's are basically a result of exactly what is bolded, aren't they? I mean I thought the whole reason for IPA's (India Pale Ales) was that they were more aggressively hopped for the preservative effect, and so English Beers could be enjoyed in the (then) British Colony of India.
Mostly, it's all taste though. I agree we serve up some crap here, and some really good stuff. It seems to serve better to seek what we like, and enjoy. :-)
Ironically (and not trying to call you out, just having a discussion), IPA's are basically a result of exactly what is bolded, aren't they? I mean I thought the whole reason for IPA's (India Pale Ales) was that they were more aggressively hopped for the preservative effect, and so English Beers could be enjoyed in the (then) British Colony of India.
I mean I thought the whole reason for IPA's (India Pale Ales) was that they were more aggressively hopped for the preservative effect, and so English Beers could be enjoyed in the (then) British Colony of India.
No...and yes. Other beers can and did do well being shipped into India....and the style of an highly-hopped ale was made long before British colonial rule in India......
However, the style of a highly hopped ale was very popular amoung the officers and middle-class government officials stationed in India from the British empire. Many find the citrusy notes of the hopes to be refreshing in warm weather.....so it just made sense for brewers that were shipping beer there to send what was popular....and that was beers in the Pale Ale and later India Pale Ale style.
So no, IPAs were not created to be able to send beers to India...but being shipped to India did contribute to how the style has developed.
Last edited by ScarletG; 03-08-2014 at 03:34 PM..
Reason: typo
However, the style of a highly hopped ale was very popular amoung the officers and middle-class government officials stationed in India from the British empire. Many find the citrusy notes of the hopes to be refreshing in warm weather.....so it just made sense for brewers that were shipping beer there to send what was popular....and that was beers in the Pale Ale and later India Pale Ale style..
Beers brewed in England in the 18th century most probably used some early form of Goldings hop, which are usually described as "mildly spicy". Definitely not "citrusy" like the current crop of American hops like Citra, Cascade, Sorachi Ace, etc that have been developed in the last few decades.
To bring this back to the original topic (!), I did find some Harp Beer in my local Total Wine store. I remember someone on this thread of another website mentioning that it was actually made in Canada. The packaging says "Irish Recipe", but made in Canada. I hope it will be well received by the people I am going to see.
Now you'all can get back to discussing, well, whatever it was that you were discussing.
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