Sounds to me like you went to The Irish Lion. Pulykamell explained the US -vs- Imperial pint far better than I ever could. Just on the off chance, did you maybe order your beer in a half-yard glass rather than in a standard pint glass? You might remember seeing the tall, fluted glasses that were perched in wooden holders behind the bar. They came in yard and half-yard sizes. I think that the half-yard glasses hold 32 US fluid ounces.
I don’t think it’s fair to say American beer taste like ass and then say you drink it with no apologies.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and suggest that you wouldn’t actually drink an ass.
There’s something you like in American beer, and it’s probably not just the price. Say it loud and fuck 'em all.
I drink shitloads of Bud. I like Bud. Occassionally, I like having a carbonated, cold, familiar beer. I got a 30 pack of it for Christmas, and it was gone the first week in January. Granted, there was a lot of football on in that time span, but still.
Most of the time, I make my way through microbrews old and new. I’ve drank a ton of Otter Creek and Wolavers this past year. I drink a ton of Dogfish Head, lots of Clipper City. I think those are all well-crafted, well-balanced, tasty beers.
Sometimes warm, sometimes cold.
But, for all the stance-taking in this thead, there’s not a lot of critical thought in relation to the beer drinking experience. Take Guinness (please, don’t!). I’m sure we’ve all had it cold and all had it somewhat warm. Personally, I hardly see enough of a difference in the experience to justify breaking out the ice cubes or the microwave oven.
Even if you DO see a huge difference, is it big enough that you’ll only drink your 56 degree Guinness in a 56 degree room and use a silicone oven mitt to pick up your Guinness in a thermos to ensure it stays there?
Usually, the temperature of the beer is dependent on how long it takes me to drink it. I’ll spend an hour on a good 12 ounce stout. It might come out of the fridge at 40, but by the time I’ve had my hand around it in a 72 degree room for an hour, it’s probably closer to 65.
Vivè la difference, says I.
I drink too much beer in too many situations to worry too much about it’s temperature.
In Thailand – not really in Bangkok, but upcountry – it’s not uncommon to be served a beer WITH ice IN it. They don’t even refrigerate the beer. They COULD, and you KNOW they could, because they have ICE. To put IN the lukewarm beer.
On the plus side, I’ve noticed this going by the wayside more and more in recent years.
I hear what you’re saying, Trunk, but you also have to consider that a bar/pub/restaurant is responsible for serving whatever it is at the temperature is is meant to be consumed at. If a restaurant brought me a warm bottle of Dom Perignon, I’d send it back and never frequent the establishment again. Ditto any place that serves me an ice cold Guinness delivered to my hands within 2 minutes of my ordering it. YMMV.
Singha Beer rules! But not the stuff they export.
That’s what everyone says about their exported beer everywhere.
Like as if they’re testing the batches, finding the bad ones, and shipping them to America.
AMEN.
It’s getting hard to find around here, though. I’ve heard they’ve stopped importing it, which would make me very, very sad.
I always let my widget cans of Beamish warm up before I pour them, but I’ll drink Bud straight from the fridge.
In my fridge right now: Bud cans and bottles, Beamish widget cans and a couple stray cans of Keystone/Natty Light left over from making brats.
That’s Molson’s. The Singha they sell in Hawaii really does taste different from what you find here. Singha is 6% alcohol content, and I understand that’s too high for US regulations, so they have to reduce it. Sounds iffy, so I don’t insist it’s true, but that’s the word.
Of course, once again, the Thai food may have scorched my taste buds away.
There would be no problem with a 6% ABV beer in the States, as I’ve consumed some as high as 24% ABV.
I definitely think that temperature has a big impact on flavor–but that just depends on whether or not your drinking your beer for taste, or just to get loaded.
I keep all of my beer in my cellar at around 55-60 degrees. Ales, Lagers, Lambics and the such go in the fridge before I drink them, but I will usually just crack the Stouts, Porters, and Barleywines open right out of the cellar.
Of course, I’m pretty fanatical when it comes to beer.
Which?
I’ve tried Dogfish Head’s World Wide Stout, which was an experience at about 18%.
And agreed that there is no law forbidding high alcohol content beers in the US. There are blue laws forbidding sale of any beverage over X% on Sundays, but I think the cutoff is usually somewhere around 12%-15%, so the vast majority of beers will not run afoul of the limit.
Not necessarily; some states do have limits on maximum %ABV for beers (Georgia, Alabama, New Hampshire, Ohio and North Carolina to name a few.)
Then I stand corrected, but it’s a State’s Rights issue, not the country as a whole.
Dogfish Head 120 minute IPA weighs in at 20% ABV. Sam Adams Utopias MMII rates at 24%. The main problem with brewing beer at high ABVs is that you need a rather strong strain of yeast. Most typical brewing yeast dies off rapidly once you hit, oh, about 8-10% ABV. For the stronger brews, like barleywines, brewers will often use champagne yeasts and other yeasts that can handle fermenting out to about 12% or so. For something as high as 20%, though, you need some seriously strong strains.
Try as I might (which is really not much more than going to the Dogfish restaurant once or twice per year and giving a look when I’m in a liquor store with a decent micro section once every week or two), I’ve not been able to find the 120 IPA. Looking at their site and beeradvocate.com, it looks like the Raison D’Extra comes in at about 20%ABV too.
Some of the state laws require any beer over a certain % to be labeled “malt liquor.” That may be where some of the confusion is coming from.
I am insulted by the advertisements’ implication!
ByeByeDUI
Minnesota DWI Defense
Westchester DWI Defense
Getting back to the OP, I have to say that an ice cold beer (of almost any type) after a summer day’s worth of backpacking is truly the nectar of the gods.
I’d be willing to ship you some (you can find both Raison and the 120 around here) in a sort of beer-exchange program, but I’m going away tomorrow for a month. However, if you’re interested sometime, message me or email me.
I’ve seen the Raison D’Extra in store, but haven’t tried it*. I’m sure I’ll come across the 120 at some time or another. The offer is certainly appreciated, though.
*When I had just turned 21, and wanted to learn to appreciate good beer, having had virtually no experience at all, the Raison D’Etre looked interesting. To my unaccustomed palate, I got nothing but green raisins, and hated it. Incidentally, to bring this epic digression back to the thread, it’s probably because I tried to drink the beer at the wrong temperature, first too warm (I really wanted to try that first one as soon as I brought them home), and then too cold (stuck the rest in the fridge). After a few years of trying a variety of other beers and learning to enjoy the subtler flavors, I gave it another try a few weeks ago. The nectar of the gods. I’m going to have to give D’Extra a try now, see how the kicked up flavor compares.
No, the “you should try it in Ireland” comment still holds truth, even for those of us on the other side of the Irish Sea. The Guinness that is sold in England is also brewed in England, and for whatever reason, just isn’t the same. I expect it’s something to do with the water used, as I’m sure both breweries have access to the same hops, barley, etc.
As for your problem with it tasting burnt in America, in my (limited) experience, beer, and Guinness in particular, just doesn’t travel well. With the black stuff as the example, it’s wonderful in Ireland, decent in France (the nearest country that imports from Ireland), blah in Spain and godawful in America. Beeradvocate.com loves the Ayinger Celebrator. If only the majority of their users could try it in Germany, it’d blow their socks off…
Only Mostly Dead, if you’re ever in Dallas, try Trinity Hall Pub at Mockingbird Station. I know for a fact they have the 120 Minute, and boy is it good!
As to the OP, yes we English have definitely known beer shouldn’t be served ice cold for a good while. We didn’t let Americans know about this though, because they only ship us their crappy “beers” instead of the Dogfish Heads, Averys, Anchors and Stones. Christ, we’d have been happy enough to not call American beer piss if you’d just sent Shiner! 