People often mistakenly refer to Anchor Beer as “Anchor Steam.” The name of the company is “Anchor Brewing Company,” and among the beers they make is their version of a traditional style of beer known as “steam-beer.” Anchor makes other varieties of beer than steam-beer, and many other breweries make versions of steam-beer as well.
American beer does suck, unless one is also referring to microbrews. The best American microbrews are as good as any beers in the world. The Pacific Northwest in particular is full of great microbrews.
Come to my neck of the woods and try Ipswich Ale. Especially their stout.
Harpoon is good too. So’s Sam Adams.
There’s a microbrew from Vermont… What’s it called? The Long Trail? Good stuff.
I tried Pete’s Wicked (a sampler sixpack) and wasn’t impressed.
Microbrewery brands offer the only way to get a decent beer in the USA, though; I’ll grant you that. I’m lucky that my two favorite liquor stores both carry an excellent range of micros.
Budweiser is, in fact, the highest quality beer in America. “What?” you ask; “How can that be? Everyone knows that Bud is watered down, made from cheap ingredients, and just plain tastes awful.”
Bullshit. Budweiser tastes that way because that’s the way August Busch meant it to taste – a light pilsner for American palates. Even in 18-whatever, they recognized that Americans, by and large, don’t like heavy beers; they like light-flavored beer that can be quaffed by the six-pack. Budweiser goes to extraordinary (and expensive) lengths to assure that every batch is exactly the same as the last, that it’s never skunky, that it’s never off, that it’s just what the customers want.
If Budweiser weren’t so popular, if the operation that makes it weren’t the largest and most efficient in the world, Bud would be the most expensive beer in the world – because of their elaborate quality control measures. If Anheuser-Busch could sell a Sam Adams type beer in the same volume as Budweiser, they’d do it – and it would be as cheap as Budweiser. But the millions who drink Bud don’t LIKE Sam Adams or Bass or Guinness, so the economy of scale doesn’t work for those brands.
Don’t be fooled. Hand-crafting is an inherently flawed way of making beer, and only the small, yet wealthy, market for those beers allows such an approach. Jim Koch can call Sam Adams “a small, handcrafted beer” all he wants, but it’s mass-produced by Stroh’s Brewery, using pretty much the same measures as Anheuser-Busch uses for Bud.
I don’t like Bud either, frankly, but I don’t delude myself that my taste for stouts makes me one of the friggin’ illuminati, either.
If you so dislike the beers that are available, why don’t you start brewing your own? Some of the best beers I have ever tasted were my own (although that is rare to achieve).
Brew what you like. Or buy better beer. You are never going to change what you don’t like about these “American beers”.
Strohs doesn’t exist anymore. It merged with Heileman, who was bought out by Pabst, who went under and was bought out by Miller. Though it may say “Pabst Brewing” or “Strohs Brewing” on the cans, it’s all made by Miller! This is one of the main problems in American beer today. All the major brewers were wittled down to just 2 or 3, corners were cut, ingredients and formulas changed. Does anyone remember when Schlitz was actually a great tasting beer? Believe it or not, I do!
And this all ties into my main rant about the “Standard American Beer”. It sucks.
I defy anyone to tell me that any of the top 10 selling American beers are worth a crap. While I like many of the micro brews you guys have mentioned, a guy shouldn’t have to shell out a wad of cash for 6 lousy bottles of some specialty brew. The majors need to put out something worth drinking, at a price worth paying.
It’s malty fermented water, it shouldn’t cost more than a fluid that was drilled up out of the ground 12,000 miles away and shipped here on a boat. I want to be able to walk into the corner market and buy a 12 pack of beer, for less than $10, and have it have at least some taste to it. Is this a sick fantasy or what?
Heres another rant, maybe someone will agree with: have you noticed that beer isn’t bitter any more? I’m talking regular, mainstream beer. I know I’m getting old[er], but beer used to at least be a little bitter. Did they stop using hops and barley all together or what? People have been so fucked up by the light beer perversion that the mear mention of bitter beer makes some people cringe. Christ Almighty!
You think the beer here in Milwaukee stinks? Maybe that’s why they won’t sell it to guys my age. To protect us from it!
So, the CEO’s of 4 major brewing company go out to lunch together. The President of Coors orders a Coors lite, The president of Miller orders an MGD light, and the president of Anheuser-Busch orders a Bud Light. But the President of Guinness orders a diet soda. Confused, the other big wigs ask him why he didn’t order a Guinness stout. “Well”,he said, “I figured if none of you were going to drink beer, neither would I”
I don’t drink and don’t have a lot of friends who drink, so I am not sure what is “normal” when it comes to beer consumption. (Don’t ask me why I clicked on a beer thread—it’s a mystery to me too.) So, is this typical?
And I don’t mean to imply any criticism, but I am truly ignorant of how many beers are usually consumed daily by beer enthusiasts, and I guess I’ve always been a little curious about it.
$8.99 per six-pack sounds like a bargain to me! In Ireland for a half-decent six-pack we’re looking at about €14.00 for Heineken, Becks, or Guinness, which is roughly 14 bucks. Anything cheaper and you’re drinking chemical brewed instant-hangover juice. I second Sam Adams and Sierra Nevada products. They’re lovely, especially the IPA. But beer is like wine: it’s worth paying to get something decent. The more people who buy the better stuff, the lower the price will go, too.
Sadly, the reason the crappy beer is cheap is because, well, it’s crappy. They use corn syrup and all that other junk in it because of price, not just because they’re aiming for that watery taste.
Unfortunately, home brewing won’t always steer you better - at this point I’m thinking my last batch of ale has turned out questionable. The flavor isn’t bad but somehow I think I messed up the carbonation of all things, sigh. At least you know who to blame when homebrew goes amiss.
Well, if the going rate for palatable beer where pkbites lives is $9 for a six-pack, I think he does have something to complain about. Around here you can usually get a decent microbrew for $5.99 if you shop around and buy whatever’s on special. (Interestingly, it’s easier to find discounts on good beer at the co-op or the Whole Foods rather than the regular supermarket, although their prices on staples are higher. Perhaps you just need to go to different stores?)
After living in Europe for eight years, I thought I’d never drink American beer again (Prague practically ruined me for anything else). When I first came back to the U.S., my first beer was a Bud, which nearly made me gag. Most of it truly is pisswater, and let’s not even get started on those ghastly “lite” beers. Then I moved back to Anchorage and was pleasantly surprised to find that microbreweries had sprung up everywhere and that they make gasp Euro-style brews! Very nice, very drinkable, and everything from dark ale to hafweisen.
All this and not one mention of the greatest american beer? Bell’s Oberon. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to find outside the Midwest(don’t know if they have it in Milwaukee, it’s made in Kalamazoo), and even here, they only make it in the summer.
Well hell, why have I been flushing the toity? If I believe all of you I should just bottle my piss and sell it to America!
Folks, Augie Busch and family are gazillionaires because they sell the shit outta that stuff. Some of you may have evolved into connoisseurs of fermented barley but the rest of the working class still enjoys a schlug of Bud/Miller/Horsey wee wee.
I think PK just got himself into a position where he either has to buck-up or slow down. My guess is he goes deeper into the pocket.
I got the same problem with Gin. I don’t know what Gilbey’s is but that stuff ain’t Gin. My martini’s are Bombay Blue Saphire or I just don’t drink.
There is one beer made in Milwaukee that I consider world class: SPRECHER..
They’re sold in 4 packs and I’ve seen them range in price from $5.99 to as high as $7.99. 8 bucks for 4 beers?:eek: C’mon!
I also think a few of you are missing one of my points: it seems (at least to me) that the cheaper beers are getting WORSE.
I think (and this is just a WAG) that without telling anyone some of the brewers are putting less and less hops & barley in their formulas, and putting even more corn in their beer. Corn!
That’s one step away from just pissing in the brew kettle if you ask me. Maybe the masses can’t taste it, but I can.
Well, pretty much your only alternative now is to start home-brewing. In Canuckian bucks (about $0.70US, iirc), gearing up will set you back about $100, and then a 46-pint batch (78 standard bottles) will run you $20-30 in ingredients, depending on style, for truly high-quality beer. You might be able to go even cheaper by skimping on hops and specialty grains, but then you’re sacrificing flavours. Then add about 2-3 hours of labour to brew (but much of that is waiting), and another hour to bottle. Granted, the occasional batch will go off, but that’s part of the fun
This is one of the main problems in American beer today. All the major brewers were wittled down to just 2 or 3, corners were cut, ingredients and formulas changed. Does anyone remember when Schlitz was actually a great tasting beer? Believe it or not, I do!
