# real beer **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 1, 2004, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-beer/231854 "2004-03-01T04:03:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2004, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-beer/231854/21 "2004-03-01T05:59:46Z")
I was under the impression that Beck’s was an Anheuser product brewed _to taste like_ a German beer. It’s really German then? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2004, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-beer/231854/22 "2004-03-01T06:00:06Z")
> [@crass33](#): > > well, i guess i’m glad i asked this stupid question. Now i have to find that Sam Adams beer. From what I’ve heard about this beer, it’s actually more like a liqueur, syrupy, and not meant to be consumed by the pint. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2004, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-beer/231854/23 "2004-03-01T06:07:32Z")
> [@dutchboy208](#): > > I was under the impression that Beck’s was an Anheuser product brewed _to taste like_ a German beer. It’s really German then? Yes it is. From Bremen, in fact. It is quite popular in that part of Germany, but as far as I know, Warsteiner is the most popular beer in Germany. ---
**Author:** ![Chak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@Chak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chak)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2004, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-beer/231854/24 "2004-03-01T12:47:21Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Whether it’s exactly the same, I can’t tell you. The alcoholic content, though, should be about the same. Export Becks should be around 5% by volume. From what I remember, the bottled stuff in Germany actually tastes a lot like what you get in America. If you want to try German beers, I’d stay away from Beck’s. Try Spaten, Hacker Pschorr, Paulaner, Munchener Kindl Hefeweizen, etc. You’ll get up to 7.5% alcoholic content on those, but, still, they will generally be in the 5-7% range. You are sounding like a bavarian. Stay away with these yucky south german brands. ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2004, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-beer/231854/25 "2004-03-01T12:53:14Z")
Yes, I must also vouch for the fact that Beck’s is German. It was my exchange student’s favorite beer, and he was ecstatic when we found some imported Becks. ---
**Author:** ![gouda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c77e96/32.png) [@gouda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gouda)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2004, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-beer/231854/26 "2004-03-01T12:59:49Z")
Them south german brands are the best! OTOH, maybe it was the whole experience of the biergarten… up in Hamburg, they weren’t half as fun 🙂 I was told by a German friend that Heineken was brewed in England and the Czech Republic too, and that the Czech brew was the only one worth drinking. Is that true? ---
**Author:** ![kellner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c2a13f/32.png) [@kellner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kellner)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2004, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-beer/231854/27 "2004-03-01T13:37:36Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Yes it is. From Bremen, in fact. It is quite popular in that part of Germany, but as far as I know, Warsteiner is the most popular beer in Germany. By quantity that seems likely, but keep in mind that this doesn’t say anything about quality. Warsteiner is certainly not a quality brand, not even compared to other nationwide breweries. Beck’s is a bit controversial (my opinion: it’s an abomination) but it has a community of fans. What was special about them is that they were one of the very early breweries that exported aggressively. That’s why you can buy them all over the world. In the “Purity Law” system a very important factor is freshness because preserving agents are banned. So locally brewed beer has a certain advantage over nationwide bottled beer that maybe spent weeks on its way to the customer. Therefore local (but non-micro) breweries play a very important part in the business. > [@pulykamell](#): > > Try Spaten, Hacker Pschorr, Paulaner, Munchener Kindl Hefeweizen, etc. > [@Chak](#): > > You are sounding like a bavarian. Stay away with these yucky south german brands. Looks like you, **pulykamell** , prefer top-fermented beers (e.g. ale in America.) That’s a matter of quasi-religios debate, and has only little to do with the south. ---
**Author:** ![keithnmick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90db22/32.png) [@keithnmick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/keithnmick)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2004, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-beer/231854/28 "2004-03-01T13:43:17Z")
As I understand it, beer that is imported into the US has to be pasteurized by law, whereas local beer or foreign beer sold locally (eg Gereman beer in Germany) does not. This can change the taste. ---
**Author:** ![Chak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@Chak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chak)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2004, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-beer/231854/29 "2004-03-01T14:04:18Z")
[QUOTE=kellner] By quantity that seems likely, but keep in mind that this doesn’t say anything about quality. Warsteiner is certainly not a quality brand, not even compared to other nationwide breweries. Beck’s is a bit controversial (my opinion: it’s an abomination) but it has a community of fans. [QUOTE] I don’t know where you come from but here in northern Germany Warsteiner is considered to be one of the nationwide quality brands. Otherwise it would be hard to explain why it is more expensive than Beck’s for example. ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2004, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-beer/231854/30 "2004-03-01T15:59:20Z")
Now that that question’s been answered, can someone tell me how to find real _ale_ in the US? I’d give my right arm for a [Wetherspoon](http://www.jdwetherspoon.co.uk/) around here. (I’d give my left arm too, but then I’d have to drink my ale through a straw!) ---
**Author:** ![LemonThrower](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@LemonThrower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LemonThrower)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2004, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-beer/231854/31 "2004-03-01T19:04:30Z")
First, to dispel some misinformation, most beer regardless of where it is brewed has 6% or less alcohol. Much more than that and it doesn’t taste like what most people think of as beer. Next, the question. In the U.S., we had prohibition in the 20’s and 30’s. Our federal constittuion was amended to allow alcohol, but technically all this did was leave alcohol to be regulated by each state. As a result, there is a patchwork of laws. Worse, many of these are protectionist and designed to protect special industries. In Georgia, for example, it is illegal to sell beer that is greater than 6% alcohol. This is the case in some other states. In some states, beear in excess of a specified level, often 6%, has to be labeled “malt liquor” which many Americans don’t realize is beer. Most beers with this label are marketed to poor people. Even if a real German beer has less than 6% alcohol, it faces 3 other challenges. First, you need to apply to each state to sell it. The states tax it and therefore have very specific regulations to ensure untaxed beer is not sold. You have to preapply for labeling, size of container, and other matters. Next, you need a distributor. In most states, you cant be the brewer and the distributor. Finally, you have to decide that all this is worth the hassle and the investment. For many small brands in Germany, its not. Additionally, beer is perishable and you would probably want to set up manufacturing here. I don’t defend this system, but I understand why many German brewers do not want to try to penetrate it. The distributorship system is required by law in many or most states. Originally it was a mechanism to ensure collection of the tax. These days, it protects established players, and the alcohol industry in each state are among the most generous to state politicians. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2004, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-beer/231854/32 "2004-03-01T20:07:04Z")
> [@kellner](#): > > Looks like you, **pulykamell** , prefer top-fermented beers (e.g. ale in America.) That’s a matter of quasi-religios debate, and has only little to do with the south. While this is true (I do prefer top-fermented beers usually), Spaten, Hacker Pschorr and Paulaner all produce popular bottom-fermented lagers, as well. (And for Spaten, I was specifically talking about the lager.) Last time I was in Germany, I remember seeing a map of where wheat beers were popular. Most of the market was concentrated in Bavaria (of course, where they’re mostly brewed), and there were patches in the north (Hamburg comes to mind) where less than 5% of beer sales were what beers, as opposed to fifty or more percent in the south. As for Beck’s, I think of it as the (American) Budweiser of Germany. ---
**Author:** ![LordVor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90ced4/32.png) [@LordVor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LordVor)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2004, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-beer/231854/33 "2004-03-01T20:53:34Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > From what I’ve heard about this beer, it’s actually more like a liqueur, syrupy, and not meant to be consumed by the pint. While I haven’t tried this one, I did try the tripple-bock when it first came out. The phrase “spiked maple syrup” was burned into my mind. Just awful, you couldn’t drink more than a shot or two of it at one sitting. -lv ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2004, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-beer/231854/34 "2004-03-01T21:34:34Z")
> [@Alan Smithee](#): > > Now that that question’s been answered, can someone tell me how to find real _ale_ in the US? I’d give my right arm for a [Wetherspoon](http://www.jdwetherspoon.co.uk/) around here. (I’d give my left arm too, but then I’d have to drink my ale through a straw!) If you’re in Houston/Dallas/Austin, you can probably get St. Arnold Cask conditioned Ale- from a hand-pump and everything, just like in the UK. Good stuff- very similar, except for the US ingredients. I’m pretty sure CAMRA would approve of it. (had lots of CAMRA-approved beer this past summer in the UK, and St. Arnold’s Cask conditioned is right up there) ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2004, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-beer/231854/35 "2004-03-01T23:43:09Z")
Cripes, _24%_ alcohol content by volume? That’s more than sherry, isn’t it? I mean, is that beer anymore? When do you start calling it a malt liquor, anyway? Actually, now that I think about it, malt liquor may be brewed differently, and hence not be determined by alcohol content alone. But still, that’s an insane amount of booze per beer. What would it taste like? ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2004, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-beer/231854/36 "2004-03-01T23:49:21Z")
> [@crass33](#): > > well, i guess i’m glad i asked this stupid question. Now i have to find that Sam Adams beer. If you’ve gone to a bar in the US then I’d be shocked if you haven’t encountered it. It’s not exactly a secret beer. Another one you should try is Pete’s Wicked Ale. Very tasty. ---
**Author:** ![mr\_moonlight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9f8e36/32.png) [@mr\_moonlight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr_moonlight)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2004, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-beer/231854/37 "2004-03-01T23:51:45Z")
I once tasted Samuel Adams Millenium ale, which was 20% alcohol by volume. It was not syrupy, like Triple Bock. It was pale, and the taste and aroma were reminiscent of port wine. And I’m pretty sure that imported beer does not **have** to be pasteurized, as many homebrewers culture the yeast sediment at the bottom of the bottles, especially those from Belgium. Most exporters probably do pasteurize though for a more stable product. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2004, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-beer/231854/38 "2004-03-02T00:43:45Z")
> [@gouda](#): > > Them south german brands are the best! > > OTOH, maybe it was the whole experience of the biergarten… up in Hamburg, they weren’t half as fun 🙂 > > I was told by a German friend that Heineken was brewed in England and the Czech Republic too, and that the Czech brew was the only one worth drinking. Is that true? Heineken is Dutch, not German… They actually have a few dozen breweries worldwide, but according to them “every effort is taken to ensure that the ingredients used in the brewing process are identical at all Heineken sites”. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2004, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-beer/231854/39 "2004-03-02T00:45:01Z")
> [@Neurotik](#): > > If you’ve gone to a bar in the US then I’d be shocked if you haven’t encountered it. It’s not exactly a secret beer. > > Another one you should try is Pete’s Wicked Ale. Very tasty. He’s actually referring to the Triple Bock, which is a bit hard to come by. At least I’ve never seen it in bars. **Mr Moonlight** – lucky you on that Millennium Ale. That’s $200 a bottle, and only 3000 bottles exist(ed). ---
**Author:** ![mr\_moonlight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9f8e36/32.png) [@mr\_moonlight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr_moonlight)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2004, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-beer/231854/40 "2004-03-02T03:51:59Z")
**pulykamell** wrote: > [@](#): > > Mr Moonlight – lucky you on that Millennium Ale. That’s $200 a bottle, and only 3000 bottles exist(ed). Yes, very lucky. A friend of a friend worked at the brewery where it was contract brewed, and he pulled a big sample directly off of the tank for his brewer friends. I drank it out of a mason jar. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-beer/231854.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-beer/231854.md?page=3)