Have you not visited a SDMB beer thread before? Haven’t you tired of the “American beers are barely beer” jokes and the Corona is “yellow water” and Heineken is “skunk piss” lines yet? There’s no faster way to identify the laziest and snobbiest SDMB posters than to start a beer thread.
I mean why would ANYONE want to drink a Budweiser?!?! Clearly this is the end of days, there can’t be anything redeeming about it and a purge is required!
OK, so you’re replying to this part of the OP
"While I realize we are all beer snobs and wouldn’t be caught dead quaffing any of these insults to the word “beer,”
Yeah, I was going to comment on that, too, especially given Guinness and Samuel Adams are in that list. I was confused because you said “you folks” and most of the posters seemed to actually be discussing unironically the merits of certain cheap macrobrews, and I didn’t see any snobbishness in there.
Also, I don’t see the “American beers are barely beers” mantra from any of the American posters. In fact, quite the opposite–it’s a celebration of American brewing in beer threads usually.
Juts because it’s not original doesn’t mean it’s not true. The big three, at least, of American macrobrews really are a piss poor product.
A factor no one’s really mentioned: the style of beer American brewers historically targeted wasn’t best calculated to satisfy your average modern beer connoisieur. Light pilseners/pale lagers are respected if they can sport a Czech or ancient German provenance, but when I hear your stereotypical beer expert getting all enthused, it’s about some porter or trippel bock or ale or the like. Lagers/pilseners, especially if not aggressively hoppy, are the equivalent of 1950s Anglo-American “cuisine” – they get the job done but no one’s going to call them subtle or outstanding.
See posts #2 and 4. In case no one caught it, that statement was sarcasm.
This is not specifically directed at you pulykamell.
I didn’t comment on it, because I gave the benefit of a doubt and figured I was missing something, but I did completely miss post #2. So, yes, I did miss something. 
Although I admit to being a beer snob (and a former, if mediocre, home brewer), I will admit to liking Budweser Chelada which is about as anti-snob as it gets.
I’m not going to argue this point too much. I’m not a fan of any of the Big 3 beers. (Although, the last time I had Coors, I found it better than Bud and Miller, so we disagree on that point.) But I do like certain American pale lagers that are only marginally better than the Big 3. So who am I to judge? At any rate, for what they do, they’re good at it. It’s not the type of beer I prefer, but they do make a clean tasting, consistent product.
No, they are not. They may not be products that you like but they are as good or better products than many microbrews. They are consistent, impeccably clean and extremely difficult to make relative to a simple Pale Ale. There’s a reason homebrewers can make passable Pale Ales, IPAs and Wheat Beers but it’s a rare few that can make a pale lager or pilsner that’s palatable.
Disliking a style of beer is fine. Comparing certain styles of beer is fine. Comparing versions of a given style is fine. Saying one style is “good” and one style is “bad” makes you into a snob or misinformed.
White long grain rice can be good and bad. Risotto can be good and bad. There’s nothing inherently better about risotto than white rice.
I don’t think that’s entirely fair. Yes, I do believe there is an American bias towards “bigger is better” (XTREME HOPS!!! XTREME MALT!!!) in beer enthusiast circles, but I do believe that it’s being tempered somewhat (for example, I can actually find mild ales or English-style ordinary bitters in the 3.5-4.0% ABV range at Goose Island Brewery, along with their more flavor-packed beers. This is a very good thing.) However, I don’t think the lager and pilsner styles of beers are respected just because they sport a Czech or German provenance. The better examples of Czech and German lagers pack quite a different flavor than the American macrobrew imitations of these styles. I mean, pick a generic German lager like Warsteiner–which is kind of the Budweiser of Germany–and try it next to an actual American Budweiser. The Bud tastes comparatively watered down.
That said, a lot of people prefer this–and it’s not just Americans.
It’s generally accepted in the homebrewing community that the brewers for the macro breweries are some of the most skilled out there, but it’s also generally thought that it’s a shame, because they could do so much more with their skills than brew what they do.
Brewing lagers is difficult. Brewing light lagers is even tougher. Brewing low-IBU light lagers with lots of adjuncts is freaking crazy tough, and those guys do it day in and day out, consistently for years on end. I mean, I can have a Budweiser today, and recognize the same beer that I had in college 20 years ago. That’s tough to do over that length of time, especially with that style of beer.
I personally wish that more US breweries would take up the challenge of brewing true-to-style Czech Pilseners and other European lagers. There’s just nothing like a Staropramen or Pilsner Urquell in Prague; they seem to get sharper even if you only go as far afield as Vienna, much less the US. I’d just about kill for a fresh Czech-style pilsner here… bottled, half-skunked PU just doesn’t do it.
I’m drinking a Deschutes Obsidian Stout as we speak. Cheers to Oregonian suds.
Indeed. It’s been said that homebrewing an American-macrobrew-style pale lager is a serious (if nigh-impossible) challenge, as the slightest imperfection will be evident in the final product. That said, I’m fine with that, as I would never have the interest to do so. It’s the quirky, somewhat unpredictable brews that are the most fun for homebrewers.
This is a loaded statement. You could have said that American style beers are milder flavored than Warsteiner. It’s actually a more accurate statement too, since with a 4.8% ABV compared to Budweiser’s 5.0% Warsteiner is slightly more watered down. The rice adjunct in Bud actually lowers the bitterness relative to it’s German cousin. I prefer this, but I suspect that the two products are equally good. The ripping hangover Warsteiner gives me notwithstanding.
US macrobrewers do make some outstanding beers of those styles. The Michelob label has a large variety of European styles that are all generally excellent and have medaled often in various competitions.
Guinness is out-done by many micro-brewed porters and stouts. That being said, if you’re drinking out, it’s not a certainty that the bar will have any stout. If they only have one, it’s a good bet that it’ll be Guinness.
Samuel Adams is the only other one on the list that I’d drink, but it isn’t very common in Canada, and it isn’t so much better than a lot of more readily available beers up here.
Find yourself a Yuengling if you can. It’s delicious and I prefer it to any of the Canadian standards and everything that Sam Adams puts out.
Oh, come on. You know “watered down” doesn’t literally mean less alcohol content, don’t you? I mean in terms of flavor. Yes, I know Warsteiner is lower alcohol than Budweiser. There are a lot of European brews that are lower in alcohol than Bud. Hell, Guinness is one of the lighter beers out there! (What is it, 4.2% or something like that?) The casual drinker wouldn’t call Guinness “watered down” in comparison to Bud though. Really, now.
I’ll happily try it out when I run across it - it’s the only one on that list that I’m sure I’ve never tried.
Right now, my favourite is the Mill Street Extra Special Bitter, which is only available in the 4L growlers from the brewpub in the Distillery district. Conner’s Best Bitter was fabulous, but they don’t make any Conner’s beers since Brick took them over and f&cked them up.
I’ve a favour to ask of you, Czarcasm - when you have a moment, I’d appreciate a list of any of the Oregon beers you’d recommend. Surely some of them must get into BC every now and then (not that I’ve finished sampling all the BC beers, either - still, climb every mountain and all that.)
Yuengling is solid. It’s better than any of the Canadian standards, yes. But better than “everything that Sam Adams puts out”? :dubious: Well, in the end, taste is subjective, so what could I say? I could say, in my opinion, not even close.
I find Yuengling to be on the same level as the new (old 60s) Schlitz formulation or Shiner Bock (yes, I realize I’m doing a little apples-to-oranges with the last one here, but Shiner is a local regional favorite like Yuengling, and I see some similarities to their fanbases.)
Living in Detroit, I buy Canadian beers. I used to drink the most popular American beer but I am not only older Budweiser.