# Why does American mass-produced beer suck so hard? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** beer\ **Created:** [December 21, 2008, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-american-mass-produced-beer-suck-so-hard/478166 "2008-12-21T06:06:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2008, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-american-mass-produced-beer-suck-so-hard/478166/81 "2008-12-27T21:04:49Z")
> [@Hunter\_Hawk](#): > > Come to think of it, _are_ there any notable Canadian microbrews? I’m quite fond of [this one](http://www.gib.ca/local-flavours.php), myself. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-american-mass-produced-beer-suck-so-hard/478166/82 "2008-12-28T04:24:45Z")
> [@Hunter\_Hawk](#): > > Come to think of it, _are_ there any notable Canadian microbrews? [Hermann’s Dark Lager](http://www.vanislandbrewery.com/index.php?pageid=2) from Vancouver Island Brewery. We visited Vancouver and Victoria Island some 15 years ago, and this ws very good. I wish I could get it where I am now. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-american-mass-produced-beer-suck-so-hard/478166/83 "2008-12-28T04:30:57Z")
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**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:** [December 28, 2008, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-american-mass-produced-beer-suck-so-hard/478166/84 "2008-12-28T05:06:26Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > A > I don’t care for most of the beers made by Sam Adams, but the regular Lager is very good. I’m a big fan of their Honey Porter as well. It seemed to have disappeared for awhile there, then showed up in their Brewmaster variety packs (or whatever they call it), and now they sell it again in normal six packs. It’s lighter in taste and body than most porters I drink, but it works as a session beer, which most of those porters I drink you really can’t do more than a couple of. Oh, which reminds me, their Black Lager is also very solid. And their Cream Stout is surprisingly good. Come to think of it, the only one of their beers I actively despise is their horrible, horrible cranberry lambic. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-american-mass-produced-beer-suck-so-hard/478166/85 "2008-12-28T16:31:56Z")
> [@Hunter\_Hawk](#): > > Come to think of it, _are_ there any notable Canadian microbrews? I’m not a beer drinker, so I don’t pay too much attention to the topic, but it seems that all of the well-regarded microbrews I’ve heard of are American. Do the Canadian ones just not get mentioned as much, are there fewer of them, or are they just not as good? (Or am I just not paying attention?) Plenty of opinion in this post, but for what it’s worth… There are plenty of terrific Canadian microbrews, but my WAG is that they’re either bought up by the big boys (starting a downhill slide in quality) or they are so successful that they are no longer micro (again, often with quality suffering in the process), or they simply have no interest in compromising their quality and growing outside their region (so nobody in the rest of the country or the world knows about them). To cite an example of the first/second sort, Creemore Spring Lager (dark lager, very reminiscent of Pilsner Urquell) was made in a small Ontario town by only a few people. It was available in Toronto and southern Ontario, but nowhere else–it was claimed “the stuff just didn’t travel.” Then Creemore was bought by, I believe, Molson; started brewing in earnest; and now, I’ve seen it in a few select places out here in Alberta. But it’s not the same Creemore I knew in Ontario; it tastes…different somehow. Remember, Canada is huge but has a small population (and thus an even smaller beer-drinking population who prefers micros over Molson/Labatt/Sleeman products), so you’ve got to be sure your beer will sell if you’re going to spend the money to ship it anywhere. It seems to me that many microbrewers don’t want to take the chance. So there are many examples of micros remaining micros, and remaining regional too, which is why you’ve probably never heard of them: Propellor (Nova Scotia), Quidi Vidi (Newfoundland), St-Ambroise/McAuslan (Quebec), Mill Street (Ontario), Fort Garry Brewing (Manitoba), Wild Rose (Alberta), Okanagan Spring (British Columbia)–these are just some examples I’ve sampled on my travels in Canada. Canadian micros are there, but you’re more likely to encounter them in Canada than you are in the US. Still, if you’re willing to make the trip, you can find them on tap in bars and by the bottle in stores. I think they’re definitely worth the trip. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Wash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9dc877/32.png) [@Wash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wash)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-american-mass-produced-beer-suck-so-hard/478166/86 "2008-12-28T17:53:15Z")
> [@Hunter\_Hawk](#): > > Come to think of it, _are_ there any notable Canadian microbrews? I’m not a beer drinker, so I don’t pay too much attention to the topic, but it seems that all of the well-regarded microbrews I’ve heard of are American. Do the Canadian ones just not get mentioned as much, are there fewer of them, or are they just not as good? (Or am I just not paying attention?) One you should be able to find quite easily in the States is [Unibroue](http://www.unibroue.com/index_eng.html). God, I love Unibroue. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-american-mass-produced-beer-suck-so-hard/478166.md?page=4)