# Why does the most popular beer in almost any country always suck? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** beer\ **Created:** [February 25, 2019, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-most-popular-beer-in-almost-any-country-always-suck/830163 "2019-02-25T04:53:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2019, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-most-popular-beer-in-almost-any-country-always-suck/830163/81 "2019-02-26T21:28:03Z")
Comparing beers and movies is stupid, anyway. While both beers and movies are made according to formulas, each movie is only made once, while beers need to be produced thousands, millions or billions of times. It’s comparing apples and Ethernet ports. Again, if a really good beer became incredibly popular, they’d have to start mass producing it, and it will no longer be really good. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2019, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-most-popular-beer-in-almost-any-country-always-suck/830163/82 "2019-02-26T23:34:39Z")
Here’s a new IPA for the beer gourmands. 😉 > **[This Virginia brewery is making a LUCKY CHARMS beer](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/food/article-6744469/Unique-beer-flavors-Smartmouth-brewery-Virginia-makes-Lucky-Charms-flavored-beer.html)** > > Smartmouth in Norfolk, Virginia is gearing up to debut a Lucky Charms-flavored beer called Saturday Morning IPA. It will be available on draft and by the can in Norfolk starting on March 2. Can’t be any worse than the Sam Adams IPA included in their seasonal variety packs. I barely managed to drink them without pouring it down the drain. The other beers in the Summer pack are pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2019, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-most-popular-beer-in-almost-any-country-always-suck/830163/83 "2019-02-26T23:43:54Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Again, if a really good beer became incredibly popular, they’d have to start mass producing it, and it will no longer be really good. That does not logically follow. Mass production can provide quality control lacking in small producers. ---
**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:** [February 27, 2019, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-most-popular-beer-in-almost-any-country-always-suck/830163/84 "2019-02-27T00:06:23Z")
> [@bump](#): > > There’s two things I’d like to add to the thread… > > First, I think the reason that most people here think that the cheap-assed European beer is better than the US beer is because they like hops more. I’m not entirely sure that’s true. I mean, it may be – but for me, the thing that distinguishes mass-market Euro beer from American beer is more the maltiness of the brew, rather than the hops. They’re both pretty low-hopped beers. But Euro lagers seem to have a bit more “chew” and grainy flavor to them. Like take a Polish Tyskie or Zywiec or German Bitburger or Warsteiner. All middle-of-the-road, but they seem to have a more malt-grain depth of flavor to them to me, rather than hops. I don’t find Euro beer particularly hoppy at all. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2019, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-most-popular-beer-in-almost-any-country-always-suck/830163/85 "2019-02-27T00:39:09Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > A list of the 20 most popular albums of all time is dominated by the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and the Eagles. Actually, in terms of sales, the Eagles are the only of those acts to have more than one album in the top 20, and Michael Jackson is the most dominant artist. Per Wikipedia; 1. _Thriller_, Michael Jackson 2. _Their Greatest Hits, 1971-1975_, the Eagles 3. _Back in Black_, AC/DC 4. _Dark Side of the Moon_, Pink Floyd 5. _The Bodyguard_, film soundtrack 6. _Bat Out of Hell_, Meat Loaf 7. _Hotel California_, the Eagles 8. _Saturday Night Fever_, film soundtrack 9. _Rumours_, Fleetwood Mac 10. _Come On Over_, Shania Twain 11. _Grease_, film soundtrack 12. _Untitled_ (aka Led Zeppelin IV), Led Zeppelin 13. _Bad_, Michael Jackson 14. _Jagged Little Pill_, Alanis Morrissette 15. _Falling Into You_, Celine Dion 16. _Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band_, the Beatles 17. _Dirty Dancing_, film soundtrack 18. _Dangerous_, Michael Jackson 19. _21_, Adele 20. _Let’s Talk About Love_, Celine Dion ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2019, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-most-popular-beer-in-almost-any-country-always-suck/830163/86 "2019-02-27T03:35:57Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > One person’s “flavorless and unchallenging” is another’s crispy, clean, and refreshing. As I said above, when I’m just having a burger or a pizza I don’t really want to be “challenged” by my friggin beer. Really, you’re just back to things I like are good, and things other people like are bad. Really, I can’t think of any more fitting definitions for good and bad than “things I like” and “things I don’t like”. We can certainly talk about the difficulty in making them, or the specific qualities of each, but neither of those things make it good if I don’t like it. Really, it doesn’t matter how hard it is to brew a clear lager (yes, it is hard) or to play the solo to “Beat it”(yep, hard), or the SFX in _Avatar_ were expensive/intensive to do. If I don’t like the end product, who cares? I don’t like them. If they aren’t pleasant to experience, “bad” is a pretty apt adjective. Hey, at least it’s not like in the fine arts, where folks will try to deny that it’s even art when it really is just art they don’t like. (Yeah, I’m probably summoning someone who’s gonna deny one of the above beers is even beer. So it goes.) ---
**Author:** ![sisu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@sisu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sisu)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2019, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-most-popular-beer-in-almost-any-country-always-suck/830163/87 "2019-02-27T04:12:14Z")
> [@Richard\_Pearse](#): > > I find it doubtful that they are copying an American beer. Which is not originally US anyways. Most people like a simple beer, not all are IPA wanker food snobs. I like my VB but also craft beers. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2019, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-most-popular-beer-in-almost-any-country-always-suck/830163/88 "2019-02-27T04:47:24Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Actually, in terms of sales, the Eagles are the only of those acts to have more than one album in the top 20, and Michael Jackson is the most dominant artist. > > Per Wikipedia; [Other sources](https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2018/08/20/100-best-selling-albums-2018/) put the Eagles first, and give the Beatles a couple of spots in the top 20. (This is however a US-based list.) But the exact order is irrelevant to my main point. No matter what source you choose, almost no one would agree that the top 20 consisted solely of dreck (unless you hate rock entirely). You might not think much of some, but there are many great artists and albums on the list. (Personally, I don’t particularly care for Jackson or the Eagles, but I would say they were crap.) ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2019, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-most-popular-beer-in-almost-any-country-always-suck/830163/89 "2019-02-27T04:49:48Z")
Beers are like Blowjobs. Even a bad one is still pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2019, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-most-popular-beer-in-almost-any-country-always-suck/830163/90 "2019-02-27T04:52:12Z")
> [@scabpicker](#): > > Really, I can’t think of any more fitting definitions for good and bad than “things I like” and “things I don’t like”. I don’t agree with that either. I recognize that some things I don’t like might be perfectly good; I just don’t like them personally. And I also like some things that are pure crap, but I like them anyway.😉 It’s those who say that because I don’t like it it must be objectively bad - or that anything a majority of people like must necessarily be mediocre - that I have an issue with. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2019, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-most-popular-beer-in-almost-any-country-always-suck/830163/91 "2019-02-27T05:32:35Z")
> [@bump](#): > > except in Bavaria, where the original lager yeasts developed. > > The biggest single driver of the weakening of mass-market US beer was World War II. Because a lot of men were in the armed forces, the brewers aimed toward the working women of the era, and started making the beer weaker. They noticed that even after the war, as they lowered the OG and hops, sales would increase. > > That’s how we went from a beer that was maybe 70% malt, 30% rice or corn, and brewed to an OG of about 1.052-ish with 30-40 IBU, all the way down to one that’s probably an OG of about 1.030, and probably around 12 IBU. In other words mass market US beer hasn’t always been this mild and weak. A generally excellent post, however the homebrewer in me has to clarify: 1. Lager Yeasts. In the late 1800s,[the head of the Carlsberg Brewing Laboratory](https://stkillian.com/beers/carlsberg/), Emil Christian Hansen, pioneered a ground-breaking method for propagating pure yeast. The resulting yeast, aptly named “Saccharomyces Carlsbergensis” would revolutionize the brewing industry. In fact, the yeast’s effect on the beer was so extraordinary that Carlsberg chose to share the yeast with the world by giving it away to other brewers for free. To this day, whenever and wherever you enjoy a lager, there’s probably a little Carlsberg in it. 2. One could argue that Prohibition was the biggest weakening of the US mass market for beer. 3. It’s not physically possible that an OG of 1030 can produce the Budweiser ABV of [5.0%](https://www.budweiser.com/en/our-beers.html). The formula is [ABV = (OG - FG) \* 131.25](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravity_(alcoholic_beverage)). For example, if 1.030 - 1.005 \* 131 = 3.275 (and I would be really surprised if Bud FG is below ~1.010). ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2019, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-most-popular-beer-in-almost-any-country-always-suck/830163/92 "2019-02-27T05:38:20Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Budweiser doesn’t suck. It’s nothing exciting, but it’s a balanced, refreshing drink that gives you a buzz and doesn’t cost much. What sucks about that? Not sure what it is, prolly the yeast, but something about Bud I really don’t like. This is someone that drank more Schmidt than would be healthy to admit. For the cheap lagers, gimme Schmidt any day of the week. This is also someone that drinks a lot of beer on 14 hour trans pacific flights. My definition of hell is being stuck in a middle economy seat, with crying babies around me, and the only beer they have is Bud (or once Busch Light). :eek: ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2019, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-most-popular-beer-in-almost-any-country-always-suck/830163/93 "2019-02-27T06:27:01Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I don’t agree with that either. I recognize that some things I don’t like might be perfectly good; I just don’t like them personally. And I also like some things that are pure crap, but I like them anyway.😉 It’s those who say that because I don’t like it it must be objectively bad - or that anything a majority of people like must necessarily be mediocre - that I have an issue with. Yeah, people who say food/art/music are objectively bad are objectively wrong unless they’re meaning it in the sense that it’s poison\*, and even a little will kill you or make you sick. Really, (and as an artist, this _pains_ me to say it), they don’t understand how criticism works. And yeah, I am a person whose tastes run very non-commercial. If i like your work and you make a buck, I’m surprised. I’m not the kind of person who’s likely to desert you just because you’re popular, though. You’re gonna have to change your style substantially for me to change my mind, and I’m still gonna like the stuff I liked before. For example, I still drink the hell out of Karbach’s beer after being bought by AB/Inbev. It wasn’t my favorite, but I certainly liked it before, no reason to not like it now. Conversely, after Shiner’s sale to Gambrinus, I finally stopped drinking their beer for many years after several months of every Shiner Bock from many locations tasting like dish soap. Their quality changed horribly. It’s better than that these days, but it’ll never bring back the memories of how that beer tasted before 1989. Even that’s not objectively bad, their sales skyrocketed during those years, so my tongue was in the minority. But hey, if beer that tasted like dish soap was your thing (everyone’s got theirs), you missed out. I do like some things that are pure crap. To give an example from music, I absolutely love [Lightsaber Cocksucking Blues](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgkzRE89Gyw). There’s nothing to recommend that song other than the lyrics are kind of clever and poetic when you regard each line in isolation, but the whole ends up not meaning very much (ehh, maybe it’s meta). Dammit, it’s delicious crap. I could wax further about this, but I’d probably be doing it for my own enjoyment. Other than your seeming to want to limit language describing opinion from this particular discussion (and I admit it may be my poor powers of perception that leads to this conclusion). I think we agree. \*Ok, more poisonous than alcohol already is, in this case. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2019, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-most-popular-beer-in-almost-any-country-always-suck/830163/94 "2019-02-27T06:40:54Z")
> [@China\_Guy](#): > > Not sure what it is, prolly the yeast, but something about Bud I really don’t like. This is someone that drank more Schmidt than would be healthy to admit. For the cheap lagers, gimme Schmidt any day of the week. > > This is also someone that drinks a lot of beer on 14 hour trans pacific flights. My definition of hell is being stuck in a middle economy seat, with crying babies around me, and the only beer they have is Bud (or once Busch Light). :eek: Hmm, I don’t know if it’s the yeast or the mix of hops used, but it’s probably the yeast. That affects the sweetness/dryness of the beer pretty heavily, along with the particular mix of alcohols that give quite a bit of flavor. My nemesis in the macro world is Miller - ugh, just too sweet to enjoy. My brother and guitarist both love it. I’d rather have pretty much anything else, unless the other choice is Coors Light. Not only is it almost flavorless, that was my mom’s beer. After her funeral I drank a 64oz glass of it in her honor. I’d prefer to never repeat anything close to that. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2019, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-most-popular-beer-in-almost-any-country-always-suck/830163/95 "2019-02-27T08:19:17Z")
I too like mclusky ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2019, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-most-popular-beer-in-almost-any-country-always-suck/830163/96 "2019-02-27T13:12:48Z")
> [@Wrenching\_Spanners](#): > > BTW, Carling was identified as the most popular beer for Britain. However, it’s not actually very popular. I’m guessing it’s because all the other listed popular lagers have foreign origins, even though many of them are actually brewed in the UK for the domestic market. Carling’s Canadian. I know, weird, right? It’s seems so British. I think Carling’s ‘popularity’ is that for many years it was the main lager distributed by M&B - the brewery which owns (or did) the most pubs in the UK. People basically didn’t have any choice except to drink it of they wanted a straight lager. They’ve also always advertised like crazy. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2019, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-most-popular-beer-in-almost-any-country-always-suck/830163/97 "2019-02-27T13:25:31Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > That does not logically follow. Mass production can provide quality control lacking in small producers. I disagree. Food quality does not scale up. For instance, there is no mass producer of bread products that makes anything better than a good neighborhood baker. It’s not just a matter of shelf-life and shipping, although those are also factors; it’s also the machinery used, and the amount of care given to the finished product. Good bread costs more and takes longer to make than mediocre bread, and beer, after all, is just bread in liquid form. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2019, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-most-popular-beer-in-almost-any-country-always-suck/830163/98 "2019-02-27T15:07:04Z")
> [@scabpicker](#): > > I could wax further about this, but I’d probably be doing it for my own enjoyment. Other than your seeming to want to limit language describing opinion from this particular discussion (and I admit it may be my poor powers of perception that leads to this conclusion). I think we agree. I wouldn’t say that I am trying to limit opinion. I’m just saying that things I like/don’t like, things that are good/bad, things that are simple/complex, and things that are popular/only have a limited audience don’t have a perfect correspondence. If something is one of those things doesn’t mean the rest of them have to be true. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2019, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-most-popular-beer-in-almost-any-country-always-suck/830163/99 "2019-02-27T15:18:52Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > This is entertainment at the lowest common denominator; the minute art or beer (remember this is a thread about beer?) gets complex, some people are going to like it and some people are not going to like it. Of course the most popular beer is going to be flavorless and unchallenging, just like the most popular movies are going to be good guys in tights beating up bad guys in tights; they are simple by design. Sure, but none of that makes it _BAD_, just not complex. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2019, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-most-popular-beer-in-almost-any-country-always-suck/830163/100 "2019-02-27T15:31:05Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Sure, but none of that makes it _BAD_, just not complex. Simplicity can also be a virtue. Simply prepared food with minimal seasoning can be exquisite. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-most-popular-beer-in-almost-any-country-always-suck/830163.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-most-popular-beer-in-almost-any-country-always-suck/830163.md?page=6)