Beer Battle: America vs. Germany

The Atlantic ^ | Aug 28 2009 | Clay Risen

[nickcarraway]

Yesterday I wrote a piece for my host paper here in Berlin, der Tagesspiegel, defending American beer. Needless to say, the reaction from commenters has been swift and harsh. But because it's in German, I'm really only seeing half the debate. What do Americans think about German beer? And what do readers think about the piece? Remember, it's for a German audience, but I hope the arguments can get some discussion going.

Read the piece in translation below; read it in the original German here. Dish water. Piss. A joke. There are a lot of stereotypes about American beer here in Germany. And these stereotypes aren't completely wrong: Budweiser, Miller, Coors--the USA manufactures a lot of famous, awful beers.

But the market is changing: Since the late 1980s you can find more and more small, fantastic American breweries. Dogfish Head, from Deleware, for example, is famous for its so-called "extreme beers" brewed with raisins or aged in oak barrels. These "micro breweries" or "craft brewers" only have around five percent of the market, but they nevertheless have a big influence. As an answer to these challengers the big firms are making better and better beers--Coors produces Blue Moon, a wheat beer, and Anheuser-Busch has brought Stone Mill, an organic pale ale, to the market.

In comparison, the German beer market seems a little boring to Americans. It's true that Germany produces Schneider, Weihenstephaner, Andechs, and Schlenkerla. But how often are these beers consumed? Becks, Sternburg, Flensburg, and others are the most-consumed beer brands in Germany, and they are hardly better than Coors or Miller.

[bmwcyle]

And Bud still sucks.

[wolf78]

If you go to the local supermarket, stand in front of the domestic beer aisle, close your eyes and grab a bottle at random, you are unlikely to find a great beer, and there’s a good chance you will find something undrinkable, like Schlitz or Miller.

It's a cultural thing. Repeat the same experiment in a CD store and it's the other way round: In the US you might get Springsteen or Cash, in Germany most likely something utterly dreadful produced by Dieter Bohlen. Americans also generelly do better TV series. Most Germans on the other hand are capable drivers whereas some Americans mistake their cars for living rooms and couldn't handle perfectly safe speeds in the 120-150 mph range.

[Moltke]

Budweiser-Budvar is another good Czech pilsner...

Good as it is, sorry, no cigar for you, sir. That's a lager, not a pilsner (says so right on the bottle, and I have a case here to prove it ;-)) Think I'll have another Jever now, best pilsner in the world :-) (The gentleman that opined Northern German beers are no good knows not what he speaks of, the sorry fool. Must have grown up with the dishwater variety of beers. Bavarian beers are great if you're into belching and farting a lot.)

[Moltke]

There are a lot of stereotypes about American beer here in Germany.

Hardly any American beers are available in Germany and 99% of German beers are not available in the US. Neither side can make an educated call.

[Moltke]

Becks, Sternburg, Flensburg, and others are the most-consumed beer brands in Germany, and they are hardly better than Coors or Miller.

Becks? Ok, check. Sternburg? Never heard of it. Flensburg? Oh, perhaps you mean Flensburger. Good beer and now available in many places but very, very far from "one of the most-consumed brands in Germany." Any of these (whatever Sternburg may be) "hardly better than Coors or Miller"? You, sir, are a complete and utter idiot!

[absolootezer0]

+1 on warsteiner! My absoloote favourite, but I drink alot of craft brew too.. Actually drinking a bells 2 hearted right now (love my iPhone) but if warsteiner were more prevelent here that’s all I’d drink.

Ok, scary, “warsteiner” is actually in my iphone’s spell check dictionary. :)

[absolootezer0]

You go to the wrong stores FRiend. 90% of stores here have as much craft brew as domestic crap anymore

[absolootezer0]

All beer is good.. Only applies to “free and cold” or “Its my turn to buy and band practice and I’m cheap”.. In which case everyone else observes rule # 1

[Billthedrill]

I'm pretty discriminating with beer myself. I only drink the liquid kind.

Hmm...the explosion of craft breweries in the States in the last twenty years has changed the environment completely. It may be that some of our German friends haven't caught up to that yet. I'd tell them that the only way to find out is to come on over and try a few dozen. Strictly for scientific purposes, naturally.

The very best beer I ever had was San Miguel, ice-cold, on a hot and humid night in the Philippines after a typhoon blew through, the town out of power and us trying to drink 'em fast because they were chilled by dry ice and you couldn't keep them in the cooler very long. Coleman and kerosene lanterns hung from the awnings. It looked like something out of the old West. Worst beer I ever had was the same brand, different night. It had a lump in it. Quality control, quality control, quality control...

[calex59]

You forgot “home brewed beer”, which could fall under any country actually!:)

[ExiledChicagoan]

when prohibition was lifted and in the days leading up to WWII, FDR demanded that US companies produced cheap, watery beer so that our troops wouldn’t get too drunk.
***********

Pick my “Beer & Food: An American History and BEER: A History of Brewing in CHicago.

What you’re claiming is nonsense. I wrote those 2 books and I studied at the oldest school for brewers in the U.S. I know beer...NS ITS HISTORY.

[ExiledChicagoan]

READ “Beer & Food: An American History.” You’re story’s wrong.

[Tainan]

Top Choice...and I would add this one also:


Its from Alsace Loraine...so its basically a German beer...;)

[potlatch]

ping of interest

[AFreeBird]

Right around the corner from Lich. Used to get it delivered by the case to my doorstep just like the milkmen used to do here.

Dude, that's living... Beer delivery; guess the Nanny Staters and Busybodies wouldn't stand for that here.

[cpforlife.org]

That is an excellent point, alarm rider. It's purely subjective. People even change their own tastes and opinions of what they like over time. I do. I have several I love and several I probably won't drink again.

The point is to drink and enjoy!

[billorites]

"...but I was talking about German beers."

There was a time when Germany might have annexed Milwaukee had they the opportunity.

[PoliticsAndSausages]

True, true. The label should normally say “best consumed in the 2 weeks after being filled”. I noticed they finally started to print clocks like that on cheeses in Germany.

[BJClinton]

Meh, I’ll take Shiner Bock over any German beer...wait...If we American krauts make a German style beer in Texas does that count as German or American?