My first assignment to Germany changed my entire perspective on beer.
It's a whole different world today.
The first beer I thought was remarkable, as opposed to eh, it’s beer, was in the early 80s in a Chinese restaurant in NYC - it had a complicated floral flavor which doesn’t seem like it ought to go with beer but it worked really well.
What is it? I asked, expecting something Chinese and exotic. Budweiser, said the waiter. I’m still trying to figure out the floral. Couldn’t have been the detergent, didn’t taste soapy.
American beers are brewed much lighter than European
Climate is much hotter than Europe (especially in summer)
European beers used type of barley malt with high protein
content - resulted in very heavy brews
Great to stick to ribs - bad for hot climate as put you to sleep
American brewers switched to different type of malts and later used “adjuntantS” - rice or corn grits to lighten brews.
Which is why American brews taste watery compared to European