If you ask most Europeans, they say that American Beer sucks. And, for the most part, it does. The swill that macrobrew companies like Coors, Anheuser Busch, and Miller pass off for beer is hardly beer when compared the the hearty, full bodied beers of Europe. American microbrews are an exception.
Sure, Europe has its share of bad beer too, but even good American Beer is bad Bier.
 A carbonated diuretic | Take for instance this low carb beer like Michelob Ultra. This is bascially for people who do not like beer, but just like to pee a lot. They market it to the health conscience. But if you were really watching your firgure and want a beer for after workouts, you would not drink any beer which contains alcohol which dehydrates. |
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a Miller High Life occasionally. My favorite everyday beer is Yuengling. All I am saying is that with the proliferation of these low carb and light beers Americans are forgetting what good beer is.
To understand where I am coming from you have to understand the basic ingredients of beer. The basic ingredients of a good beer are: (from most to least)
Water
Malted Barley
Hops
Yeast
By using different "roasts" of malted barley you affect the color and body. Hops imparts aroma and bitterness. And they type of yeast you use along with the type of fermentation also affects the beer's flavor and alcohol content.
An American beer like Budweiser includes: (from most to least)
Water
Rice or Corn
Malted Barley
Hops
Yeast
They use the rice or corn to impart a sweeter flavor, and to keep costs down. The difference is great. Imagine making soup with non-fat turkey broth compared to homemade chicken stock. You get the point.
So as you go to a bar, for a change, order something exotic. Order a microbrew, order a beer from Germany. Or if you are really adventerous, try a beer from Belgium, probably the best beer makers in the world.
Overall, enjoy beer, It's liquid bread afterall.
Article comments
1 - Eric Olsen
thanks Tom, when I gradually started drinking lightly after almost ten years off, I realized I would much rather have one realy good beer than two really watery crappy beers, and that has served me well on several levels.
2 - Taloran
There are many American microbreweries that hold to the tenets of Reinheitsgebot, the German Beer Purity Law of 1516 that states 'the only ingredients used for the brewing of beer must be Barley, Hops and Water' (the world had not yet discovered the existence of yeast.)
The brewery that makes my personal favorite everyday beer, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, respects and practices Reinheitsgebot. Yuengling, last time I checked, strictly adhered to the rule.
In my former life as a homebrew shop owner, I found that many people not only fail to recognize a good beer when they taste it, they have no idea what goes into the manufacture of the product. Tell most Americans that beer is made from pine tar, goat cheese and hemp, and they'll believe you.
In a very real way, the stuff the macrobreweries produce isn't even beer - it's "pasteurized processed beer drink."
3 - jadester
anyone who thinks that by drinking "low-carb" (or here in the uk, "low fat") beer they are being healthy, is a dumbass. Part of the point of alcohol is that (negative) effect it has on us. WTF is the point of trying to drink "healthily"? it defies the reason to drink.
Alcohol makes us relaxed, perhaps to the point of paralycism, and it makes us speak more plainly and pee more. It also helps us sleep. If any of these properties are undesirable to you (or if you have had aspirin and/or paracetemol recently) don't bother drinking alcohol.
4 - Taloran
Beer contains no fat.
5 - BrendanByrne
Sympathy for the Low Carb Devils!
Be kind to your low-carb friends. I think the only reasons one should have for drinking a low carb beer, primarily, would not be the healthful effects (as depicted in the old "Guinness - For Strength" posters and those crazy Ultra print ads with people working out behind a shot of a beer bottle) but because 1) he or she needs to limit carb intake, 2) would like to have a drink, 3) don't want the alcohol content of hard liquor,and 4)love and miss real beer.
Mic Ultra, Aspen Edge, Rolling Rock's low carb, and the like are the closest we low-carbers can get to a Hacker-Pschorr or a Yuengling (how's my spelling) so give these low carb beers a break. Yes, they are even less full bodied than the Bud and Miller rice beers. Yes, if your waistline can afford the 10-15 carb average of a beer like the delicious Sierra Nevada, go for it. But for those of us who've lost 30+ pounds on Atkins and want to continue to lose weight, I say the industry (macro and micro) should keep improving on the low carb brews.
By the way, there's an ad out that says "All light beers are low in carbs - choose on taste" but to reiterate people should know that most lites still have 6+ carbs compared to Ultra and Apen's 2.6....
...and no, I don't work for a low carb beer company...
6 - gnb
I'd like to second the last person's comment and add that some people have to avoid carbs because they are diabetic. Believe me, try testing your blood after a wonderful pint of Guinness or Harp or Hacker-Pschorr--if you are a diabetic, you will get one heck of a spike. I'd LOVE to find some low-carb and EXCELLENT brews out there for my newly diagnosed family member, who always appreciated a fine brew and was never overweight. Any ideas?
7 - Chris Robins
I almost agree with the author about belgium having the best beers in the world, until I tried the beers of Unibroue from Quebec. La Fin Du Monde has to be the best "triple" ale I've ever had and it's made in canada :)
www.unibroue.com
8 - Christopher Rose
Funnily though, Mr Robins, Unibroue claim to make Belgian style beer, so they just taste like the real deal. Goog plug though...
9 - VIVI
I would like to know the names of more purity beers that relax the whole body from the first sips. I tried the Corona made in Chigago, the stienlager, the keystone, the natural. I think they suck. They mess with my mind, don't relax my body and taste like totally chemically manufactured.