(Why) Are imports overlooked?

In the UK Sammy Smith's are barely on the radar. You'll never hear anyone talk about SS Taddy Porter or SS Oatmeal Stout.

 

Suit yourselves, but to me Celebrator is a pretty plain example of a value purchase that is worth every bit of the difference in price. For a couple of bucks more ($12.99 a 4-pack by me) you are jumping up a few levels from 'acceptable' to 'outstanding'.

 

They get it pumped directly from the tanks into a refrigerated transport truck. I actually walked by this thing every now and again when I lived there, as my apartment was no more than 30 ft or so up the hill from this pic. The trucks had to back down the hill because the streets were too narrow at the base (in the oldest, medieval part of town by the river) to enter.

 

I bet the smell on that block was heavenly .

 

Unless you're in Yorkshire. :-)

 

Would you believe that some people -- even visitors to our place -- actually complained?

 

I guess they need to make three visits in a row to get used to it, then .

 

I want that truck.

 

Cantillon, 3F, Giradin, Samuel Smiths, Weinstephaner (sic) All of the different trappist breweries... I think that a lot of imports are successful

 

Which one? The Schlenkerla one is full of wooden barrels to be driven down the hill to the tavern. My roommate and I used to joke all the time about hopping in and just taking off.

 

Too late. The "tanker" is already bespoken.

 

Have to say with the exception of Belgians the USA makes every style better than anyone else. I also like to support US companies so if there's 2 different beers that are about the same, I'm buying USA every time.

 

Michael, it is 15 bucks at my retailers. One more example where beer is significantly cheaper for you.

With those beer savings you can afford to pay your tax bills!?!

Cheers!

P.S. I do buy Celebrator when I see it in draft; a few times already this season.

 

Ouch! Touche, Jack .

 

All that damned old Cantillon and Achel ruined Euro beers for me. Aventinus six months old is literally falling apart. Tripel Karmeleit at 8 months rivals sewage. German lager and pils should be consumed within 4 weeks of bottling. And those JW Lees beers are super fragile, hardly worth the trip over. The rise of good American beer is a mostly new phenomenon that owes its existence to the great beers of Europe. It seems many folks just have no idea or appreciation of history. I do love my new local breweries, but will always drink my favorite English, Belgian, and German beers.

 

Most beer is meant to be consumed fresh. Sure, you can cherry pick a handful of examples where that doesn't matter, but if you look through the import aisle at most beer stores you'll find that many of the beers are closer to a year old or worse. Ever had a London Pride with more than 12 months on it? It's cardboard water. Doppel/wezien/eis-bocks are the only German styles that are normally available that don't go downhill after a few months.

Victory uses a special system that preserves their beer better than most breweries and they use a five month expiration for Prima, which is a beer that I know intimately and it definitely takes a hit after six months. Am I supposed to believe a German example, often in a green bottle, is going to far better? Ish don't think so.

 

This is where location matters, I guess- I frequently find German beers under 5 months old.

 

I'm jealous. Even when I lived in PA, most imports that I found were really old, especially at distributors. Really only at Wegman's was I able to find some things that weren't ancient, but that's about it. At Bevmos here in NorCal, the imports are almost always (in the local parlance) hella old.

 

Well, that's not cherry picking, that's just a small sample of some of my favorites. There are many great European beers commonly available that age well. One just needs to know what and how to buy. I see tons of old good ole USA IPAs and less fragile US beers with a good deal of age on them. Old beer is a problem no matter where it comes from. That said, a week old Foothills Jade draft is magical. Cheers.

 

I do try to take advantage as much as I can- hopefully it can spread from here .