(Why) Are imports overlooked?

They make the best dopplebock and oktoberfest in my opinion...

 

learn something new every day :thumbup:

 

I'm not afraid to say it's Homerism. I like supporting my locals.

 

The imports I see in my local shops are pretty limited, and freshness is sometimes a concern. I love German beers, but the only ones I regularly see are Schneider Weisse and Weihenstephaner. It gets boring buying the same 4-5 German beers.

 

I said American Craft movement, I never alluded to other countries not having a craft movement, the question was asking about Imports, since most members of this website are from the US that is the reference point. For you it appears American Craft would be the import.

 

I think it should be mentioned that many imported styles actually age quite well (Porters, stouts, quads, and bottle conditioned ales for instance). Yes, German pilsners and kolsches fall off a bit (this I know from experience) and I would guess the same is applicable to English pales. But even these styles are still very much worth drinking in my opinion. I think most craft beer fans would find an Augustiner lager or a Weihenstephaner hefe to be a fantastic drinking experience, even when bought off the shelf here in the US.

That said, there does seem to be a trend towards more extreme flavors in craft beer right now. Hops, abv, and barrel aging are constantly being pushed to further limits. This might have something to do with European beers being a bit overlooked. To be fair, I think there are many very good American beers that suffer from the same problem. For example, I think Polestar Pilsner by Left Hand and Summerfest by Sierra Nevada really are excellent examples of their styles, but both get scored in the lowly 82-83% range. Reissdorf Kolsch (to jump back across the Atlantic) is a masterpiece and should not be in the 80s under any circumstances. My guess is that an imperial stout made as well as these aforementioned beers would score much higher. I really do think most craft beer drinkers would love these beers though, if they tried to drink each beer on its own terms, rather than ranking it against styles with which they have little in common.

 

A lot of this has been repeated but. I love german lagers, but for me the price and uncertain freshness makes them extremely rare purchases. I'll grab a 6 pack of hef's, Czech pils, or Munich helles, but those purchases are few and far between. I'm more likely to get them on tap at a credible watering hole.

-Price: A 10$ worth of american craft goes further than 10$ worth of imported beer.
-Patriotism/Locavore: I like to buy/drink/support local breweries. Buying beer that comes from ****'s (I'm only kidding) is not exactly in line with "drink local" mantra.
-Styles: Most beer nerds find European beers uninspiring and boring, the mos successful European breweries haven't changed recipes in decades. In USA many of the beer nerds are looking for the next new thing.
-Freshness: Imports are less likely to be fresh than domestic.

 

this is an absolutely fantastic beer

 

Imports for me(not macro imports) went hand in hand for me since I 1st started drinking. Having come of age in the early 90's when craft were microbrews, imports were right there. I also don't buy the notion that they are more expensive, craft prices just keep rising & save for local pricing variation or differing state laws are comparable or lower. I hate to see good imports being pushed out by a bloated craft scene, and the rise of the ciders. In some places the only imports left are from the Big guys & who knows if that's even true import any more.

 

Sounds like a lot of fun! Keep me in mind, then.

 

Pilsners are definitely one of the few styles where it pays to be fussier over the dates, usually due to the hops.

 

The Total Wine up here carries Furst Wallerstein beers- their Zwickel is superb.

 

So many really good local brews out there.

I live in the Seattle area and there is hardly a reason to look beyond a thirty mile radius for an outstanding brew. And you could say the same for so many other cities, east coast, west coast, central. Just so many to choose from.

It's like cheese. Twenty years ago there weren't very many really good domestic cheesemakers. Now look. Food (and beverage) quality in the US has improved greatly - and with it my waistline!

 

Dittos to the freshness concerns. My local beer shop stocks a lot of that stuff and if there is visible dust on the bottles I don't bother. It's obvious that the stock isn't moving. Doesn't gaurantee the beer is bad but you're screwed if it is.

I've also found that many of the German beers I try just don't tase that good to me or I can get a local beer that's as good or better for the same or less money. Why bother?

That being said, Paulaner Salvator double Bock is amazing and so are a few of the Belgian offerings. Just not that many, IMO.

 

I think a lot of it is whether it's worth sending the beer over. British craft breweries (with the exception of BrewDog) are mostly very small and only cater for regions and not the whole country and are still in rapid growth to meet demand domestically. If you think of some of your states and how they only cater for a small section of the country it is similar to that but on an even smaller scale. Add to this there is even less breweries, In Liverpool where I live there is around 5, and a general lack of interest in quality beer from the public. So how you would be able to go to the supermarket for local beers we could only go to specialist shops.
That's not to say you aren't missing some great beers, breweries such as beavertown, buxton, thornbridge, magic rock, siren and wild beer are all excellent and bring out those great ipas and barrel aged beers you all love. But they are all too small to even think about sending mass amounts of beer abroad and why and how could they compete with a local breweries freshness and prices, let alone reputation. The best thing you can do, which is what I've always done is go to the source.

 

I don't know about them even being overlooked on this website.

Here's the number 1 rated beers in a variety of categories...

Quadrupel: Westvleteren 12 (not easily obtainable, but the next two are Rochefort 10 and St. Bernardus)

Dubbel: Westvleteren 8 (and if that doesn't work, Westmalle Dubbel is 2)

Belgian Strong Dark Ale: Rochefort 8

Belgian Pale Ale: Westvleteren Blonde (Orval is 2 if you can't find Westvleteren again)

Belgian Strong Pale Ale: Duvel

Gueuze: Obviously Cantillon

English Pale Ale: Timothy Landlord

English Porter: Fuller's

German Pilsner: Prima is 1 with a 4.03, but I suspect Rothaus will pass it with a 4 and only ~100 reviews after this year now that it is distributed to the US

Helles: Augustiner's Helles (not easily obtainable obviously, but right behind it are Weihenstephan Original and Schlenkerla)

Doppelbock: Celebrator

Hefeweizen: Weihenstephaner

Rauchbier: Schlenkerla Fastenbier

Two of these even pop up in the overall top 250....

For some styles, even the overall Beeradvocate community can't ignore how good some imports are compared to their American counterparts....and that's WITH the huge hurdle that is freshness.

For me when I crave most European styles, if less than 3 months old, I'm going to buy the import. If it's less than 6 months old I have a decision to make....and if age doesn't matter as is the case with many Belgians, there's no question that I'm buying an import.

Except Allagash White, arguably the best "to-style" clone of a European style there is in America.

And no one get cute and mention saisons....

 

You should've quit while you were ahead.

 

I will sum up my post for you.
Many U.S. craft beer drinkers love non-traditional adjunct-heavy beers. European craft breweries are focused more on traditional styles with a bit less experimentation. This opinion/statement directly relates to the post.
I then go on to provide an example. I, keeping in mind that I am a U.S. citizen, love trying every new Rogue/Voodoo collaboration that hits store shelves. I am providing my own preferences as a further example of my point. Rogue/Voodoo was just one example. One example of how weird U.S. craft beer can get. You can insert Rogue/Voodoo with DF if you'd like.

Is this more clear? I'm curious as to why you felt the need to comment negatively on my post..hopefully this clears everything up for you!

 

I think most German beers may be overlooked because most of the German Lagers are not beers that age well, and they are usually old by the time they are consumed in the US. If most had the opportunity to drink fresh, it would probably be a different story.

 

From the retailers point of view (since I am one)... I have X amount of money to spend on inventory. Domestics sales are flat but are the back bone of our store. I resist stocking new domestic offerings as they usually sell well for a few months then fizzle. Imports have their place, but the same is true... nothing has really sold well that stands out as far as profits go.

Enter the craft brews. I will buy as many limited run crafts as I can. They always sell out, customers come from miles around to find them, and will often buy other crafts when here. There is excitement, intrigue, and most of all a willingness to try new craft beers. In the end, it is about the money. And US craft beers is where the growth is. So that is taking over the inventory I carry and the shelf space to carry them is being made at the expense of Imports and slow moving domestics.

Its a snowball effect.