The Imported-Beer Hoax

Yeah, it's definitely a disservice to provide fresher beer to Americans instead of that genuine stale crap ....

 

My one buddy didn't believe me when I told him Becks wasn't made in Germany..

 

It's more because it's a 'premium' product and tastes different than the normal domestic stuff, regardless of where it's brewed.

"Does it taste the same?" is the real question, and it's one that the article sidesteps.

 

FWIW the Beck's that is brewed in St. Louis tastes to me the same as the Beck's brewed in Bremen, Germany.

Some folks might say: that is a good thing. I personally am not a fan of Beck's beer whether it is brewed in Germany or in America. It tastes like a bland beer to me.

Cheers!

 

I'm afraid we will probably see a lot more of this as things expand worldwide especially into the craft category, hypothetically seeing FW and Boulevard beers brewed at Duvel, Goose Island and Elysian brewed in Munich and so forth.

 

It's called contract brewing...& it's old as dirt. Plony The Alder, anyone? Alpine brewed by Green Flash? Just some CA examples...

 

Contract brewing implies that a different owner/company is brewing the beer. Not in this case.

 

GF bought Alpine...hence the Beck's correlation. It's becoming a convoluted mess, regardless.

 

The beer may be fresher, but it probably still tastes worse than the stuff under the same name brewed in the motherland. I've heard a few different Germans lament how Pilsner Urquell in the US is nearly undrinkable to them, but back home it's one of their favorites. Maybe they are just biased or some other psychological trick is being played, but I'm inclined to believe them.

In any case, while the packaging might have all the legal notifications regarding where it is made, there is little doubt that these brands are purposefully using deceptive marketing tactics. Buyer beware, I suppose.

 

drink Weihenstephaner, Paulaner, Spaten, Ayinger, Hofbrau, Hacker-Pschorr. a bunch of Belgian beers and Hitachino, especially their white ale. never trust what the money makers say

 

Just means it should be fresher, I guess, since it's made in the USA

 

Not to be a jerk, but PU is Czech and is still being brewed in the Czech Republic. It sometimes sucks more stateside due to the green bottles, but IIRC they will be switching to brown bottles soon. Didn't I see a pic here somewhere?

 

We have brown bottles and cans now. Plus, the draught version has always been pretty damn fine.

 

As long as BMC has excess brewery capacity the economic incentive to move "imports" to their US breweries will exist. As long as people are willing to pay a premium for an import, they will have an incentive to give consumers the impression it is an import.

 

I thought Pilsner Urquell switched to brown bottles last year. I know I remember seeing green ones once or twice, but the Pilsner Urquell in the six-pack I bought last winter was definitely in brown bottles; not sure about the 12-packs as I haven't had one.

 

Hm, maybe it is just stale beer then. I also wonder if they just have crappy palates...

 

I believe that the entire "imported beer" category (whether real or faux) is declining due to the US craft movement, no numbers to back that up, just my perspective. At least in our area I have seen many (actually probably all) retailers switch shelf space allocation from import to craft in the last few years.

 

Living in Portland, import means out-of-state, & is nearly entirely needless, for my taste. I feel bad for the rest of the world, really.