Why does Germany = Beer?

Just a joke, since so many BA's seem to feel AAL's are popular only because of marketing.

 

Ah, ok. I missed the twinkle in your eye. :-)

 

These are all great comments. I, too, have always (at least in the past) associated Germany with world-class beer. I can't even say why, it's just always been that way in my mind.

However, I think that the United States has done to craft beer in the last 10 years or so what California did to wine in the 1970s...

What annoys me about the Chrysler commercial is that they ignored this and snubbed the great craft breweries of the United States.

 

I was in Baden, also prime wine country, but they also love their beer down there (primarily Waldhaus and Rothaus).

 

I prefer my beers be made in the U.S. and my cars made in Germany!

 

I'd say:

-The brewer that developed Pils (which rocketed across the planet) was German.
-Germans drink a lot of bier.
-Lots and lots of Germans brought bier to the U.S.
-Germans in the U.S. openly drank their bier in Biergartens (which were often public).
-Germans still drink a lot of bier.
-While the U.S. had mostly adjunct lagers available for decades recently, Germany still had strong regional varieties abounding.
-Isn't the oldest continuous brewery in Germany (founded in 1060 or something)?
-Germans take their bier seriously, and they have a pretty strong "brand" internationally and historically (Many German immigrants were seen/felt to be "cultural seeds" around the world) because of music, manufacturing, etc.
-Germany is a "normal" European country; while the Czechs outdrink the Germans, the WASP population of the original Americas wouldn't identify as strongly with a Slavic country (To deny the role of overt and covert racism, or the legacy of institutionalized racism in the U.S. is to deny a HUGE factor in the shaping of our society).


So, I'd say it's a combination of Germany itself and the Germans who came on over to the U.S., and Anglican biases against other strong bier-drinking cultures (It's easy for Anglo-Saxons to identify with other Germanic cultures instead of Slavic, etc).

 

I was actually more annoyed seeing the Chrysler ad conjuring American patriotism when it's owned by Italian car maker Fiat.

 

Have you ever legitimately had a terrible hefe? Neither have I.

 

My guess would be soldiers stationed in Germany coming back home and telling stories of the "strong" beers in Germany since they were used to adjunct lagers.

 

Because the Germans have a strong beer culture and a great appreciation for beer. Even their most famous of national holidays, Oktoberfest, has it's own specific beer variety, the Martzen.

 

I'm most interested in hearing from our German constituents on this one, not from Americans.

 

Is the beer that you can buy at any gas station an ale that could have any number of estery or phenolic characteristics depending on the batch? Or is it a lager that is unfailingly uniform?

 

While I agree both that the Reinheitsgebot functions as a marketing tool to promote German beer and that the UK and Czech Republic have unique intact and pervasive beer and pub/tavern cultures, neither of those places compares to Bavaria/Franconia in terms of the sheer ubiquity of beer in nearly every aspect of daily life. Where else, for example, can you walk into a department store having a clearance sale and find a miniature beer garden set up selling liters at 10 a.m.? Where can you drive to any of a hundred surrounding villages and find not just a pub, but a brewery -- and often more than one? Where else can you bring your own picnic lunch and/or dinner to any brewery's Biergarten and be provided plates and silverware -- and a playground for the kids -- just as long as you agree to drink their local beer (often at prices of around US$2.50 for a half liter)? Beer is sold everywhere from McDonald's to the bakery to the butcher's. It is literally considered a food stuff, both culturally and legally. Moreover, the German autoworkers are not only allowed, but encouraged, to drink it on their break times...and they still make the best cars in the world.

 

There's no question Germany has the best-known, most highly regarded, and richest brewing history of any country in the world with the possible exception of Belgium. As mentioned above, it's integrated into the entire culture in ways few things are in any culture. American innovation has really propelled beer in the U.S., but it doesn't have thousands of years of history behind it. What we do is take things we already know, that have been around for as long as we can remember, and either put a new twist on them, improve them, or both. Interestingly, I was just coming to the forums to post this:

http://www.mlive.com/business/west-..._bowl_ad_spot_backl.html#incart_river_default

 

Oh, Rover. Good riddance. I remember back in the noughties a couple of my mates buying Rovers with MG badges, the suckers. Honda, now that's a company.

Last week I was in Japan's most renowned bottle shop, Tanakaya in Tokyo, and apart from Hobgoblin and London Pride the UK section was dominated by the likes of Brewdog and other pseudo American craft breweries. I mean, come on!

 

You could look at this another way.
Why does
France=Wine
Canada=Hockey
Belgium=Chocolate
Brazil=Soccer
China=Tenacious Will & Spirit
The entire continent of Africa=civilization (in general but also Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia especially for us on BA)

And on and on it could go.

 

From a beer geek who has travelled the world extensively, the best known and most highly regarded brewing countries globally are (based on casual exchanges with foreigners) Germany, the Czech Republic and Ireland (no, really! , it's like associating England with whiskey) then maybe Belgium. Not many people associate Britain with beer, even a lot of young Brits, and when they do, it's usually that they've heard we drink out beer warm.

As for having the richest brewing history Britain would give Germany a run for its money and both countries would leave Belgium trailing behind.

 

Sadly, I'm not surprised. BDs goal is to make it a popular global brand and then sell it for a packet. Mark my words.

 

I considered Britain and the Czech Republic. Maybe I put too much stock in Belgium?

 

And sadly, and no offence to our Irish friends, that's goes some way to explain why a beer revival (until recently) has been stagnant for so long. And yep, the richness of the UK's brewing history is as criminally shunned as the wine industry in Germany.