Drinking less European beers?

Actually, I have been moving in the opposite direction. I have been craving craving something a little bit sour during the heat of this summer and I have been enjoying a very nice beer tour of Flanders Reds here in the comfort of my living room. American IPA's and Stouts are at the top of their game, but for the best Belgian Ales and Sours I think you still have to go to Europe.

 

Well then fuckemall.
And thanks for the info.

 

If i drink Euro, i buy Harp or Kroneberg. Mostly cause it's a sentimental choice. Fact is, it's 2014. There are too many great American beers that house the euros. And i really liked the Euros!

 

Will be buying the Hacker Pschorr Octoberfest soon but that is about it.

 

Please don't compare the mass produced imports to the best of what Europe has to offer. Besides the great beers from Belgium, Germany, and England, there's an impressive craft scene growing in Scandanavia, Italy, and other places. While I might be drinking more American beers today as compared to the past, I'll never come close to excluding or even limiting my Intake of brews from the old country.

 

Need to keep more euro's in the rotation, damn American craft crowding the shelves, some of these middle of the roaders need to be shown the door.

 

I just bought a bottle of Aventinus yesterday. Find me a US made Weizenbock that's better. I'll wait.

 

In the last several months I have increased my consumption of Euro beers, particularly Germans. I had been lost in American craft beers but have now pretty well exhausted those options here in the beer desert of western PA. I've been retrying the German bocks, doppelbocks, and alts: great examples of all can be found in case lots.

 

I'm always looking to try something new, so the percentages change rather often for me depending on what i see on the shelves. That said, my top ten list of regularly purchased favorites is probably 60% Belgian/40% local

 

For me it really goes back to what Todd and GabberGod were saying. There are so many (and I will add fresh) beers to choose from now in the U.S. that we don't have to look to Europe for great beer. I recall a column in BA touching on the freshness of European beers in the U.S. and how they are usually not even close to what they were before they left home. Access to imports also dictates European beer choices. A lot of import beer never makes its way past coastal areas. You can find only the most common stuff in the interior states. Another reason may be that we're always chasing the latest thing and most European beer is made upon long standing tradition.

 

I'm not sure whether the whole shelf life thing isn't a bit overstated, I think it would depend on the specific style that you're having a go at. Stuff like Kölsch, Altbier, Weisse and Pilsners will probably be bad long before that happens with an Eisbock or a Doppelbock. Even the Orval I once had was preeeeeeeeetty old, but it was still pretty delicious.

 

The Bass and Beck's you've been drinking are not made in Europe any more. Been that way for years. Yet, most restaurants continue to list them as imports.

 

I bought a lot of Euros yesterday mostly Lagers though. I plan on going on a Euro tour without leaving my house!

 

They're still distributed as imports.

 

And that's wrong. What's next? Distributing Bourbon County Brand Stout as non-alcoholic?

 

How are imports distributed differently than domestic beers? In the majority of cases, Beck's and Bass, as AB-InBev brands, are distributed by the local AB house. As such, they're distributed along side Budweiser, Busch and Michelob, as well as their other imports like Stella Artois, St. Pauli Girl, Spaten, etc.

(In some areas it's possible that other distributors might still have contracts for Bass and/or Beck's [or other imports] that predate the AB-InBev merger and they haven't been able to move the brands to AB houses).

 

Thank you, I was going to say basically this. I dont drink many American beers, but Ive had Bud, Miller, Coors, Shock Top, Blue Moon and I just find De Molen, Emelisse, De Struise, Cantillon, Tilquin, Faust, Schneider, Freigeist, Rothaus, Harviestoun, Pilot etc... better. (This was sarcasm, but basically what you are saying, but from a Euro perspective.)

Start with some of the brewers I mentioned.
What kind of beer do you like in the US?

 

I've got a soft spot for Munich helles ,and haven't really found anything
that really compares to a HB, Paulaner , or HP on tap.

 

You mean fresh? I prefer my beer not to sit on a container ship and warehouse for six months. Look further- you might be surprised. I like European Beer- in Europe. I like American beers in America.

 

Is it just me or or this a rather strange and unfocused thread?