International people and uninformed Americans often act surprised when I say America brews the best beer in the world and America is spearheading a worldwide resurgence in beer. What is your elevator pitch to people who honestly just don't know about American beer? They ask for links and information and all I can say is, "uh BA and RB?" Is there any good article you point people to?
My pitch: American brewers are not afraid to take on the massive challenge of brewing the world's best beers. In recent years this has resulted in a handful of world-class examples...and quite a few tasty (and many not-so-tasty) failures.
The one aspect of the American craft beer scene that is truly amazing is the combination of quality and diversity of various beer styles. The late beer writer Michael Jackson, who was very knowledgeable of the world beer scene, was an advocate of the beer in America. In an old article (2001) he discussed the wonderful combination of beer quality and choice of beers in America. Over the last 11 years the American beer scene has got even better. Read Michael Jackson’s statements below: “Scarcely anywhere in Europe, perhaps nowhere, is it as easy to find under one roof beers brewed in the Czech Republic, Germany, Belgium and the British Isles as it is in New York, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C, Chicago, Seattle, Portland or San Francisco. No country in Europe could remotely approach the 50-odd styles of beer that are judged each year at the Great American Beer Festival. Remember, all of those are brewed in the U.S. I know of no brewery in Europe that matches skill and adventurousness in the manner of the Southampton Publick House (with its Eisbock and Saison, for example) or classic styles and an individual touch as Brooklyn or Victory do. I don't think any European brewery is as committed to eclecticism as Dogfish Head or Hair of the Dog. If anyone in Europe is as enthusiastic about big, bold, flavors as Great Lakes or as stout-hearted as Kalamazoo, it is an extraordinarily well-kept secret. No European city has as many breweries as Seattle or Portland, Oregon” http://www.beerhunter.com/documents/19133-001608.html Cheers!
I equate beer to food, wine, cheese, or whatever they might be more familiar with. "Saying American beer is bad, is as uninformed as saying American restaurants are bad, when the only one you've ever tried is McDonalds."
That's pretty much my usual tack. I don't think there's often a point ranting or providing references or waxing eloquent about the quality and diversity of American beer, since they'll probably lose interest and write you off as a silly American fanboy. Better to keep it short and sweet and choose one or two of the following: The well-known, tasteless, American lagers are to American beer as: a) Kraft singles are to cheese b) McDonald's is to cuisine c) Franzia is to wine d) Wonder Bread is to bread e) Hershey's is to chocolate f) Katy Perry is to music g) Twilight is to literature If they're not convinced, shrug it off and move on.
I'm not sure American beer is the best in the world. We are doing the best hoppy beer, but with other styles it's not really the case. If I hear the typical "American beer is all piss" stuff, I usually just ignore it and let them wallow in ignorance - I don't have the patience to educate every n00b/dipshit I encounter.
Please include TGIFridays, Texas Road House, Ruby Tuesdays, Red Lobster, etc in your list with McDonalds - these are the BMC's of the food world.
Old beliefs are hard to break. It took quite a bit of time for American wines that are not produced in California to get recognition. The way to find out what somebody thinks about beer is to do a word association game. So when you say beer and the first word out of someone's mouth is Budweiser, you know you are speaking to someone who is ignorant about beer.
I'd love to say America has the best beer in the world, but I haven't tried every beer in the world yet.
I don't have such a pitch because I don't believe it to be true, and in fact just comes across to me as bubba-esque national-level homerism. Spearheading a worldwide resurgence in beer? When has beer undergone worldwide regression? While the States have been cultivating the art of cramming maximal imbalance into a bottle, and patting themselves on the back for unnatural acts like rolling perfectly good beers around in bourbon barrels, countries like Belgium, Germany and England have been casting an amused eye this way while continuing to enjoy the brews which they have perfected over centuries. Don't let 20 years of floundering experimentation go to your heads.
I would say that America brews some of the best beer in the world. It certainly appears to me that many folks are willing to trade their American whales in order to capture Euro beers like Cantillon.
American craft beer is like the American military. Big, bold and with such an arsenal of extreme firepower it will liberate your heart and soul from those commie lager ladies.
Best? Meh…that’s a separate, almost pointless debate. I would say American brewers are disrupting the world-wide perception of what beer is, or is supposed to be... while also paying respectful homage to traditional, influential breweries from around the world. Our “floundering experimentation” (as the previous poster noted) inherently has highs and lows. But the highs are too exciting and delicious to simply shoo American brewing aside like it’s an annoying child. Modern day American brewing is on a fun ride right now, more people should open their eyes and hop on. It's fun as hell.
