Okay, so I think we can all agree on that we see plenty of Belgian-Style and English-Style on plenty of American made beers, but do any over seas brewers make anything marketed as "American-style"? Surely, we've carved out our own regional niche to warrant the labeling, especially in the IPA department.
There are quite a few beers sold as "American-style" in the UK, though most are American-influenced rather than true copies. There are also a large number of more American-style beers made, but those tend not to market themselves as such. For example, a red rye ale heavily dry-hopped with Columbus pellets will not mention its heritage. But if you see a beer called "American Pale Ale" or such like from a British brewer, more often than not it’s actually a 4.5% cask bitter with some Cascades in it.
I suppose they don't come out and say it, but aren't the bulk of Mikkeller and Brewdog's IPAs American-style?
"American style" = beers that taste like either grapefruit, coffee, and/or whiskey. And yea, they're catching on all over.
Yeah, so when do we finally cross that threshold so foreign companies put American Style on their beers that are American-Style?
I absolutely think they should put it on the label out of respect to the kickass American brewers that inspired them. Not to mention I think brewers should be as transparent as possible when it comes to letting you know what's in the bottle that you just grabbed off the shelf. We've been doing it in regards to the Belgians for quite some time now. I'd say it's mostly for the sake of clarification, but also giving credit where credit is due. Or in the case of Blue Moon/Shocktop it's a marketing gimmick. But then again, I guess that still speaks to the quality of Belgian brewers that the big boys feel that it's a viable way to trick people into drinking their shitty orange and clove beverages.
