German colleagues, American beer.

Germans drinking only BMC? That's crazy talk. These are people for whom beer is one of the most important things in life (no joke).

You need to sit your friends down and tell them that the stereotype of American beer being this bland, pale, yellowish drink is dead. In fact, it has been dead for years. There is NO country that has as wide a variety of tastes and styles as the United States (15 years ago, I would have said Belgium, but not any longer). If all they drink is BMC, they're not looking very hard.

 

I would try an American Wild that is a little sour...Berlener-weiss biers tend to have that slight sourness...to me Sanctification would be a perfect fit...Bell's Oberon...Germans also love pinot noir, known as spatbergunder...if you can find something aged in pinot casks...It's like my dad, forexample drinks miller lite, but he also loves scotch...I had him try the JW Lees Lagavulin Cask Ale...he loved it...

 

Go with a good IPA. It's possible that they won't like it, but if you give them an American version of their beer, they're just going to be disappointed. Not that they'll be right or wrong, but for Germans nothing is better than what they can get in their hometown. Giving them an American lager (or alt, kölsch, wheat, or whatever) will only invite comparison. If you give them a quality IPA, they will have nothing to compare it to (which is not to say they'll like it, but...). For what it's worth, one of my German friends here really likes American IPA's.