Ask Lemmy

American here:

There’s a LOT of bad American beer, but to say ALL is just plain dumb. The micro brewery boom made a lot of small breweries pop up and about 90% had no idea what they were doing so yea a lot of them are kinda garbage.

I personally know micro brewers in NY who studied their ass off to make some incredible beers that I would put right up there with Westies and Cantillon.

One of the best beers I’ve ever had is from a Gypsy brewer in NY called Cantina Cantina. The guy used to work in my local distributor, then went to work for our favorite local brewer Barrier, then took his expertise to Greenport Brewery and turned around their whole operation, then started brewing his own absolute masterpieces.

My point is the best of the best is probably going to be buried deep under a pile of garbage beers cause they’re usually obsessed with making art and don’t focus on getting their name out there.

Not as bad as American "chocolate" .

I've had plenty of really good craft beer but anything mass produced is fine at best and gutter water at worst.

Maybe it's because I don't really like beer (or alcohol) but I've been to Germany and the beer wasn't any better or worse than American beer.

The Jagermeister, on the other hand, was definitely way better in Germany.

Prairie Artisan Ales is one of the most unique craft breweries I've ever experienced. The downside is it's in Oklahoma, so I'll never visit again, but if you get a chance to find some at a local liquor store or import, try it out. Plus the can designs are cool. They have some delicious stuff.

But yeah LeftHand in Longmont, Colorado is incredible.

As for European, Belgian Tripel, it is hands down the best.

Mass produced beers are pretty bad. Ironically the bigger the brand the worse the beer generally. Americans are known for bud and Coors which are especially shit

I did have trouble a few years back finding an IPA option that wasn’t citrusy somehow. I want to taste my beer dammit!

Real talk, it's your common mass produced and internationally sold beers that suck. S'ok, a lot of mass produced Canadian beer sucks too (lookin' at you, Alexander Keith's. Pride of Nova Scotia indeed.)

The issue is that the good stuff doesn't often make it outside of your borders. I've had decent beer when actually in the U.S before.

Will say I will drink a cold PBR if there's no other valid choice, but if someone just has Coors or Bud (especially Bud - but especially Bud Light) I'll stick with water. Only other American beer that reaches Canada I'd probably drink is Lucky Lager, but that's more out of nostalgia for west coast teenaged mayham than its own merits, and Kokanee would produce the same effect and caveat anyway.

Edit: After thinking about it more, I've enjoyed Sam Adams limited releases before, and we get those sometimes.

The American beer you get in Canada is terrible. Budweiser and Miller and shit like that. American beer at an American pub was great, when I last visited.

The fuck? American craft beer is absolutely delicious. A lot of light beer brands are also good. Who's saying American beer sucks?

European mainstream beer isn't anything to brag about.

My American friends made me drink Keystone Ice and this was one of the most disgusting things I did ever drink. The rest was also not great. A few American beers were passable but I had better ones in most European countries.

Short answer: yes

Long answer: yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees

As a vetted german beer enthusiast, may I say that the big-brand beers are on average as good (or bad) as the american beers I know. Differences imho originate from drinking preferences (light beers) and allowed ingredients or additives, but that has a minor impact on sensory quality. Personally I often missed aroma and bitterness (hops) and gravity of most beers I tried in the USA, but that‘s just me.

I mean when I was in new York they drank bud light with Tabasco on the can rim to make it taste something. So I guess it's not only us

I think it's of-a-kind

Domestic/mass-produced European beers are much better than domestic/mass-produced American beers.
And European craft beers are better than American craft beers.

America has a lot of bad domestic and bad craft beers, but there are enough craft beers that some have gotta be good even if just by luck.

Personally I don't think it's a big deal: yes American beers taste like water or fruit water, but I like water, it's refreshing. Water that gives me a buzz if I drink enough is a win in my book.

Beer is good only in Belgium.

• An Italian