A Thinking Reed

Let us now praise American beer

Written by

Lee M.

in

Adam Kotsko makes a good point:

there are plenty of good American beers. There’s Sierra Nevada, first of all, the official beer of the Chicago Theological Seminary. There’s Leinenkuegel’s — many varieties, made in nearby Wisconsin. Goose Island, 312 and Honker’s Ale, and who knows what other seasonal brews. Even PBR is kind of good, and I guess one is expected to mention “Sam Adams” — in fact, in at least one case, one of my professors specifically passed over Sierra in favor of Sam Adams (and he’s Korean!). And Killians! Don’t be fooled by the “Irish” in the name of their most famous brew! Not only are there good American beers, but there are cheap American beers — in point of fact, all those beers that you buy in the “second tier” of prices, just above Bud Lite and Miller Genuine Ass, are probably American. All the beers you rely on when you want to look generous by buying everyone a pitcher, but you don’t want to break the bank: American.

You don’t need an imported beer from Germany. In fact, I’d be willing to bet that if you drank the most popular German beer, you wouldn’t like it. (Heineken is actually from the Netherlands, which is why I can say this.) I mean: Beck’s? Who wouldn’t just as soon take a Killian’s or a Goose Island? And Corona? Yeah, sure, it’s cool that you put lime in it, but other than that, it tastes basically like all the other beers that are that color.

American beer, people! Don’t be ashamed! We have good beer here. Not the best, but who does have the best? You can go to any country in the world, and you’ve got your lagers and your stouts and that’s about it, frankly — dark-colored and light-colored beer. How many ways can you ferment grain, really, at the end of the day? And I mean, yes, of course Bud Lite is coagulated homeless guy piss, but why should that reflect on all the hard working brewers in this fine nation? Huh? Riddle me that, Batman.

Indeed! Americans need to stop being ashamed of their beer! I second Mr. Kotsko’s appreciation of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. We also have some local goodies – Yuengling‘s (“America’s oldest brewery) is a respectable (and inexpensive) brew. Yards brewery is right here in Philly. I’ve also always had a soft spot for Latrobe, PA’s Rolling Rock.

And, frankly, I hate Heineken.

Comments

3 responses to “Let us now praise American beer”

  1. Eric Lee

    I work in a building called the Mission Brewery near downtown San Diego. It’s been around since 1913, and it still does brew beer. Here’s an old picture of it:

    http://www.sandiegohistory.org/collections/brewery/images/4590-6.jpg

    And here’s what it looks like today — my office is in the main brick part:

    http://www.footedevelopment.com/htmlpics/MissionBrewery018ds.jpg

    Here’s a more close-up pic where you can see on the right the actual brewery:

    http://www.footedevelopment.com/htmlpics/MissionBrewery016ds.jpg

    I still haven’t had any of their brew yet, but they brew for the Coronado Brewing Company, a microbrew restraunt place. It’s supposed to be pretty decent. It’s sort of a fun thing to share with people who like beer 🙂

    My faves are probably Pacifico and most IPA’s, though. I can’t stand anything Coors or Budweiser.

    Reply
  2. Andy

    The town I grew up in (Cumberland, MD) was a brewery town in the first half of the twentieth century. It was home to such gems as Old Dutch, Old Export and Old German (the latter of which I think is still being made somewhere) but they wouldn’t show up on your list of great American beers.

    Since then I’ve moved to a suburb of Portland, Oregon, which is beervana. Among the Oregon beers that are available (occasionally) outside Oregon and deserve to be on any list of great American beers are Widmer Hefeweizen and anything by Rogue (you’re most likely to find Dead Guy Ale). And if you’re ever in the Pacific Northwest, a visit to one of the McMenamin’s pubs is a must.

    Reply
  3. Joshie

    I think it’s important, especially for microbrews, to be incarnational about your swill.

    I love Sierra Nevada and Widmer makes a good hefewiezen, but there’s less likelyhood of skunkiness and something intangibly satisfying about drinking beer made in places close by.

    Goose Island is great, and Cleveland’s Great Lakes Brewing Company is great too, but if you can find it, check out the beers by the Kalamazoo Brewing Co., most of which carry the name Bell’s. Their most popular one around here is their spring ale (which can still be found into early fall) called Oberon. Just a really good, flowery but not obnoxious light ale. Other standouts include Two-hearted Ale (uber-hoppy, an acquired taste) and Third Coast Beer (lager). The Porter and the rest of their line is good too.

    Also there’s something cool about have the house beers at a brew pub. They may not be the best beers in the world, but they’re usually affordable (especially if you’re into stout and porter) and your chances of swallowing a skunk are nil.

    http://www.bellsbeer.com/

    Reply

Leave a reply to Andy Cancel reply

More posts