rcd@opus.UUCP (Dick Dunn) (04/20/84)
It's popular, even stylish, to take potshots at the major American brewers,
saying that what they produce is insipid, off, tastes like h*rs*p*ss, etc.
I succumb and do that from time to time. It would make a lot more sense if
we condemned them for what's really wrong:
They all taste the same.
Yes, there are minor differences, but the average beer drinker won't know a
Schlitz from an Oly from a Bud unless he sees the container. The
differences and preferences are largely developed from intense advertising
aimed at creating brand loyalty.
However, most of the beers are competently made, and it takes a lot of care
to produce consistent beer. For example, even to professional tasters and
connoisseurs, Budweiser is regarded as quite a good beer. It has the right
balance of malt vs bitterness, reasonable body (for its type!), etc. But
then the same brewer produces several minor variations on the same light
lager theme, and it's boring. It's as if all you could get at any of the
lunch places in town were hamburgers - don't say they don't make good
hamburgers just because they all make the same thing. Criticize the fact
that nobody makes pizza or tacos. Where are the porters and stouts, honest
dark beers, or specialties, coming out of the major US breweries? Quite
literally, there aren't any.
--
...Are you making this up as you go along? Dick Dunn
{hao,ucbvax,allegra}!nbires!rcd (303) 444-5710 x3086djl@fisher.UUCP (Dan Levin N6BZA ) (04/21/84)
While I am willing to agree that American breweries are moderately
competent at producing what they so freely refer to as 'beer,' what
they are producing has about the same relationship to a good lager as
does Cold Duck to Domain Chandon.
The masses in this country enjoy consuming vast quantities of a pale,
rather watery beverage which is the result of partial fermentation of
various grains. This 'beer' (insert your favorite generic brand name
here) is in the same class a very light lager,... almost. A quick
comparison of a real lager (say Foster's or Dinkel Acker) with one of
these American brews will quickly show the basic differences. A real
lager, even a very light one such as St. Pauly Girl, has body, and a
depth of taste that is completely foreign to American brews.
While I realize that the public gets what the public wants, do me the
favor of admitting that when put up against a *real* lager, Bud hasn't
got a chance. The fact that no porters, stouts, nor even good pale
ales are produced by major American brewers is only a sad testimonial
to the tastes of the American drinking public.
--
***dan
{ihnp4 | decvax | ucbvax}!allegra!fisher!djl
The misplaced (you call *that* a mountain ?!?!?) Californianrcd@opus.UUCP (Dick Dunn) (04/26/84)
My views on a few more points: >...First, the lighter a beer is, the cheaper it is to make. True in some respects - ingredients, at least, are cheaper. However, ales ferment faster, so you can produce more with the same fermenter capacity. Actually, the cost of ingredients can easily be swamped by the costs of packaging, transportation, advertising, etc. >...I even read somewhere, Fred Eckhardt's Treatise on >Lager Beer, I think, that the brewing industry refers to what they make as >"malt beverage" not "beer" in their own trade journal. In fact, Fred actually says this - but a quick look at a copy of Brewer's Digest I have (about a year old) shows the word "beer" freely used. I couldn't find "malt beverage". Fred has done wondrous things in promoting beer, and homebrewing in particular, but there are parts of his "Treatise" which badly need revision. >...many people, myself include, have >started making their own. When I brew my own, I get what I like, and I know >exactly what's gone into it... Here, Archie is right on target - SOME US brewers will put damn near anything the FDA will allow into their beer. There are 50-odd things that can be added; somebody read the list into the Congressional Record. The list includes fragrances, things to make a head and then things to control the head, colors, clarifying agents, etc. But other US brewers are careful to tell you exactly what goes in - Anchor is one - and they're good about it. This includes both small and large breweries. Still, do it yourself if you want it done right (or want to know why it's wrong, anyway:-) Homebrewing really works. -- ...Cerebus for dictator! Dick Dunn {hao,ucbvax,allegra}!nbires!rcd (303) 444-5710 x3086
archiel@hercules.UUCP (Archie Lachner) (04/26/84)
What makes German beers different is that they are made from malt
(some of it wheat malt in the case of wiessbier), hops, water, and
nothing else BY GERMAN LAW. It is also illegal to import beer into
Germany that does not conform to this law, named the Reinheitsgebot.
There is thus much more of a malty flavor in German beers, even the
lightest of them, than in most American beers.
Not all the sugars in a wort can be fermented. Most of the dextrinous
sugars ferment slowly if at all. Since American beers are made with
a high proportion of adjuncts, usually corn or rice, which contribute
only fermentable sugars, American beers have less body.
As for Salvator, Kulminator, etc., I'd rather drink one bottle of
one of these than a six-pack of Bud any day!
--
Archie Lachner
Logic Design Systems Division
Tektronix, Inc.
uucp: {ucbvax,decvax,pur-ee,cbosg,ihnss}!tektronix!teklds!archiel
CSnet: archiel@tek
ARPAnet: archiel.tek@csnet-relaymsc@qubix.UUCP (Mark Callow) (04/27/84)
From an article by Dick Dunn >> The masses in this country enjoy consuming vast quantities of a pale, >> rather watery beverage which is the result of partial fermentation of >> various grains... > First of all, you don't "partially ferment" - fermentation is carried to > completion, of necessity... The American breweries (and many British ones, much to the annoyance of CAMRA -- the Campaign for Real Ale) pasteurize their beer with the specific intent of killing the yeast and STOPPING the fermentation so that bar owners and publicans are not required to have to care for their beer stocks. "Partially fermented" is an accurate description. "Real" beer is still fermenting when delivered to the pub and has to be cared for by cellaring at proper temperatures etc. and later in the same article.... > One of the sad facts is that European > brewers often cater to US tastes - we've tasted Heineken and St. Pauli > among some American lagers, and they didn't stand out, to speak of. Only on beers exported to the US (thanks God). What else do you expect. They are trying to sell more beer. -- From the TARDIS of Mark Callow msc@qubix.UUCP, decwrl!qubix!msc@Berkeley.ARPA ...{decvax,ucbvax,ihnp4}!decwrl!qubix!msc, ...{ittvax,amd70}!qubix!msc "I'm a citizen of the Universe, and a gentleman to boot!"