Wanted: An American beer
By William Brand
Friday, September 5th, 2008 at 2:06 pm in General.
OK, here’s a question to consider this weekend? Which beer should be our American beer – the one that instantly means U.S.A., the one that shows American brewing skill, a beer that gives us bragging rights – even in the UK, Germany and Belgium.
One that won’t embarrass us in the eyes of experienced beer drinkers worldwide. That’s important, zero embarrassment factor. Originality is also important.
Comments welcome.
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September 5th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
I think of SNPA as a very american beer that’s already well respected world-wide. It’s also quite possibly the most readily available “micro”brew.
September 5th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
I have always believed Sierra Nevada Pale Ale should be the minimum standard for American beer. It’s available everywhere I’ve ever lived and provides a consistently good experience.
Maybe you should separate “bragging rights” from “means U.S.A.”
- Æ
September 5th, 2008 at 5:29 pm
Style-wise, a California Common or San Diego IPA. The latter works doubly because we’re an imperialist country.
September 5th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
Indeed! But I really think you’d need a lager as well.
No major labels, please. I’d nominate Yuengling, a regional brewer in Pennsylvania.
September 5th, 2008 at 6:36 pm
It’s gotta be Anchor Steam. It’s the only American brew style that isn’t a copy or extreme version of something else. Sierra Nevada and Sam Adams get honorable mentions.
September 5th, 2008 at 8:31 pm
Another vote for Sierra, here. My 60-something year old uncle from Germany spent his recent (and very first) visit to the States alternating between obsessing over Sierra and Costco. I think that pretty much sums it up.
September 5th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
Thought I posted this earlier, but I’ll do it again:
I vote for Sierra, but Anchor works as well.
Personally, I’d love to see people rally around their local brewery.
September 5th, 2008 at 9:33 pm
Anchor Steam - For it’s uniqueness factor like Sean mentioned.
September 5th, 2008 at 9:45 pm
The one beer that instantly springs to mind is Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Distinctive, World-Class and 100% American.
September 5th, 2008 at 10:45 pm
Anchor, but otherwise I’d go the Imperial IPA as a unique style.
September 6th, 2008 at 7:13 pm
As of today, only one beer is considered to be 100% American in origin is California Common AKA Steam Beer.
All other styles are considered to be American versions of pre-existing foreign styles. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is an American version of English Pale Ale. Budweiser is considered to be an American version of Bohemian Plsner, etc.
In my humble opinion …..
Americans have taken these styles and muted them enough to no longer considered to be variation on a theme.
If you go purely by numbers, Bud lite is the national brew. I cannot imagine anybody who does not work for Anheuser-Busch supporting such a proposal.
How about regular Bud, Miller, Coors and all of it’s American Lager brothers? Nobody else in the world makes beers like that. Certainly it is the most popular of the American styles to choose from.
But numbers alone does not make it a credible selection.
Having said all that. My choice? Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. The malty and strong hoppy bitterness. The Cascade hops that are uniquely American in flavor.
Sierra Nevada is unique and stands up against any beer brewed in the world.
I would not quibble if Anchor Steam was chosen. After all it is 100% American in origin.
brewnot
September 7th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
California Common, of course! One of the only Original American beers…. ;-}
September 7th, 2008 at 5:02 pm
Great choices. I was leaning toward Sierra Nevada, but you know, Anchor Steam has a longer history; Also, it was an adaptation to Gold Rush days, when ice wasn’t plentiful and refrigeration was still a decade or two ahead. So, lager yeast, warm, open fermenters and a totally new style was born.
The trouble with Bud & Co. is they;re all ersatz beers, like coffee made with wheat that was the only coffee available in Nazi-held Europe during WWII and as soon as we won the war, ersatz coffee was gone. Bud and all the other light lagers are similar, just slight changes on the original German lager. Rice or corn are used to make the taste lighter.
My thoughts anyway. I wouldnt quibble with either Sierra Nevada or Anchor. Unlike light lagers, they both taste great and in no way are an embarrassment to us Americans on the world’s stage.
September 7th, 2008 at 10:00 pm
@Brewnot:
How is SN a muted version of a British pale ale? If anything it’s an amplified version. With the exception of macro lagers, American styles take a classic example and up the hops, malt, alcohol, etc. Look at Sam Smith’s Imperial Stout vs Stone’s. A British IPA vs Racer 5.
A friend just returned from England where the locals took him to a bar for some American beers, they were astonished that we consider Sierra Nevada a session beer, because it was just too big for them.
September 7th, 2008 at 10:29 pm
Mario,
I meant mutated in the positive, Darwin, improvement through evolution, strengthening the strain kind of way.
However. To me, SNPA roots are clearly in English Pale Ales. The color, malt to bitterness ratio, yeast flavor profile SNPA’s starting point.
Sierra Nevada took the basic Bass type of Pale Ale and made it hoppier, maltier and stronger.
Without a doubt, English Pale Ales, IPAs, etc are more polite than the American version. They got MGs, we got GTOs.
IMHO American Pale Ale and IPA are so different than their English 2nd cousin, they are a different beer.
Everything (Malts, Hops & Yeast) are not only different in amount but also in flavor characteristics. e.g. American “citrus” hops, clean Chico yeast, American malt flavor.
I think we agree….
brewnot
September 8th, 2008 at 5:35 am
you can say that most american beers are copies of european styles, and yes, they started out that way, but i think they’ve been changed so much you can call them original. like SNPA… sure, it’s based on an english pale but it’s made with american 2-row, which is completely different from the maris otter or golden promise or whatever most pales are made with from england. then you have the hops… even the most casual beer drinker can tell the difference between an earthy, flowery kent golding or fuggle and any of our piney, citrusy indigenous american hops. so when you change 85 percent of the malt bill and the entire taste profile of the hop, can you really call it a copy?
and i’m sure the cali common style was a riff on something european, too. the history of the style is a little hard to pin down, but there is a old german style of beer called dampfbier (meaning steam beer) that was a lager fermented at high temperatures, which is what a california common is. could be a coincidence, but there could be a connection as well.
September 8th, 2008 at 7:11 am
good points Slanted. For sure, SNPA is nothing like British pale ale and I’m sure the original brewers of Anchor set out to create a European beer for their mostly European customers. But, because of conditions, it became uniquely Ameidan.
September 8th, 2008 at 10:17 am
Russian River Pliny the Elder (double IPA). This ale epitomizes the boldness of the California Hophead Nation, and Vinnie Cilurzo is the Emperor of IPA. We don’t want to impress Europe, we want to conquer them.
September 8th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
With my non-beer-holding hand over my heart, I’d say Anchor’s Liberty Ale.