God Bless America - Part I

Yeah that’s right. God bless America.

No, I haven’t gone all patriotic on you and listening to the Star Spangled Banner on repeat. Not at all. But credit where credit is due…

Thinking about the international beer scene, America barely springs to mind. In fact what it does do is conjure up thoughts about some of the worst big corporate beer brands out there…Bud, Coors, Miller…and all their ghastly Light versions.

However I come with good news. Do not be fooled by the above mentioned carbonated waters. Sure they dominate advertising over there, especially with American sports and in some (only some) parts of the country it feels like they are the only beers on tap. But so what? That’s no different to Fosters or Tooheys products here in Australia.

I’ve been told 40 years ago there were only 30 odd breweries in the States. Today there are over 2000. That’s some modern day explosion.

What I can say is that after a month long visit to the States I was blown away by the quality of domestic (craft) beers. Blown away.

I thought Australia was progressive when it came to craft beer. Thought the industry was pretty well advanced but admittedly with a long way to go. But no. Not compared to America. In the US, craft beer is very much part of the popular beer drinking scene. In some regions it dominates the scene. As in...there is nothing on tap but local craft beer.

Let me elaborate and ponder (i.e. make up) why that might be.

The New England region would have to be the world’s biggest hot spot for microbreweries and craft beer. Google ‘breweries in Maine’. There are dozens and dozens. Is it the fine produce, the seafood, the fact that it is dubbed America’s ‘vactionland’ and therefore visitors need to experience all things local? Maybe. But it probably has something to do with America’s largest craft brewery just down the road in Boston…Samuel Adams.

Yeah okay Sam Adams is hardly a little boutique brewery but it started out as one and even today they produce speciality, high quality ales. It means in Boston (and throughout New England) Sam Adams is the main ‘big brand beer’ and due to its success, other craft breweries are popping up hopeful of squeezing into the market. Harpoon in Boston and Shipyard in Portland are two good examples. It helps that locals are accustomed to drinking a higher quality ale and its success largely keeps the likes of Bud Light out of the region. And for that we say thank you Mr Adams.

What is truly startling in New England is the experience of walking into a pub. Not only are there numerous ‘brewpubs’ which offer a number of their own freshly brewed craft beers on tap, but so many other pubs and even restaurants specialise in local craft beers from the region. And I don’t mean having half a dozen beers on tap. I mean 80. Sometimes even more!

It’s Disneyland for a beer drinker and the experience goes way beyond the option of trying hundreds of craft beers. It’s a sight to be hold.

In comparison Australia doesn’t put a huge amount of effort into the beer tap. Pretty basic badge or logo most of the time. But not over there. We’re talking everything elaborate from boats, lobsters, moose heads, dogs, pumpkins, seals, crabs shooting hoops. Hours could be spent studying these beer taps.

 

The accessibility of the beer is wonderful too. Over here it is difficult to drink local craft beers unless bought in a bottle shop or direct from the brewery. So many good quality beers just cannot be found within most pubs/restaurants unless you head to a specialty pub that makes the effort like Mrs Parmas in Melbourne’s CBD. In New England locals get to sit and drink their favourite brew in pretty much any pub…and usually on tap. It's Bud and Coors that are available only by the can or bottle and hidden somewhere under the bar just in case someone walks in asking for it. Bliss!

In a lot of the bigger cities like New York it is a little different. The corporate beer giants are much more prevalent. Part of it is the ‘stupid’ foreign tourist thinking they should drink Bud cos they are in America. Yet still there are microbreweries popping up around the city like Brooklyn Brewery. Head to a pub in somewhere a little edgier than Manhattan like New Jersey, Brooklyn or Queens and you start to see a lot more craft beers on tap.

But that brings me to San Francisco. A gem of a city that beer wise should be on the East Coast! The beer scene is dominated by Anchor Brewing, a great brewery producing speciality craft beers. There are other microbreweries dotted around the city and beyond, however it is so refreshing seeing a local craft beer on tap in every beer drinking establishment around the city. Even San Francisco’s infamous Chinatown sells Anchor as the beer of choice…along with Tsingtao of course.

But hey things are never always that perfect.

Las Vegas? Okay lets not go there. Surprisingly there are a few microbreweries like Sin City Brewing or Chicago Brewing Company (yes it is from Nevada, it’s just a beer style thing), but for the effort to locate them, they aren’t exactly of the quality of their East Coast/Californian counterparts.

As for Texas well they do produce a few speciality brews (they do like their Amber ales such as Ziegen Bock)…but Texas Busch seems to be everywhere. And it’s not good busch at all…

The only problem with a country containing so many breweries is that many start getting a little too creative in an attempt to gain their market share. Enter American flavoured beers.

More prevalent in New England, the main offenders seemed to be Blueberry Beers and Pumpkin Ales. In Portland Shipyard’s Pumpkinhead Ale and Gritty’s Halloween Ale are two examples of drinking a glass full of pumpkin pie. An acquired taste for sure and not one I’m even close to appreciating! But I guess when blueberries and pumpkins are in plague proportions you gotta do something with it. Let’s be thankful Maine doesn’t add lobster to some of its brews!

So any beer drinkers out there who have pegged America as a bad lager drinking nation…just hold that thought and maybe organise a trip to the US. The beer drinking experience is wonderful! I for one cannot wait to return and explore more cities for their high quality beer.

That’s it folks. Next time I will go into more detail about my experiences visiting specific breweries, brewpubs and drinking local craft beers in the US. That’s if in the meantime I don’t disappear and slip back for some more of these beers.

God bless America indeed.

Till then,

Cheers!…Prost!...Salute!...Kampai!