« Own The Upside | Main | From GSE to Government Agency » The Belgians are Coming14 Jul 2008 02:11 pm
Obviously, like all red-blooded Americans I'm outraged by the idea of a Belgian company with the silly name InBev purchasing our beloved Budweiser. Still, wouldn't it be kind of great if the Belgians started turning Budweiser into something more like the, um, vastly superior product they have in Belgium? Just saying. Relatedly, wouldn't it kind of suck to be Claire McCaskill and duty-bound to endorse absurd claims about the quality of mass market American beer? Comments (126)
Still, wouldn't it be kind of great if the Belgians started turning Budweiser into something more like the, um, vastly superior product they have in Belgium? Stella Artois? Yeah, that'd be a big step up... 
Budweiser is a great American beer and anybody who says different is a communist. That's you, Yglesias. Elitist prick. So many elite Americans think that by drinking a foreign beer they have found something better and smarter and cooler. But go over to the home of Guinness, an elitist favorite, and you'll find young Irish drinking our beloved Budweiser more than their own beer at a lot of bars. This country was built on Budweiser. Don't hate it because it's beautiful!
OK, I hate Budweiser as much as the next guy with any taste, but it is the #1 selling beer in the world, by some huge margin. It would be a pretty stupid idea to buy AB in order to change that product.
If that's the company that makes Leffe Blonde, then I have to point out that that stuff sucks. Tastes like Tops bubblegum. (Definitely not as bad as Budweiser, of course. Kinda like Obama vs. McCain. ;) )
It's just a shame this didn't happen back in 2003 during the whole "Old Europe," "Freedom Fries" episode. Too bad InBev probably won't make any effort to improve the swill offered by A-B. In my dreams the St. Louis Cardinals, beginning in 2009, play in InBev Stadium.
Budweiser is a great American beer and anybody who says different is a communist. That's you, Yglesias. Elitist prick. So many elite Americans think that by drinking a foreign beer they have found something better and smarter and cooler. But go over to the home of Guinness, an elitist favorite, and you'll find young Irish drinking our beloved Budweiser more than their own beer at a lot of bars. This country was built on Budweiser. Don't hate it because it's beautiful!
If they started filling the Bud bottles with Stella, would anyone notice?
Do not mock the land of Tintin!
Yeah, Stella Artois and Beck's aren't exactly tasty treats. Who cares?
Our host hates American beer, wishes the revolutionary war never happened, opposes any measures that would increase American energy production, and staunchly opposes virtually every anti-terrorism measure. Mr. Yglesias, what is it about America that you *do* like?
I for one love American beer. Ever tried Arrogant Bastard? Yummmm. Not to mention that some of my favorite Belgian-style ales come from historic Flemish towns like Cooperstown, NY and Downingtown, PA.
People are crapping their pants here in St. Louis. Having A-B bought out by foreigners is like having the French by the rights to apple pie. And I have to admit that I drink Bud Light when it is hot outside and I am trying to get drunk. Sad, sad day.
While I love American microbrew, no matter how dense or hoppy, I'm not a big fan of Belgian beer. Belgian beer has this overfermented, cloying sort of quality that reminds me of stinky cheese. Also, it's usually about 2-3 time the price of a really good American microbrew (Rogue, Dogfish, etc).
Best blog title I've come across in a log time. Cracked me up. Bravo!
I wonder if this will have any implications for the name dispute with Budweiser/Czechvar, since Belgium is an EU country. And yes, Budweiser is awful. Calling it beer is too charitable. If you have to have a mass-produced beer, go with Sam Adams. Patriotic name as a bonus.
Mass produced American lagers and pilseners suck, for a couple very simple reasons. First, Prohibition drove all but the largest breweries out of business. Second, the ones that survived were forced by WWII rationing to add things like corn and rice into their manufacturing processes, rendering the beer horrible. Third, as a result of the above 2 or 3 generations of American beer drinkers didn't know any better and had their taste buds destroyed by shitty beer. As for InBev, it's also part Brazilian. Brazilian beer anyone? And while better than American macro brews, Belgians are way too much in love with spiced unfiltered wheat beers.
Brazilian beer anyone?
Stella Artois? Have you actually drunk a Bud lately? It *would* be a big step up. No, Stella is not particularly good or flavorful as Belgian beers go, but...come on. Try to drink a Bud when it's not tastebud-numbing cold. blech.
Feeling any emotional attachment to Budweiser is like shedding a tear if McDonald's was bought by some international food conglomerate. Really, who cares? They make a mass-produced, mass-market product whose main appeal is in its ability to consistently reproduce the taste, however mediocre it may be. On Rogue beers: great name, mediocre result.
Belgian beer has this overfermented, cloying sort of quality that reminds me of stinky cheese. A cloying flavor would be caused by under-fermentation, not over-fermentation. During fermentation, yeast eat sugar and excrete alcohol and CO2. What you are tasting are the esters, or flavor compounds, normally produced by the yeast strains traditionally used by Belgian brewers. (I don't care for them either.)
I for one love American beer. Ever tried Arrogant Bastard? Yummmm. I agree, people who hate American beer have never tried to buy a good American beer. Stone Brewing Co. (the makers of Arrogant Bastard) actually make a ton of beer. It's not like you have to find some out of the way micro brewery to drink excellent American made beer. I just get pissed when people complain about the quality of American beer and they have made zero effort to drink a quality American beer. Or when people define American beer solely as beer with the Bud/Miller/Coors brand.
The rest of my post was supposed to say, "sure- make mine a Xingu!"
If they started filling the Bud bottles with Stella, would anyone notice? Yeah, Stella Artois and Beck's aren't exactly tasty treats. Oh, come on, that's a bit much. Stella and Beck's may not be my first or second choice, but they're not Clydesdale piss either.
As for InBev, it's also part Brazilian. Brazilian beer anyone? Brahma is good stuff. I have to say that I'll take a Sam or a Linney over Becks or a Stella. Bud kinda sucks, but there are a ton of great American breweries.
Bud's supposed to be taste-bud-numbing cold. So is Stella. That's what pilsner-type lagers are for, cooling you off on a hot day or chasing down a shot of whiskey.
Steve LaBonne - I stand corrected.
They shouldn't really touch Budweiser, because, as bad as it is, it sells. What they should do is capitalize on the A-B distribution to sell more Belgian beer here. I wonder what Cindy McCain and family feel about this deal.
Budweiser isn't awful. It's not good or interesting. It's just really dull and flavorless.
That's what pilsner-type lagers are for, cooling you off on a hot day... No, that's what water is for.
Dull and flavorless? That sounds swful.
OK, I hate Budweiser as much as the next guy with any taste, but it is the #1 selling beer in the world, by some huge margin. It would be a pretty stupid idea to buy AB in order to change that product. This assumes that the product, meaning the actual beer, has something to do with the success. I'm sure marketing and name recognition has a lot more to do with it, since it doesn't taste any different than Miller, Coors, etc. My unsolicited opinion is that I like American microbrew ales better than just about anything but I do like Belgian beer.
Mr. Yglesias, what is it about America that you *do* like?
Ben says, "Belgian beer has this overfermented, cloying sort of quality that reminds me of stinky cheese." Please define overfermented. Or do you mean "fermented at higher temperatures, which causes the yeasts to produce more fruity aromatics"?
As strange as it sounds, people who like Budweiser prefer the taste to Coors or Miller. They all suck, but they suck in subtly different ways. If InBev changed the formula, loyal Bud drinkers would be able to tell. Word would spread that those lousy foreigners were messing with the beer, and lots of people would probably switch brands.
I'm gonna actually stick up for Bud a little here. Tyro mentioned McDonald's and it's pretty apt. Both companies are shooting at a fairly low-class target, but they execute very well. Someone has to serve the people who don't really like how beer tastes. @ Tyro: Rogue makes a lot of excellent beer. Dead Guy is kinda boring, but that's their mass-market product. I don't judge them by that any more than I judge Brooklyn by Brooklyn Lager.
Saying "I don't like Belgian beer" is kind of like saying "I don't like soup." It comes in hundreds of different kinds with greatly varying flavors. The differences in flavor between, e.g., Stella, Westmalle Dubbel, and a representative gueuze are much, much greater than the differences between any three American mass-produced beers.
The American beer renaissance, as it's called, has been driven by the microbrews. I'll confidently say that American micros are the most inventive, daring, and flavorful beers in history. And they're all "out of the way", so to speak. Stone, in San Diego, only markets Arrogant Bastard, the Damnation IPA, and a seasonal outside of California and Arizona. Dogfish Head, thankfully, sends a brewer to Cincinnati every year to tap the 120-minute IPA; aside from that weekend, we can only get 3 brews from them. Budweiser is what's wrong with alcohol. Even when they distribute a micro (RedHook, New Belgium) they fuck up the recipe. How do you like that, Republicans? I'm a patriotic beer snob, because people who like American beers don't like Bud.
"[Bud] doesn't taste any different than Miller, Coors, etc." Yeah, and Marlboros don't taste any different than Camels. I pity your lack of taste discrimination.
Stella Artois is disgusting swill, and the rest of InBev's roster isn't so impressive, either. I like Budweiser the way it is; if I want a beer with higher ABV or specific gravity, there are literally hundreds of micros to turn to.
Isn't the real issue here what will become of the Natural Light and 40s of King Cobra? Come on... When people start thinking about the kids?
Stop hating on Budweiser. I'll let Daniel Davies make my case. Also, I like Stella, but most Belgian beers I have encountered suck. Spices? In Beer? Really?
Defending Budweiser is like drinking PBR -- you're either a poseur, on a low budget, or both.
If American mass market beer wasn't disgusting cheap swill, maybe A-B could sell more of it. Now that most Americans have tasted good beer, those of us who can afford it often choose to purchase it, unless we're on a bender at the beach and therefore want to split a case of Miller Lite before passing out in a sand dune. It would be great if A-B could stay American and actually produce good beers (outside of their Red Hook line,) but the Belgians drink (and produce) great beer - hopefully they'll bring some Belgian craftmanship to the lethargic cheap and mid-priced beer market...
Virtually InBev's entire lineup is piss. Labatt? Stella? Beck's? Kokanee? This is one conglomeration of terrible beer-makers just adding one more (really big) feather to its cap. Sadly, it could affect smaller, quality brewers by making it more difficult negotiate shelf-space (InBev and A-B both have sweetheart deals with distributors which are designed to screw the smaller breweries). Also, it may affect smaller players' ability to get affordable hops and malt as prices worldwide on both have skyrocketed. Fortunately, I live in Portland where we grow most of the raw ingredients locally and crank out an obscene number of delicious craft brews. I feel sorry for the rest of you though...
While it's fun to imagine InBev screwing with the formulation of A-B's products, in reality it's just non-nonsensical, like buying Coca-Cola, Inc and dicking with their leading syrup. But, this reality check is merely an excuse for me to chime in with my own swill anecdote: Shams Beer (ab-eh-jo-eh-Shams), product of pre-revolutionary Iran, usually warm unless served at an American's party, the recycled bottles frequently chipped, and a flavor precursor to the not-yet-invented Bud Light. But, to an expat teenager, it rocked.
Bragan, saying a beer is better than Budweiser doesn't put it in the "tasty treat" category. Somebody above had it right; this is about as significant as some international food conglomerate buying McDonalds, just like was done with Burger King a couple of decades ago. There are good beers brewed from all corners of the planet (some Asian brews, like Singha, are really underappreciated in the U.S.) Budweiser, Stella, and Beck's aren't among them.
Wasn't Busch the brewery who bashed on Miller for being bought by South Africans?
But go over to the home of Guinness, an elitist favorite, and you'll find young Irish drinking our beloved Budweiser more than their own beer at a lot of bars. Probably for the same reason hipsters here in the States drink Euro beers - it's an import. Or for the irony - every "cool" bar in DC is now serving PBR, which taste like, to quote my Dad - "panther piss".
By the way, I'll plug Trader Joe's again as a good place to find a wide variety of good beer at good prices.
There are good beers brewed from all corners of the planet (some Asian brews, like Singha, are really underappreciated in the U.S.) Budweiser, Stella, and Beck's aren't among them. You don't say? Gee, thanks, Will. Next time I'm at a Thai restaurant and reflexively order a Singha, I hopefully won't be reminded of your beechwood-aged wisdom.
Break em all up!!!! Smash the beer conglomerates! This is an unsurpassed opportunity for a true beer revolution. As if that will happen.
OK, this post has finally outed Yglesias' blog as not having one single regular Joe reading it and commenting on it. Because regular folks like Bud. Nothing like an ice cold can of Bud straight out of the cooler at a summer BBQ or tailgate. The hate for Bud is equal to the douchebaggery almost all of Yglesias' readers practice on the daily. What a bunch of elitist snobs.
It does my heart good to see so many defenders of real beer on this board. I too loathe Pudweiser (bottled straight from the Clydesdale). I'm particularly happy with seeing Stone Brewing brought up as an example. They do make some fantastic products. Ballast Point in San Diego is pretty darn good too. For an even larger company that turns out very respectable stuff, look at Sierra Nevada. They might not get your pick of the litter in this style or that, but they consistently put out good products. I disagree with Tyro on Rogue. Not every beer is a hit, but they turn out a solid products. I love their Mocha Porter. Santa's Special Reserve is solid. As to the mention of Downingtown, that has to Victory which turns out killer products but has the crappiest brewpub I've ever been in. Loud, echoing (somebody needs to understand that you have to hang soft material in a warehouse), and the food is pretty lame (and doing decent pub grub shouldn't be that hard). But oh, that beer. (Troeg's and Stoudt's in Pennsylvania are also solid.) I think the single most overhyped craft beer has to come from Sam Adams. I've never had product of theirs that has risen to the middle of the pack for its style. Drinkable, but nothing you'd seek out.
No, you're all wrong. My favorite beer is the best, and all your favorite beers are disgusting swill. Take THAT!
Later today: a pizza blog.
I have to second the comment by ANM, to call Budweiser as somehow essentially American is ridiculous. The original Czech Pilseners provided the inspiration for A.B., Budweiser and most light lagers throughout the world. But Budweiser is not despised by beer connoisseurs because it tastes bad or poorly made. It is despised because it is simple and rather boring, yet it and others like it dominate the market while delicious and complex brews are pushed off the shelves. They feel that A.B. uses its market position and distributional network to stifle competition and gain market share. Yes, marketing gimmicks and history play an important role in maintaining Budweisers popularity, but it is a very drinkable beer who's flavor and quality is remarkably consistent. These are qualities that are hard to produce in simple, light lagers. The margin of error for taste and color is much greater than with darker, more flavorful brews. A.B. is already such a multinationial behemoth, that to decry its takeover by another behemoth does not make any sense. A.B. owns and distributes hundreds of beers from all over the world right now. Anyone outraged over this had not been paying attention to the consolidation in the Beer and Spirits Market over the last 5 years, and is probably under the spell of all those Bud Light commercials....Ribbit!
OK, I hate Budweiser as much as the next guy with any taste, but it is the #1 selling beer in the world, by some huge margin. It is? SABMiller was the biggest producer before yesterday. Bud isn't even the #1 selling beer in the US (and Americans drink far less per capita than, say, the Germans). I had read that Heineken was the #1 selling label worldwide.
Well golly gee, Bragan, I apologize profusely for offering an opinion on beer. I didn't realize it was something you were uniquely qualified to do.
I've drank many gallons of beer, but I never had my Budweiser moment. I drank Old Mil, Milwaukee's Best and other discount beer in college. I drank foreign beers when I was overseas and then drank Blitz (or occasionally Olympia) when I was in Oregon and really poor. Then, once I had enough money, I wasn't drinking enough to justify buying anything worse than Brooklyn Brown or Pennant Ale. So, what stage of life are you supposed to drink lots of Bud? 'Cause I think I missed it.
I think the single most overhyped craft beer has to come from Sam Adams.
Wasn't Busch the brewery who bashed on Miller for being bought by South Africans? Yes it was, Dilan. In fact, they had anti-Miller propaganda in ads above the urinals at Busch Gardens a few years ago. The ads referred to "South African Breweries Miller." That made me hate Budweiser even more.
I hopefully won't be reminded of your beechwood-aged wisdom. Somewhere, I have a homebrew recipe that ends something like "then, tape the piece of beechwood to the outside of the primary fermenter to enjoy all of the advantages of 'beechwood aging'." Heh.
Seth, you make a good point about the large conglomerates sometimes dominating too much shelf space, to the point that consumer ends up with far fewer options. With some retailers, by the time all the AB products, from the Michelob, to the Budwieser, to the Busch, in all their varieties, get on the shelves, there ain't a lot of space left for brewers who produce something which has more flavor.
Later today: a pizza blog.
Chuck said... Or for the irony - every "cool" bar in DC is now serving PBR, which taste like, to quote my Dad - "panther piss". It's the same sex in a canoe, i.e. it's f***ing close to water. To give them their due, A-B may be boring and dull, but they HAVE produced some brutally funny commercials.
Many "regular folks" like Taco Bell. Does that mean it's the best Mexican food available? Many "regular folks" like Wonder Bread. Does that mean it's the best bread in the world? If liking something made with care and quality ingredients makes one an "elitist snob", then your definition scoops up a lot of people. Maybe southerners who take great pride in their non-mass produced BBQ are elitist snobs. Or maybe Marylanders who insist on fresh crabs, or Texans who take pride in their chili. And Louisiana is crawling with elitist snobs!
Imagine if Matt could construct a post combining beer, pizza, and Mac vs. PC ... ... in Israel.
Somehow I doubt that a beer called Arrogant Bastard is really aiming at the same consumer niche as a beer brewed at a trappist monastery since 1240.
No shit. Imagine if Matt could construct a post combining beer, pizza, and Mac vs. PC -- he'd break a 1000 comments (though the Atlantic comment sysemt would probably self-destruct after a couple hundred). For truly apocalyptic levels of vitriol, he could weave in something on the I/P conflict. When biking home from Chevy Chase Wine & Liquors with a six pack of Hoegaarden, it is appropriate to roll through stop signs so as not to disturb the suds.
It is despised because it is simple and rather boring, yet it and others like it dominate the market while delicious and complex brews are pushed off the shelves. I usually make it a point to walk past the stacks and stacks of piss-beer in the store going "where's the beer?" until I reach the American microbrews, and then say "ah, here it is!" Loudly. Selling something made with corn and rice as "beer" should be prosecuted as fraud. Call it "malt product" or something. Under Texas' back-assward liquor laws, any beer over a certain ABV has to be labled as "malt liquor," because apparently, the inbred Baptists at TABC can't tell the difference between Old Foghorn and Schlitz Malt Liquor Bull. Must've burned off their taste-buds down at the meth lab or something. Hell, for years there were barleywines you couldn't buy in Texas because they had "ale" on the label, and you couldn't have both "wine" and "ale" on the same label, which is enough to make you wanna gag a bureaucrat with a White Labs tube of saccharomyces cerevisiae.
I hopefully won't be reminded of your beechwood-aged wisdom. FYI, their "beechwood aging" consists of throwing wood chips into the stainless beer vats. No value judgment there, just mentioning a little trivia that a lot of people don't know. They think Bud is actually aged in beechwood barrels.
I don't drink a lot of Stella, but as mass-produced beers go, it's pretty decent. Nice beer to have on a hot summer day. Certainly better than the American equivalents. Now would I take a Leff or Chimay over Stella? Nine times out of ten, yes. But then 99 times out of 100 I'd take a Victory or a Flying Fish over a Bud or Miller. Interesting trivia: when you have a beer in Belgium, you have it in the proper glass. There's one glass for Leffe Blonde, another one for Leffe Brune, one for Chimay Rouge, one for Chimay Bleue, etc. If you go to a bar or restaurant, they will have all of the appropriate glasses available. (Whoever had the comments on the Victory brewpub in Downingtown had it exactly right by the way: way too loud, and the food is mediocre at best. But that big bottle of Baltic Porter? Awesome!)
Somehow I doubt that a beer called Arrogant Bastard is really aiming at the same consumer niche as a beer brewed at a trappist monastery since 1240. You're underestimating the latter consumer. I expect anyone zymurgically astute enough to appreciate a tripel to know they'd also like a Pacific Northwest take on the British stronge ale style, especially because strong ales are so rare (ESB's and barleywines are more common). Similar yeasts (from the same family), same malt profile, and (inevitably) a shitload more hops are all that separate the two.
If anyone is interested in learning more about how brewers have used exclusive distribution deals to gain competitive advantage in the market place, check out this Dissertation by John Asker from the Econ Department at Harvard in 2004: Essays on exclusive dealing and procurement He estimates the price advantage accrued to brewers who use exclusive distribution deals (something like 14 cents per 12oz bottle, which is huge).
If anyone is interested in learning more about how brewers have used exclusive distribution deals to gain competitive advantage in the market place, check out this Dissertation by John Asker from the Econ Department at Harvard in 2004: Essays on exclusive dealing and procurement He estimates the price advantage accrued to brewers who use exclusive distribution deals (something like 14 cents per 12oz bottle, which is huge).
Saying that a beer "tastes great on a hot day" is like saying "she looked great when I was drunk." Pleasures cannot be guilty unless they are also furtive. That said, if you want a beer that and (b) doesn't suck on any other day go here.
Somehow I doubt that a beer called Arrogant Bastard is really aiming at the same consumer niche as a beer brewed at a trappist monastery since 1240. Uh, I'm with GMT on this one. I purchase and consume both. Right now I have a bottle of Arrogant Bastard and a bottle of Affligem Noel at my house, along with a small collection of Sierra Nevada Bigfoot and Weyerbacher Blithering Idiot barleywines, a few Weyerbacher Simcoe double IPAs, several pale ales (Wild Goose, Bell's, Dogfish Head), a pilsner (Troeg's), a nut brown ale (Bell's), and a few other assorted things. Every style tastes very different than every other style, and they're all delicious.
My guess is that Matt hardly ever drinks beer. Why make Budweiser, the best rice beer in the world, like Belgian beer. If you look Belgian beer, go drink that overly malty gunk, but leave my budweiser alone.
None of you have asked the important question: will this make Lou Dobbs shit himself? This might have a billion dollar effect on US sports. Bud is one of the biggest sports advertisers in the country and In-Bev is notorious for cutting marketing. It might be constant penis pill ads in the NFL next year. http://thesebastards.blogspot.com/2008/07/this-buds-pour-vous.html
InBev's Hoegaarden is why July and August were invented.
Okay, so this post and all of these comments are an extended tribute to the new "Stuff White People Like" book, right?
I thought Hoegaardens were only legal in Amsterdam. (Sorry. Couldn't resist.)
Right now I have a bottle of ... I think it would be extremely naive of us, Mr. President, to imagine that these new developments are going to cause any change in LFC's expansionist policy. Yglesias kneels, unseen, and begins photographing the beer list with a secret camera within a bottle opener. I mean, we must be... increasingly on the alert to prevent them from taking over stocks of other microbrews, in order to drink more prodigiously than we do, thus, passing out in superior numbers when we imbibe! Mr. President, we must not allow... an obscure beer gap!
I wonder what Cindy McCain and family feel about this deal. She's probably thinking it's time to buy that 11th house. http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/07/14/mccains-to-profit-on-anheuser-inbev-deal/
LFC, are you talking about Victory pre-renovation or post-renovation.... They just renovated in the past year and have a pretty solid menu - excellent pizzas, an assortment of munchies, ribs, burgers, and the like - good food to go along with the spectacular beer. That said, Dogfish Head churns out some of the most creative beers these days... The re-engineered ancient brews are fun (Midas Touch, Chateau Jiahu), and Red and White is probably the most interesting beer I've tasted.
I enjoy both Stella and Bud on occasion. I am neither a poseur or low budget. I just have very pedestrian tastes in beer.
I'm just glad we don't have cereal snobs informing me that only an uneducated doof would eat Cheerios and that they'll have nothing less than Wheetabix in their breakfast bowl.
I generally don't like the trend of iconic American brands and products being bought by foreigners and under their control. It speaks to the diminution of our nation under globalism and our fiscal recklessness and trade deficits - as assets it took us 200 years to build and grow are sold off. Worse in the EU - as nations are realizing their people's vote and laws are being supplanted by EU ministers never elected, and by "international law and EU regs" drafted by a small elite. Bud is not that good a beer. Acceptable on a hot summer's day, but like our public schools, a signal we are content with mediocrity. But still an American symbol. I would be no more happy if Russian petro money snarfed up Disneyworld, China used ChinaMArt bucks to buy up all US copper mines, the Saudis bid on and got Coca-Cola than the Israelis would be happy suddenly finding out a British conglomerate took over the Masada tourist concession, or the French finding the Eiffel Tower was bought by Microsoft. As is, I'm sorta hoping the Belgians celebrate by serving up the Clydesdales as steaks, horse ragoute, equine etouffe`.
"Best rice beer in the world".... was that a compliment, or an insult?
Belgian beer has this overfermented, cloying sort of quality that reminds me of stinky cheese. Uh huh. That just says you haven't had much exposure to Belgian beer. I'm inclined to agree with Daniel Davies to the extent that Bud is inoffensive and consistent and sells well because of that, but Jupiler is the Bud of Belgium (InBev owned) and as pilseners go, it's a nicer beer. Nothing like an ice cold can of Bud straight out of the cooler at a summer BBQ or tailgate. Mmm, with that unmistakable hint of aluminium. Damn elitists.
You guys don't get it. The people that like Budweiser are... A) Women This is obvious. Not even an insult. I have plenty of friends that drink Bud Light, and Bud. Not the kind of friends I particularly enjoy gettind drunk with, but friends nonetheless.
And back in college, when I truly enjoyed the destination as much as the journey, and the budget was a bit tighter, it was Natural Light to the dome. Always. I insist that Natural Light is the best out Bud, Bud Light, Coors, Coors Light, Miller Lite. If you don't believe me, give someone a taste test. They'll be shocked. And you might be as well.
I enjoy Stone's Arrogant Bastard (along with their Ruination IPA, Russian Imperial Stout, Porter, etc.) and lighter beers like Stella, which is unequivocally of a higher quality than Bud, Coors or Miller. It's all about context; I would never drink a Russian Imperial Stout while out picnicking on a hot summer day, but I might drink a Stella or Becks.
"Interesting trivia: when you have a beer in Belgium, you have it in the proper glass. There's one glass for Leffe Blonde, another one for Leffe Brune, one for Chimay Rouge, one for Chimay Bleue, etc. If you go to a bar or restaurant, they will have all of the appropriate glasses available" Yeah it was absolutely crazy to see all the glasses Belgian cafes needed, my favorite glass that of the Pauwel Kwak plus it's a pretty good Belgian(not as good as the Gouden Carolus Grand Cru though) And I agree with everyone who's fed up with people bashing American brews when the only beer they taste is Bud/Miller/Coors.
I've always heard from my European friends visiting the States that Budweiser tastes better over there, probably less preservatives. At least that's what I've been told, and I never thought to question it, especially since Budweiser sucks so at least it would help to explain its popularity over there.
Or you could buy Sam Adams.
The best recommendations for Stella are its high alcohol content and its premium price--as the british adverts for it "stella for the fellas" and "reassuringly expensive" would tell you.
I lived in Belgium for a while, and no one drinks Budweiser except when they're watching the Super Bowl, which starts at midnight in Western Europe - late enough that everyone has already pounded quite a few good brews before breaking out the ever-so-ironic Buds. There are "American bars" around here and there, and they'll carry it - but you can't even find the stuff at 95% of the pubs, nor would you want to given that every pub carries 20+ great Belgian beers. If you can choose between filet mignon, sirloin, veal chops, and baby back ribs, you typically don't go asking if the place has got spam on the menu. American craft breweries make some incredible beers, but A-B could burn to the ground and American taste buds would be better off. If that makes me elitist - well, i suppose that's better than drinking alcoholic urine in the hopes that it makes me a patriot everyman who has responded well to getting bashed over the head with marketing at every major sporting event and bar since Columbus arrived. I held my nose through about a thousand gallons of Natural Light in high school and college though, so I would like to hand it to A-B for having beer priced right for the underage drinker.
If you are drinking Leffe in the states you can thank good old A-B for importing it.
Horse. Shit. I know we all like to joke about the "elitist prick" thing. But from time to time... it kind of actually shows through. Is there really anything objectively "wrong" with American style lager? I like Miller Lite. So? Does that mean my "taste buds have been destroyed"? How so? Physically, they have been altered? Rubbish. What we have is a culture that has made certain choices, culinarily speaking. If that's a word. But since it is mass American culture, it MUST be shitty. Other cultures can choose to consume haggis and horse flesh and dogs, some choose cows and chickens. Some drink one setyle of wine. Some drink another style of beer. And in many cases those tastes do not match up with people from other cultures. But we generally try to keep an open mind and respect, if not exactly appreciate, those other tastes. Unless if course the guy representing the culture in question is named Brian and smokes a Marlboro Light with his Silver Bullet. Then, of course, he's a jackass who is obviously stupid, unable to appreciate the full glory of a warm, red beer from Brussles which is so obviously... better. Ah, crap. Just relax a little and surrender to the goddamn glory of a cold-ass American beer. Stop politicizing the cooler at the softball game, keep yer damn opinions to yerself. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to tuck into my Lee Greenwood Underoos, say my prayers and go to bed.
kj1313 Gouden Carolus Grand Cru is very good, a bit difficult to come by though, as not every café stocks it. I prefer it over the double darks from Leffe, Grimbergen or Affligem but my favorites are still Westmalle double and Rochefort 6. (I'm currently living the Netherlands, right next door to Belgium, and yes from a beer perspective, it totally rocks.) And GMT is right, the name Arrogant Bastard doesn't matter at all, it servers the consumer niche perfectly as the consumers in that niche are purely taste orientated. If it's good, they'll drink it. After all it's not as if some Belgium beers are named any less silly. That's why all those commentators who whine about "elitists" are full of crap. It's not like wine where you have to pay up 50 bucks a bottle for the more exclusive ones. People who seek out specialty beers are primarily regularly ordinary working folks who just like beer.
I'm drinking a Stella right now. Kinda reminds me of.... Budweiser. Except its got this paper sleeve that goes up around the cap, and you have to rip it off to get to your beer. Whats the point of that ? Extra trash? Pretentious krauts... next time I'm buying the good old American Yuengling.
Sam sez: "Is there really anything objectively "wrong" with American style lager? I like Miller Lite. So? Does that mean my "taste buds have been destroyed"? How so? Physically, they have been altered? Rubbish." Sam, it just means you don't have very good taste in beer. It's not "wrong," it's not a moral judgment. It doesn't mean you're a bad person. Just that you're not really a beer guy. Although, I'll second what somebody said upthread and say, if you like light Budweiser-type lag |
vastly superior product they have in Belgium
Like Stella Artois and Beck's? InBev ain't exactly a Trappist monastery.
Posted by Josh | July 14, 2008 2:30 PM