And the best beer comes from....

[BeeR]

Yeah I know the best one is free, or from your fridge etc. But country-wise, who stands out if anyone?

Edited March 30, 2009 by BeeR

[Chavez]

Gotta vote for the Belgies - their monks know how to make some damn good beer.

 

2nd, Germans - I like the Oktobers and weiss beers, and what the hell, the Reinheitsgebot is what ALL beer is judged by. Never mind the concept of "gemutlekeit", as essential to beer as hop, IMO.

 

The US has been a 3rd world beer country for too long, but our micro-/craft-brew culture is catching us up with a vengeance, fortunately enough.

[Chavez]

I don't know how anyone can say anything but America. What I mean is, we've got ALL styles here. You might think Belgium (ugh, nasty) has the best beer, but you can get it here. So, ya know, I answered America for both. But technically, I really dislike beer from Belgium and Japan. The rest is okay, except that I'd choose Canada second.

 

Now, if you want to argue which state has the best, I like Colorado, Oregon, California, and Delaware at the top.

Don't make me start calling you "Lord Dopie"

[BeeR]

Belgian beer is nasty? There goes your credibility

 

I know you can get all kinds of beer here, but availability isn't the question. I do agree America can make a good case thanks to the explosion of microbrews, but IMO England and Belgium are still running 1-2. I've never had a bad beer from either. I can't say that for any other country.

[Azazello1313]

I'm saying germany 1, belgium 2. the US is awesome right now....dynamic, experimental, covering just about every base. but I gotta give props to the people who started it all first and foremost.

 

germany over belgium is a bit of a tough call. germany is just classic....styles created centuries ago, which have just been fine tuned and mastered. belgium is more baroque. germany is the master craftsman, belgium is the eccentric artist. it's a coin flip for me.

 

the UK deserves honorable mention for some great styles of their own.

[BeeR]

Also, not a fan of Guiness, I know, sacrilege.

Guinness is easily the most overrated beer ever. fn groupies.

 

I also dislike Pinot Noir.

 

We're talking about beer you fag.

 

[Azazello1313]

Guinness is easily the most overrated beer ever. fn groupies.

 

eh, guiness really isn't bad at all. I've rarely had it and not enjoyed it. I've had better stouts (like tonight I had a bottle of oak aged yeti stout from great divide that just really made my evening), but there is nothing wrong with guinness in my book.

[BeeR]

I agree. Not saying it's bad, just overrated.

[Bier Meister]

1. belgium

 

2. Germany

 

 

tough call for me. seems like the german bier is very straight foward. you order a hefe, pils, or dunkel ......you have a pretty good idea of what you are going to get. the bels really take brewing to the next level imo, getting more flavors from the yeast strains. plus, i haven't met a wit bier i haven't liked. there are a lot of good breweries in the US, but the ones i tend to like the most usually are in the Bel or German style. if there were a "3rd" choice, it would have been a toss up between united kingdom (to included ireland and scotland), and the US.

[Chief Dick]

St. Louis, Missouri.

[theprofessor]

Pacific Northwest and it's not even close

[Seattle LawDawg]

Pacific Northwest and it's not even close

 

wurd

[Azazello1313]

Pacific Northwest and it's not even close

 

wurd

 

clearly all that rain has soaked your brains.

 

read 'em and weep

 

The top 10, reshuffled to reflect the number of medals per million of inhabitants, looks quite different, reflecting a dominance by states with a strong micro-brewing tradition:

 

1. Colorado - 64.4

2. Oregon - 42.5

3. Wisconsin - 38.6

4. Washington - 16.2

5. Missouri - 15

6. Pennsylvania - 13.5

7. Massachusetts - 12.6

8. California - 12.8

9. Texas - 5.6

10. New York - 5.1

[Furd]

Gotta vote for the Belgies - their monks know how to make some damn good beer.

 

2nd, Germans - I like the Oktobers and weiss beers, and what the hell, the Reinheitsgebot is what ALL beer is judged by. Never mind the concept of "gemutlekeit", as essential to beer as hop, IMO.

 

The US has been a 3rd world beer country for too long, but our micro-/craft-brew culture is catching us up with a vengeance, fortunately enough.

 

 

+1

[BeeR]

Have to admit I'm surprised that "other" and "all tastes the same" haven't gotten any votes.

[Chavez]

eh, guiness really isn't bad at all. I've rarely had it and not enjoyed it. I've had better stouts (like tonight I had a bottle of oak aged yeti stout from great divide that just really made my evening), but there is nothing wrong with guinness in my book.

I have been told that Guinness in Ireland is like Wilson Pickett whereas the Guinness we get here is The Commitments.

[chester]

Belgium

USA

England

 

I prefer unique, full flavored, strong beers and the only Germans that I REALLY like are doppelbocks, but I understand that it is one of the best brewing nations, just not my style.

[detlef]

I have been told that Guinness in Ireland is like Wilson Pickett whereas the Guinness we get here is The Commitments.

Which is why perhaps the vote, at least among the countries capable of making good beer is whatever country you happen to be in. Thus, I'm inclined to say American, but that's largely due to the fact that I'm drinking American beer in America and comparing it to Belgian or German Beer that I'm drinking in America. So I don't think it's fair. I'm pretty sure if I took a bottle of my favorite American Doubel to Belgium and tried against the stuff over there, it would get blown away.

 

The one knock I do have on American beer is the unbridled one-upsmanship deal that appears to be taking hold, where, in classic American fashion we've taken the approach that if a little is good, a lot is better. What that means is that many of our most talented brewmasters are wasting their time trying to see how much hops or ABV they can cram into an ale. Something the monks, for instance, aren't going to be bothered with.

 

That said, it is a great time to be an American who loves beer, because there's a ton of home grown breweries turning out some damned good juice.

[Azazello1313]

I think which styles you prefer is also going to shape your answer to this question. if you are a hophead, you are probably going to be loving all the american pale ales first and foremost. if you love stouts and porters, you're going to be loving the UK and US. personally, my own palate loves to focus on malt profiles, which is one reason why I gravitate a little more to the classic german styles (dopplebock probably being my favorite), where hops are more of an accent than the main focus.

[wiegie]

I like variety in my beers and that is why I will pick America first.

[TimC]

St. Louis, Missouri.

 

Golden, Colorado

 

It's interchangable.

[Big John]

Golden, Colorado

 

It's interchangable.

CD's Busch Light is from St. Louis.

Edited April 7, 2009 by Big John

[theprofessor]

clearly all that rain has soaked your brains.

 

What rain? Another day with crystal clear blue skies and 75 degree weather

Edited April 7, 2009 by theprofessor

[Chavez]

.... my own palate loves to focus on malt profiles, which is one reason why I gravitate a little more to the classic german styles (dopplebock probably being my favorite), where hops are more of an accent than the main focus.

You just shot to the top of my "Huddler you'd most like to have a beer with" ballot. 8)

[bpwallace49]

I love German beers, but i LOVE me some Guiness . .

 

I persoanlly HATE most Belgian wheat beers . . just not my palatte.

 

I really like Carlsberg personally, but also like grabbing a growler of Heineken from time to time . . ..