Maedre
Banned
Are they?
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Why do Americans love light beers?
- Thread starter Ihyll
- Start date
Chuckie
Member
Those aren't light beers though. Those are pilseners (so comparable to Bud, not Bud lite)
Light beers aren't really a thing in Europe, although I have noticed some in the supermarkets lately.
No they are not. Those are just figures of how much it is sold. There are a lot of Americans, so Bud and Bud light are bought a lot. Same with the Chinese beer. Their sales numbers are huge becaus of local consumption, not export (like Heineken for instance)
While you are right that they are indeed not the most populair in all countries world wide, that article doesn't specify exports, just sales. That is why the Chinese beer Snow has first spot, even though that isn't even exported.
This might be useful: Top 10 countries that export beer http://www.insidermonkey.com/blog/10-countries-that-export-the-most-beer-in-the-world-443036/11/
TheCthultist
Member
Never had a taste for them myself. Stouts and old fashion ale are pretty much the only beers I ever drink... and it makes ordering at bars around here a little annoying (usually just get whiskey instead and pretend I don't like beer if they don't carry anything decent). However, I'd have to imagine a big part of it is that their nice and cheap. The other part, though I can't attest to it personally, is that they apparently taste pretty good. Particularly cold. To each their own...
Poimandres
Member
That's quite interesting. France is most surprising to me. American beer doesn't have much of a presence here in Australia. It's here, but nobody I've come across really drinkd Bud, Coors etc. Stuff like Sierra Nevada and Stone has a decent presence with the craft drinkers. On the other hand, Corona is everywhere here!
America is apparently the great importer of foreign beers.
You're right though, i've never seen an american beer being served in the Netherlands. If you look around in larger supermarkets it's possible to find a lone bottle of Budweiser, but those are regarded as pretty crappy beers and extremely overpriced.
I don't know, I guess Europe has their beer game on lock. Corona is accepted though.
Chuckie
Member
No they are not. Light beers are pilseners that are reduced in alcohol or calories. Usually around 3% but it can vary.
Edit: In the US light beers are generally beers that are reduced in calories and tend to have a higher alcohol percentage than light beers in Europe/Australia.
Spuck-uk
Banned
Spuck-uk
Banned
We also don't serve it so cold as to obliterate the tastebuds, unless it's meant to be
Chuckie
Member
Seems like the same development as we see in the Netherlands. We now have 370 breweries here (most of them micro) That is around 1 every 45000 people
D
Deleted member 1235
Unconfirmed Member
The Netherlands
Belgium
Germany
the brexitland
there's a few.
Also, American craft beer scene is overflowing with IPA. Which I personally view as a negative. I fucking hate IPA.
but lol 'nobody is as good at beer as America'. The countries that can go toe to toe with America on the craft beer scene have a higher standard of 'national pisswater' as well.
NL doesn't get enough credit IMO. because 'next to Belgium'.
Texels
Jopen
are absolute quality almost mainstream breweries that make a multitude of fucking amazing special beers. I really like places like de arends nest in Amsterdam that showcase 'dutch only' special brews. there's so many.
a few other dutch greats and are great local Amsterdam/Haarlem beers
https://www.uiltjecraftbeer.com
http://deprael.nl/en_GB/our-beer/
http://www.brouwerijhetij.nl/all-our-beers/?lang=en
sigh. I love beer.
Warm Machine
Member
You'd be right less than eight years ago. Ironically I think the introduction of Stella, Leffe, and Hoegarrden (all budweiser owned now) into North America in the early 2000's helped kick off a craft renaissance. People began tasting things that excited them and they wanted to learn about it then started making their own. Fast forward and here in Vancouver Canada we have dozens of incredible breweries in our metro. You'll find flavours that compete against anything almost anywhere. It's actually effected the Canadian stalwarts like Molson and Labatt.
Those are light beers though? America apparently refers to lager as light beer.
They're both pretty decent imo though.
neurosisxeno
Member
Cost. I picked up a 30 rack of PBR for $19 at Shaws the other day. Alternatively a 12 pack of Long Trail or Sam Adams was about $18-20. People like light beers because they are easy to drink, and after like 1 it just goes down like water, but still has decent enough alcohol content. I love to get a nice craft brew when I can or if I'm grabbing dinner and see something interesting, but if I'm just hanging with friends and trying to get drunk, why spend $50 on Beer when we can spend $20? Hell, assuming we're going out I can get a pitcher of PBR for $5 or a pitcher of Bud Lite for $6, or a single pint/can of a micro brew for $4.50-7. So I basically pay twice as much per pint for a beer that has maybe 50% more alcohol, at best it's a wash.
Chuckie
Member
I don't think so. You have Budweiser (which is a standard pilsener) and you have Bud Light (which is a light beer)
A light beer is a beer where the alcohol or calories have been reduced through some process.
Wait is Lager a light beer? I thought bud light etc had really low alc% and fewer calories. The equivelant in Sweden is really rare. Even the most standard cheap beer at pubs tastes way better than coors, miller and bud. They didnt taste right to me at all.
I can see why they are popular though.
Edit: ah so light beer and your typical lager arent the same.
I can see why they are popular though.
Edit: ah so light beer and your typical lager arent the same.
bootsthecat
Banned
I mean, you guys are a tad ahead per capita, but we blow everyone away with over 5300 breweries..
USA keep winning, beer and most everything.
Theonik
Member
If it wasn't obvious I was making fun of another poster in this thread. European craft scenes are superior even looking at individual states but combined there is no point if even comparing.
Chuckie
Member
Spuck-uk
Banned
The american craft scene is really good, but it's still a really small part of the market.
Spuck-uk
Banned
'America is winning if I use a completely different metric and don't compare like for like'
Oh, ok. Yeah, that stuff is bad. Drank bud light in the US once and it's basically pointless drinking it.
Skellig Gra
Member
Why does a different country do something different than what I'm used to?
Why indeed
Women and overweight people who don't know any better are probably the main demographic from what I've seen.
Why indeed
Women and overweight people who don't know any better are probably the main demographic from what I've seen.
They're trying to push that beer-flavoured water over here now, I've seen it in shops
I'd rather drink non-alcoholic (and I do, Brewdog Nanny State is actually almost passable as beer)
How dare different cultures do things slightly differently for reasons I don't quite understand
Spuck-uk
Banned
Stella and Heineken are shit, but Carling is even worse.
None of those are 'light beers' though. Bud light, Coors light actually taste of nothing, which is an improvement over Carling.
neurosisxeno
Member
Light Beer isn't really its own style of beer, most Light Beers are Pilsners or Lagers technically. Bud Light is technically a Lager, Miller Lite is a Lager, Coors Light is a Lager. Granted, those are all classified as Light Lagers, but they are Lagers none the less.
Bud Heavy is an American style Lager.
I drank 4 4 pint pitchers of it in a bar and wasn't drunk. I just had a bad stomach. May as well have just drank coke, at least it's nice.
Chuckie
Member
A light beer is a pilsener/lager, but not every pilsener/lager is a light beer.
neurosisxeno
Member
I refuse to believe you drank 16 pints of Bud Light or something equivalent without feeling drunk. Unless it was over like 10-12 hours.
Yes. Light is more of a modifier than a classification. Much like something is "American Style". It isn't a hard classification like Lager, Pilsner, or Stout, but rather a description/variation of it.
Spuck-uk
Banned
^That.
Beer culture in Europe is pretty different than the US, understandable when we have breweries that are three times older than your entire country.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weihenstephan_Abbey
(They also make the best lager in the world)
Chuckie
Member
I love there Hefe Weissen and Vitus. I had no idea it was such an old brewery.
neurosisxeno
Member
Yes. IPA's are the popular thing for the past 3-5 years, but there are a huge number of breweries that do Porters and Stouts, and Ales have always been popular in the US. There's a pretty severe IPA bias in the craft brewing industry lately, and especially among beer snobs.
Cool, I actually prefer something on the bitter side myself, but whenever there's a thread about US beer, every post seems to mention IPA like it's the only beer in the world
neurosisxeno
Member
Depending on what region you're in your mileage may very. I know in the Northeast IPA's are huge still, but a lot of breweries are expanding out since having 3 Single IPA's and 2 Double IPA's doesn't exactly cater to everyones desires. Any brewery worth going to will have several styles of beer available.
Spuck-uk
Banned
Its kind of insane how old it is. Predates England being a country, never mind the United Kingdom
Hundreds of years older than the Aztec civilisation
Real damn old, real good beer.
I mean, i wasn't smashing them down or anything, but we're probably talking like 8 hours maybe.
Full bodied domestics are the same price. It is not as though the bartender is going to charge you extra for bud heavy or yuengling. That said, I have no idea why people like it. It chuck it up to marketing.
I still think the 'scene' is better in the US, although only from personal experience of the US guys I've worked with, and the bars/restaurants in their cities.
Although the UK is definitely becoming more interesting. I'm not the best judge, a Heineken in a hotel bar is fine by me lol.
Charles Brandon
Member
You've got to hand it to the yanks for the craft beer explosion, they took some British beers types that had languished moribund in unfashionable pubs and revitalised them, innovated them, sold them back to us and kick-started our own proper beer revolution.
For the longest time 90% of UK pubs sold Stella, three sorts of piss water (Carling, Fosters & UK piss-style Carlsberg), John Smiths (low grade bitter) and Guinness and that was just about that. Some of you may not even remember those days. The variety you get now is incredible and whilst much of it is home grown anyone calling out the Americans for poor beer is talking out of their arse.
However...so-called "light" beers (in that they taste of fuck all) have never been popular here and god willing never will be although the great British public doesn't always have the best taste so who knows how this re-launch of Bud-light will go.
I also don't think that Bud Normal tastes much like Asahi, despite the similar brewing process. Asahi is much cleaner and has a much more refined hoppy taste IMVHO.
For the longest time 90% of UK pubs sold Stella, three sorts of piss water (Carling, Fosters & UK piss-style Carlsberg), John Smiths (low grade bitter) and Guinness and that was just about that. Some of you may not even remember those days. The variety you get now is incredible and whilst much of it is home grown anyone calling out the Americans for poor beer is talking out of their arse.
However...so-called "light" beers (in that they taste of fuck all) have never been popular here and god willing never will be although the great British public doesn't always have the best taste so who knows how this re-launch of Bud-light will go.
I also don't think that Bud Normal tastes much like Asahi, despite the similar brewing process. Asahi is much cleaner and has a much more refined hoppy taste IMVHO.
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