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wilbeer
Mountain climber
honeoye falls,ny.greeneck alleghenys
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Jan 11, 2013 - 02:06pm PT
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Because lager ,here in the us ,has been crafted by the big breweries,with adjuncts like corn,rice and wheat,to lighten body and flavor. The big brewers save alot of money w/adjuncts.They also blend huge batches,for consistency.Budwieser has been brewed w/ as many as 20 different hop varieties,so year to year it can remain consistent.As for why lager has/was the most popular,well,we can blame /look to our fathers generation for steering away from real beer.The real beer [both ales and lagers] examples of their generation were pretty average compared to todays . Yeah, i homebrew too.
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Evel
Trad climber
Nedsterdam CO
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Jan 11, 2013 - 02:14pm PT
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I could sure drink a Yuengling Lager right about now. Americas oldest.
And my hands down favorite.
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wilbeer
Mountain climber
honeoye falls,ny.greeneck alleghenys
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Jan 11, 2013 - 02:32pm PT
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The other part of the equation why lagers are the beer of america is simply this,There were as many as 3500 breweries in the us before prohabition.Many ,local,as beer was not shipped around as it is today.Real beer,as ales or lager,were just that ,they could spoil quick,they suffered from being transported.They were and still are fresh products. Prohabition came and went,few breweries made it through.The ones that came about,after,miller,busch,coors,labbatt,molson,became huge,they lobbied hard to protect their craft.They made it very hard to become a brewery.Hell it was even illegal to homebrew for quite sometime.They had a virtual stranglehold on the us marketplace,save for a few regional breweries,thus the north american lager became commonplace. Thank someone that sierra nevada,red hook and sam adams started the microbrew revolution.
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Risk
Mountain climber
Olympia, WA
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Jan 11, 2013 - 02:50pm PT
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I finally wandered into a local tavern down the street to discover I'm totally uneducated on today's good beer, ale, etc. The place is called "Skep & Skein" and can be found at http://www.skepandskein.com/ I had a pint of the day's special - Hale's Supergoose IPA. This IPA is naturally carbonated and served from a cask. It was essentially like a homemade beer with really tiny bubbles. While enjoying this IPA, the tender offered me a sample of Firestone Walker Wookey Jack; I was blown away by this black ale. It was really complex. I would say it was one of the best ale I've ever had. Next time I'm going to walk over - that way I can have a few! Check it out.
http://www.beermenus.com/places/4198-skep-and-skein-tavern
FIRESTONE WALKER WOOKEY JACK BLACK RYE IPA
100
ABV: 8.3%
IBU: 60.0
DESCRIPTION
STYLE: Black IPA
Wookey Jack is our first foray into the dark outer world of black IPAs. Rich dark malts and spicy rye careen into bold citrus laden hops creating a new dimension in IPA flavor. This brew has been left unfiltered and unfined to retain all of its texture and character. At 60 IBUs, Wookey Jack is gnarly on the outside yet complex and refined on the inside.
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froodish
Social climber
Portland, Oregon
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Jan 11, 2013 - 02:55pm PT
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Thank someone that sierra nevada,red hook and sam adams started the microbrew revolution.
You're forgetting Fritz Maytag and Anchor Brewing who were doing craft beer a decade or more before those you mention.
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wilbeer
Mountain climber
honeoye falls,ny.greeneck alleghenys
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Jan 11, 2013 - 03:17pm PT
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froodish your right,but sierra nevada put the thing in gear.
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SeaJellie
Trad climber
Boolduh
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Jan 11, 2013 - 06:47pm PT
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hey Ghost, I asked about the ease of lagers vs. ales because that's not what I'd guess most homebrewers would say. But it's true that you weren't comparing the ease of brewing a "gud lager" vs. "gud ale", so in that case I guess I have less of an argument! Anyway nobody much cares around here, just wondering. Thanks.
So let's see, best beer ever? Tonight, it's my ho-made Baltic Porter.. brewed w/ German lager yeast as it so happens. Tomorrow, it might be hopslam on tap.
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StahlBro
Trad climber
San Diego, CA
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Jan 11, 2013 - 06:53pm PT
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TMJesse, the local pizza joint (Killer Pizza from Mars) is a big Firestone fan. They have the Wookie Jack and regular IPA on tap. Both are delicious.
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SeaJellie
Trad climber
Boolduh
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Jan 11, 2013 - 06:55pm PT
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oh yeah. to the reason why lagers are so big here? they are big almost everywhere in the world, and account for a huge percent of all beer consumed.
To the reasons listed above, add German immigration in the 1800s to America as a big reason for getting it so established. They brought their yeast and hops with them, and adapted their style to the grains they could get here. Then add to that consumer tastes for something inoffensive and clean and thirst quenching (try drinking a Baltic Porter after working on the farm all day in the hot sun - or try going back to work after that). And process; Lager brewing, done right, can get you a beer that stays more biologically and taste stable for a longer period of time, and so can be shipped further (historically speaking of course - don't matter as much now).
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climbski2
Mountain climber
Anchorage AK, Reno NV
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Jan 16, 2013 - 12:10am PT
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Had a decent brew at the Mexican restaurant in Moab last month. Not the best ever but gets marks for ballsy Salt Lake brewer.
Funny too
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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Jan 16, 2013 - 12:44am PT
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I was going to try to answer the "why is lager so popular" question when I got clear of my current deadline, but that took longer than expected and it looks like SeaJellie stepped up.
To his/her answer, I'd add a couple of things. First, the Eighteenth Amendment to the US Constitution ended commercial brewing in 1920, and it wasn't until thirteen years had passed that the Twenty-first Amendment ended that prohibition. For most small breweries, that was a death sentence, and when commercial production of beer became legal again in 1933, it quickly became the province of large corporations.
These corporations rapidly bought out, or put out of business, most of the smaller operations that tried to get into brewing, and then they began to buy out one another until only a handful of big breweries were left, brewing close to 95% of the beer in the US.
And big corporations do not market to small niches. The big breweries wanted to produce as few different beers as possible, and those beers were marketed to the mass public. Lager was what they brewed.
The second factor was the growth and honing of marketing and advertising. When history is studied a few hundred years from now, it may be that the thing the US in the 20th century is remembered for is the invention of scientific advertising. The big breweries could afford to hire the most sophisticated marketing outfits the planet had ever seen, and soon Americans were swilling the most industrialized product ever marketed as beer, and believing that they loved it.
All of which is not to say that a good lager is not a thing of beauty, but rather that what Budweiser et al were producing was not good lager.
Edit: I'm not normally a fan of ultra-high-alcohol beers, but the good folks across the water at Sound Brewery may have shown me the light...
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FRUMY
Trad climber
SHERMAN OAKS,CA
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Jan 16, 2013 - 05:18pm PT
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The one I'm drinking now.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Jan 16, 2013 - 06:10pm PT
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Yeah, that was sheer genius, if entertaining, to pitch beer by frogs.
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Reeotch
Trad climber
4 Corners Area
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Jan 16, 2013 - 06:31pm PT
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The best beer for me is always the first one of the evening.
The test of a truly good beer is one that still tastes as good as the first one when you're half way through a 12 pak . . .
Red Hook IPA was always a good "stand-by"
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TREED
Trad climber
Gunks
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Jan 16, 2013 - 08:53pm PT
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I have been poping in here.......... http://www.newburghbrewing.com/
They are making some really great brews. If you are near "The Burgh" it's worth the detour past the ghetto.
Start with a cream ale. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm......
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SeaJellie
Trad climber
Boolduh
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Jan 29, 2013 - 01:04pm PT
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From beerpulse, John Mallet of Bells (Director of Brewing Operations) on Hopslam.
"I’m going to have a beer that we make 4,000 barrels of, one time a year. It flies off the shelf at damn near $20 a six-pack, and you know what it smells like? It smells like your cat ate your weed and then pissed in the Christmas tree.”
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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Jan 29, 2013 - 01:22pm PT
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It flies off the shelf at damn near $20 a six-pack, and you know what it smells like? It smells like your cat ate your weed and then pissed in the Christmas tree.”
Best beer quote ever!
Euros used to say the new American beers smelled like cat piss. Now it seems like every second European brewer is making their own version.
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Chaz
Trad climber
greater Boss Angeles area
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Jan 29, 2013 - 01:55pm PT
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Do they still import beer here from Europe?
Why?
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tornado
climber
lawrence kansas
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Jan 29, 2013 - 03:32pm PT
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^^^^^one reason is monks in Belgium make some badass beer.
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Fat Dad
Trad climber
Los Angeles, CA
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Jan 29, 2013 - 03:49pm PT
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Chaz' question is actually a pretty reasonable one given how far American brewers have come.
Still, with stuff like La Chouffe and Chimay still being made overseas (not to mention many other brews of equal quality), that's reason enough. The more beers the better.
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