The best beers I've ever had have all come from Belgium. (The second-best have all come from the Czech Republic, and French beer is damn good, too.) But I don't think that a Belgian company buying Anheuser-Busch is going to improve the quality of America's biggest-selling brands any. This company makes Stella Artois, which is about the lightest, least flavorful Belgian beer out there, and Becks -- ditto for a "German" brand. Like Budweiser, these guys are simply afraid of malt, and infatuated with barley; the result confuses "bitter" with "sour" and they try to conceal the sourness of their mass-produced brew with sweetness derived from as few hops as they can get away with. Keep your barley pop. Give me a full-bodied Belgian beer with plenty of rich, malty flavor instead.
UPDATE: Apparently, this makes the Boston Beer Company, the brewer of Samuel Adams and the pioneer of marketing "microbrews," the largest brewer in America. Doesn't change their still too-small market share, but it is an ironic twist to the "microbrew" story.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thoughtful, insightful, or informative comments are always welcome. Advertising will be deleted permanently. TL reserves the right to delete comments in his sole discretion (but rarely does so other than for advertising).