On Tue, 1 Aug 2006 15:29:48 GMT, Bela P. Havasreti
wrote:

On Tue, 1 Aug 2006 14:36:07 +0000 (UTC),
(Paul Tomblin) wrote:

In a previous article, B A R R Y said:
Paul Tomblin wrote:
In a previous article, "JJS" jschneider@remove socks cebridge.net said:
bottle opener for years and years. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that
Europe is still bass ackwards, even when it
comes to beer drinking.

Yeah, those backwards Europeans still believe beer should have flavour,
not just cold bubbles.

American and Canadian brewers currently make some of the most
outstanding brews in the world. Many of these fine products can even be
had at the corner supermarket, no extra work is required to find them.
The belief that American beer is trash is at least 15 years out of date.

The problem is that the trash beers are still the biggest sellers and the
most heavily advertised. I wouldn't drink Coors or Bud on a bet, but I
bet individually they outsell all those good beers you mentioned put
together.

I'm just saying you can't call Eurpoe backwards when it comes to beer
drinking when they've been producing good beer for centuries and America
has been doing it for "at least 15 years".

Besides, the best beer comes with a ceramic stopper, not a twist-off.

Good point. I always cringe when Anheuser-Busch claims it brews
the "world's best selling beer".

I believe that honor belongs to Paulaner (if it doesn't, it certainly
should....).

I have a hunch Guinness outbrews them all.

But as long as we're this far OT, what's driving US microbrews toward
mediocracy? It used to be they were distinguishable, now they all
taste the same. Twenty years ago, Redhook's Ballard Bitter IPA used
to taste like a real English best bitter. Now it tastes like every
other American IPA. Thirty years ago, popping the cap on an Anchor
Steam produced an aroma reminiscent of McSorley's draft. Now it's
just a heavy yellow beer. And God help us all, while the last time I
was actually in McSorley's was '94, and at that time, the ale still
tasted and smelled the same as it did when I was in college in the
'60s. But evil is afoot. Last May, I was in NJ and I bought a 6-pack
with McSorley's labels on it at a package store, and the brew inside
was just generic hoppy malty stuff. If they've done that to the to
the ale on tap down on 7th street (which was never great beer, but it
was unique at a time when the most interesting brew to be had was
Ballantine Ale), I swear I'm going to save my beer money for flying.

Don