Let’s take a short break from martial affairs. It’s hot and sticky here in DC, 30 degrees or more (in the 90s, in Fahrenheit). So what is better than a pint of cold beer fresh off the tap? Apparently that’s also what President Obama thought.
Give me a break, you might think — and especially if you are English, Scottish, Irish, German, Belgian, or Czech — this fellow is in the United States. So what can you expect? Miller, Busch, Bud Light (apparently Obama’s favorite)? — The answer is: a lot more. Truth is, if you haven’t been here in a while, you’d be blown away.
Full disclosure: this is written by a Southern German from Baden in self-imposed two-year exile in the US. We brew goodies like Tannenzäpfle down there. It’s the place where you’d first know about Biergarten, then Kindergarten. Yet, if I wanted to find reasons to stay in America, beer would be high on the list.
Microbreweries, usually run by true aficionados, are mushrooming all over the land, from Delaware to Oregon. We’re at well over 1,400. And they produce some spectacular ales, lagers, stouts, porters, pilsners, you name it.
A few examples:
- Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA. A golden color and a decent foamy white head. The aroma is Grapefruit and crushed pine needles with just a hint of malt, as one fan wrote quite accurately. Perfect in the summer.
- Dogfish Head’s 60 Minute IPA has become a classic, from Delaware. As its name indicates, the beer is hopped continuously for 60 minutes.
- North Coast Brewery in Fort Bragg, California, produces a world-class Russian Imperial Stout, the Old Rasputin. One of my all-time favorites with a good history book on a cold winter day.
- I personally love Blue Point Toasted Lager. A stunner. Right now you get it on tap in a pub on 14th Street, the Saint Ex (no relation to a fellow blogger).
And people appreciate it. Go to any self-respecting pub and ask for what they have on tap, or about a particular beer. I did it the other day at Bar Pilar on 14th Street. The bar man’s ornamented descriptions would have made a French wine connaisseur blush. Along the lines of: “Moderate bright white head. Clear amber color. Unmistakable sweet hoppy aromas of pine and (to a lesser extent) citrus but with a toasty, biscuity smell behind.”
The other day I was looking for three brews a friend from the Navy War College had recommended, among them a Six Point IPA from Brooklyn. The choice was overwhelming at my Wholefoods on P Street. So I asked their beer guru for help. They sell well over 300 kinds of beer, you must know. But they didn’t have the Six Point. “You are asking for some really great and rare stuff,” he said, perhaps noticing that I must be a foreigner. I smiled, “Vell, you are doing a really kreat tshob.” You should have seen how happy he was.
Still don’t believe me? The New Yorker had a great article about the microbrewry movement a while ago. Still a superb read.
So forget defence budgets, interoperability, and America’s edge in counterinsurgency. This is serious. If we don’t pay attention, they’ll outbrew us.
Next thing is they’ll start playing soccer.
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Meh, we’re already not very good at football anyway. I’ll be really concerned when they seriously take up cricket.
I once bet $100 that the US team wouldn’t reach the quarterfinals in the world cup in the coming ten years. That was in 2002. They reached the quarter finals that very year…
Even so, they did end up losing to Germany.
I agree with everything you said about US beer. Fantastic stuff. It makes me all the more preplexed when I see locals sticking to Miller Light and Bud.
I agree the Old Rasputin is outstanding. For those who also enjoy Belgian style beer, I also recommend looking into Ommegang (esp. Three Philosopher)
WOW, thank you very much for the insight in beer culture. I guess this will make it much easier to begin my PhD in the states.
As a fellow south- German, growing up 15km south of Rothaus (where the famous Zaepfle is brewed), I spend my exchange year in Toronto hunting down drinkable beer, and I found the same phenomenon in Canada, that you describe for the U.S. Microbreweries are all over the place and while not all are producing good beer, some make excellent beers. I even found a couple of great organic Weizen, which came as a surprise, even more so b/c these soon became some of my favorite Weizen (wheatbeers).
About half a year ago Mike Noonan at FPRI invited me to Philadelphia to give a talk. I’d never been there before and I must admit I really liked the place a lot. It reminded me of Glasgow in the way that there was quite a lot to see of cultural and historic interest yet it also had the rough edge which I tend to like in cities. It also hosts a lot of really good beer bars. I ended up drinking rather a lot, I’m afraid. The part-owner of one memorable place had a knowledge of beers which I’ve not encountered outside of a couple of places in Belgium. Britain is also blessed with a huge range of excellent beers. I do find it perplexing though that the market, to judge from the offerings of your average high street pub, are so dominated by decidedly undistinguished lager.
There’s an excellent microbrewery near Fort Drum (in snowy Upstate NY) known as the Sackets Harbor Brewing Company…which is on the battlefield site of a little-known skirmish between the US and Great Britain from the War of 1812. Great ales known as 1812 Amber, as well as some specialty pilsners and so forth. I’ll send anyone a case.
Dr. Rid and Dr. Ucko–what beers do you recommend in Southern Germany? Might be going to Hohenfels this summer, so I have to do some research :)
Starbuck,
I attended the Regensburg beer fest several years ago (short train ride from Hohenfels). If you’re in it for the beer, it is better than Oktoberfest in Munich, imo.
One German beer I’ve come across is Hövel, but I think it is from Dortmund rather than the south. Still, it reminds me a bit of the US microbrew IPAs. Still check it out if you see it in Hohenfels.
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