Another Beer Rant

L

Lucky Devil

New member
One word can be used to sum up why America produces no Great beers. PASTEURIZATION. An evil process indeed. One that supposedly protects us from harmful bacteria that causes spoilage and sickness, but which in reality kills the very thing that makes beer taste good. The beer that is imported here is a pale imitation of what the locals drink at home because of laws that require pasteurization, and our beers will always be less than they could be be. Having set the record straight, here are some of my regular favorites:

Guinness (of course)
Tecate (in the can!)
Tooth's Sheaf Stout (an Aussie export that I used to drink in California)
Miller High Life/PBR/Coors (my low-budget faves)
This list is by no means complete, but does reflect what I keep in the fridge (or would like to)on a regular basis. Unfortunately, none of these beers compare to the draught bitters I drank in London or to the Gosser that my brother brought to me from Austria 20-something years ago.
BTW, best beer drinking song...Pop a Top by Jim Ed Brown

LD
 
Well, Shiner Bock, Dos Equis Dark and good ol' Bass Pale Ale will sooth your nerves while you contemplate the problems of the modern era.

And as Dennis and I can attest, Shiner Bock both smooths the "nervouses" and sharpens the shooting eye...

:), Art
 
Lucky Devil,
Pasteurization is not an inherently evil process. There are different methods that vary in effect on quality. Tunnel pasteurization, where the bottles and cans move on a long conveyor through a heated chamber, is the likeliest to "cook" the beer leaving it flat tasting(not uncarbonated) and -literally- lifeless. This I associate with lesser brands. On the other hand, flash pasteurization, where the beer itself is rapidly heated and cooled as it moves through a system suffers MUCH less flavor change yet still stabilizes the product. An example of such a beer is Anchor Steam, considered world class by beer afficionados. I am not aware of any law that requires pasteurization, however most if not all imported beer spends a lot of time in shipping containers on sunbaked docks and on seabound ships under very unfavorable conditions.
For my money, I'll take something that is brewed close to home, is un-pasteurized, un-filtered, full flavored and fresh. Cheers, Snakeshot
 
Tecate is my favorite. It is the only one I like with lime and salt. The first one I ever had was in Mexico with some quesedillas. :)
 
I'm leaving for my brief adventure in Colorado on Wednesday and, although beer hasn't set well with me in a few years (which is heresy since I grew up in a VERY German family) I intend to try a Shiner! I'll be sure to report back.
 
I really don't buy the store bought beer very much, although I kinda like Labat Blue other than that I make my own. It's a live beer so there is no PASTEURIZATION, I have to say that what I make is a hell of a lot better than anything you could get here where I live. As a matter of fact I am now enjoying some German Double Bock it's black as tar and super good!

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ACCEPT NOTHING LESS THAN FULL VICTORY!"
General Dwight D. Eisenhower-- June 6,1944
------------------------ http://www.homestead.com/gunrights/Guns_and_Gunrights.html
 
I'm pretty certain that there ARE laws that requirement that bottled and canned beer be pasturized, although I'm not 100% certain about that. I think the only unpasturized beer that can be sold in the US is in kegs? :confused:

What do you think of cold filtered beers, which use microfiltration (Miller Genuine Draft) to replace pasturization?

The process is expensive as hell, which is likely why we don't see more of it.

Some years ago I was in the Netherlands, and the Heiniken they have there is unpasturized, and sold in brown bottles.

It is HEAD AND SHOULDERS, 100 PERCENT superior to the green-bottle crud that you get here!

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Beware the man with the S&W .357 Mag.
Chances are he knows how to use it.
 
Mike,
I am certain that there no such laws regarding domestic beer. I will venture that the reason most mass-produced U.S. beer is pasteurized is to fend off any civil litigation from spoiled or otherwise defective product. Beer spoilage organisms and human pathogens are different critters and are unlikely to cause problems in people. However, anyone who would consume something that is obviously flawed would also likely be the first to find a way to get some money out of it. Mass produced beer may be boring, but it is reasonably consistent.
 
Mike,

I have a LOT more experience with beer, than with firearms (unfortunate, but true). MGD is a darn good mass-produced and mass-marketed product (IMHO). Accordingly, I suggest "cold filtering" is an effective process -- and it must work; I certainly have consumed lots of MGD with no problems.

Regards.
 
Hi again,
All beer that is filtered is cold filtered.No such thing as warm or hot filtered. It is a marketing term that Miller coined and used to great advantage. Ceramic filtration and membrane filtration (can't wait to see that one marketed) are means of running the beer through a filter that has smaller pores than the size of a microbe. This avoids pasteurization but yields a product that is stripped of all the goodness and flavor that I want in my beer.
Salud y pesetas mis amigos. Snakeshot.
 
Keg beer in the US is not pasteurized. That is why I bought the regulator and CO2 to just turn a spare fridge into tap beer. also happens to be 50% of the cost of bottled.
 
Schlick,

Some months ago I went to see friends of mine, and we went to see friends of their who live up the hill (literally).

Out in this guy's garage, he has an old fridge that he scrounged, but which still works. He drilled through the side and put in a tap, and made his own kegerator. He keeps the CO2 on the other side of the fridge in a harness he made for it.

He had a keg of National Bohemian on that night. You know, it's surprisingly good beer wehn it comes out of a keg (actually half-keg, I think) as opposed to the bottle.

------------------
Beware the man with the S&W .357 Mag.
Chances are he knows how to use it.
 
Snake,

Ever read the Stephen King short story about the guy who drinks a bad beer, and transforms into a very agressive, very large, microbe?

Kind of gross. :)

I'd think that about the only thing you could really get from a bad beer is a case of the trots.

------------------
Beware the man with the S&W .357 Mag.
Chances are he knows how to use it.
 
Every weekend I buy a sixpack of a beer I've never tried before just to see if there are any others to add to my list of favorites. I have come across some really great stuff.

Guiness is by far my favorite. It has a place of honor in my fridge even during the hot Texas summer.
Bass is good.
Shiner is ok but I have the sneaking suspicion that there is more than just barley, hops, yeast and water involved in it's making. I rarely mess with it.
Harps is good stuff.
Anchor Steam is nice also.
Sam Adams Maple porter is perfect for the fall and winter
Sam Adams Oktoberfest is great
I hate the usual American Style Beers though an ice cold Miller Lite is pretty refreshing on a 100+ day.
Sierra Nevada makes some interesting stuff.
Sam Adams Triple Bock will literally knock you on your butt. It is the most intense beer I have ever tasted.
There are literally dozens of beers that I actively seek out when I make my weekly trip to the package store. I have had the luck to be able to travel to Ireland and have Guiness at the source! It was perhaps the most wonderful pint I have EVER had.
I love beer!

Unfortunately, I have tried more nasty beers than found good ones. I have always enjoyed Guiness and Bass. The others have been added as the years have gone by. To me, beer is as complex, if not more so, than wine when you start to search for the "perfect" brew.

I love beer!
All things fine...

Chris Canis
 
Mike,
As someone who has spent countless hours looking at "bad beer bugs" under a microscope, I think I would really enjoy that Stephen King story. Do you happen to remember the title? Has he sold the movie rights?
My favorite beer: Slapshot Pale Ale, Peckerhead Brewery, Douglasville, Ga.
 
A little history of beer for you,
Beer is thought to have been discovered by the Egyptians. They are the first known users of the product, and were using it before Christ. It is entirely possible that Jesus himself drank a few good Egyptian beers as there were no legal age limits on drinking, and beer was regularly given to babies (Jesus would have been about 2 to 6 years old).
These United States had a world class brewing industry, with really great beers until prohibition and the BATF ruining the whole thing. Each town had brewery's and made distinctive beers. During prohibition large brewers stayed in business by making baking products, and the good people at the spoetzle (shiner)brewery did likewise. Some breweries made soft-drinks, and found that their Root Beer was better than the real thing, hence: IBC Root Beer (International Brewing Company). Unfortunately, the ATF also controls a lot of what the brewer does in his brewery, and we've lost the brewing expertise during the prohibition years. Now American beer sucks, and most the imports do too.
If you like good brew, make it yourself. It is easy, and if you know what you're doing, it can be cheaper than the normal stuff. You can brew up to 200 gallons of beer a year per family, but watch out because you don't wan't the ATF bustin' in on you and have them take your brew, ammo, and AR's.
You see, beer and Armalite actually do have a lot in common. Either one could potentially land you in the pokie if you're not careful. We should add a beer discussion area to our wonderful TFL.

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"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy!" --- Benjamin Franklin
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>You see, beer and Armalite actually do have a lot in common. Either one could potentially land you in the pokie if you're not careful. We should add a beer discussion area to our wonderful TFL.[/quote]

Couldn't have said it better myself. I also move to include fine wine and spirits in this new discussion area so as not to leave out the great Burgundies or tequila.

As always, LD
 
15 Reasons Why A Beer Is Better Than A Woman

1) You can enjoy a beer all month long

2) Your beer will always wait patiently for you in the car

3) Hangovers go away :D

4) A beer doesn't get jealous when you grab another beer

5) Beer never has a headache :eek:

6) When you go to a bar you can always pick up a beer

7) A beer won't get upset when you come home with beer on your breath

8) You can have more than one beer a night and not feel guilty

9) You can share a beer with your friends

10) A beer always goes down easy

11) You always know you're the first one to pop a beer

12) A beer is always wet :)

13) You can have a beer in public

14) A frigid beer is a good beer ;)

15) You don't have to wash a beer before it tastes good :D
 
Oh NASTY, Randy!
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