Battle of the beers: Bold American craft beers give traditional British drafts a run for their money

[pampango]

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/united-kingdom/100809/uk-beer

It’s not easy to hear conversations over the clinking of glasses and raucous banter that fills the hangar-like London venue of the Great British Beer Festival, but this year among the thousands gathered to toast their beloved warm beers, there is talk of heresy. The Great British Beer Festival is exactly what its name implies. It’s a festival, it’s great, there’s beer — enough of the stuff to soak an entire city — and it’s a proud celebration of brewing traditions that no one else upholds quite like the British.

Except, it seems, the Americans.

For lurking like sediment in an empty barrel is the controversial claim that American craft brewers, in their enthusiastic efforts to recreate the traditional bitters, porters, stouts, milds and golden ales of England, Scotland and Wales, are actually now bettering them.

And British drinkers can’t get enough. Midway through the five-day festival, most of the 80 American draft beers on sale (the largest collection of U.S. beers ever assembled anywhere in the world, the organizers claim), had run out. Bottled beers were selling just as quickly.

“The reason people love the American beers is they’ve taken the British brewing traditions and made them their own," Garrett said. "You often hear phrases like ‘pushing the envelope’ and I suppose that’s what they’ve done. They have used more of everything to ramp up the flavor. There’s no subtlety — they go for very big beers.” :)

[xchrom]

1. Awesome. nt

[JVS]

2. USA USA USA!

[Leftist Agitator]

3. Oy Vey!

"(the largest collection of U.S. beers ever assembled anywhere in the world, the organizers claim)"

Um, no. Try the GABF:

http://www.greatamericanbeerfestival.com/

Yeah.

[Champion Jack]

4. America! Fuck yeah!

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

5. brewing ...no one else ...the British

Netherlands and Germany might have something of a brewing tradition, too.

But a festival is a good reason to roll out the barrel. If a reason is needed.

Next stop ... Octoberfest.

:hi:

[d_r]

7. Belgium.

[Lance_Boyle]

10. Feh - Belgian brewers should have had Reinheitsgebot imposed on them during WWII.

Might have cured that nasty yeast infection their beers all seem to have.

[d_r]

12. I'm going to have to disagree

there is some good German beer, but the Germans don't come close to the Belgians, just my opinion of course.

[d_r]

6. i liked this

“It will remain the British Beer festival, but we just want people to know that American beer is better than Budweiser.”

[MineralMan]

8. I gotcher American Exceptionalism rye cheer!

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

9. You can barley contain yourself.

[MineralMan]

11. I hops that was a pun.

I'll let it ferment a few days.