Comparing German and American Beer

There are lots of reasons to enjoy autumn. One of them is Oktoberfest – the German beer festival held annually since 1810. It hasn’t always been popularly observed in the Unites States, but with its growing popularity, we thought this article from German paper der Tagesspiegel, comparing German beer to the much more varied American beer market, was pretty fun. Be sure and click through to read past the break!

There are a lot of stereotypes about American beer here in Germany. And these stereotypes aren’t completely wrong: Budweiser, Miller, Coors–the USA manufactures a lot of famous, awful beers.

But the market is changing: Since the late 1980s you can find more and more small, fantastic American breweries. Dogfish Head, from Deleware, for example, is famous for its so-called “extreme beers” brewed with raisins or aged in oak barrels. These “micro breweries” or “craft brewers” only have around five percent of the market, but they nevertheless have a big influence. As an answer to these challengers the big firms are making better and better beers–Coors produces Blue Moon, a wheat beer, and Anheuser-Busch has brought Stone Mill, an organic pale ale, to the market.

In comparison, the German beer market seems a little boring to Americans. It’s true that Germany produces Schneider, Weihenstephaner, Andechs, and Schlenkerla. But how often are these beers consumed? Becks, Sternburg, Flensburg, and others are the most-consumed beer brands in Germany, and they are hardly better than Coors or Miller.