Why does American beer taster so weak?

Answer 1

The reason it tasts so "weak" is the style of beer and because of capitalism

Most american beer is lager style. Lagers are characterized by their "lighter" taste than pilsners or ales. The reason for this light taste is because they are fermented at relatively low temperatures around 50-30 F.

Capitalism also contributes to weaker tasting beer. Like someone stated in an earlier reply hops are foundational for beer taste and quality. There are a number of different types of hops (like different types of grapes with wine). The type of hops grown in america are characterized by their lighter flavor then hops that are indigenous to England, Bavaria or Belgium. The cost of these imported hops is much greater than hops from America. The second capitalist factor is carbonation. Carbonation provides the beer with mouth feel. Most American beers save money on the carbonation process by using carbonated water in their brewing process to save time and money. Traditionally beer is carbonated through a finishing process where a small amount of sugar is added to the beer after fermentation.

The carbonation produced during the finishing process is actually structurally different than the carbonation found in carbonated water, thus the difference in mouth feel.

If you want to know more look into home brewing, great hobby and the product is better than store bought.

Answer 2

The strongest commercially produced beers in the world are made in the United States. They are 20-25% alcohol, which is way more than your average bottle of wine.

I assume that you're talking about Budweiser, which seems to be all anyone really knows. That's because of advertising dollars.
Anheuser-Busch (the people who make Bud) spent $850 million on ads last year...or roughly 663 MILLION Euros.
This is higher than the Gross Nation Product of some countries. Really, it is...look it up.

Those ads said that Budweiser was beer, and that it was good. Apparently you fell for it and tried it. Not surprising.
Learn from your mistake and don't buy it again, but don't make ignorant statements because you feel ripped off about your purchase of crap beer.

There are 3 big breweries in the US that everyone seems to think represent American beer. What you don't seem to know is that there are almost 2,000 others in the US...more than any other country in the World.
Don't make judgements based on that small sample.

Answer 3

You must be referring to the big companies like Budweiser and Coors. We have so many great breweries all around the country with GREAT beer! Portland is known for their breweries. I personally like to try a beer from whatever region I am visiting. I used to live in Philly. Breweries around there include Yards, Flying Fish, and Yuengling. Now I live in Arizona, and the local brewing company is Nimbus! If you ever come to visit the US, ask around what the local beer is. A few bars are bound to have it on draft. You won't be disappointed!

Answer 4

Because during WWII supplies were scarce and the breweries switched to "lighter" ingredients. Thats true. American beer is horrible by and large. "Light" beer, talk about an oxymoron.

Answer 5

Samual Adams brand(s) do not taste weak because they don't skimp on the ingredients like hopps. Budweiser annd Miller use a small fraction of hopps per batch versus Sam Adams.

Answer 6

The reason has been touched upon in previous answers, but let me suggest the best that America has to offer.

National Brands:

Sam Adams
Michelob

Local Brands:

Leinkugel's
Goose Island
Yeungling

Everything else is microbrew and unavailable elsewhere or it just stinks.

Answer 7

American beer is disgusting. the only beer i drink here in the US is Killian's Red, i prefer the ales to a lager.

Answer 8

It's like water versus premium imported beer. I stick with Heineken!

Answer 9

Unless you've tried every beer from all 4000 + breweries from the U.S. that statment is pure crap.

Answer 10

I'm american and i drink IPA, Guinness and Newcastle and whatever other british ale i can find. it helps that there is an Irish pub in my town that imports some good kinds.