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Craft beer finds growing U.S. fan base

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This is an excellent trend (that I can drink to), and has been building for the last 20 yrs...for example, Sam Adams & Sierra Nevada, two firms that started as "micro brews" are now practically national brands. One US brand that has stood the test of time is Anchor Steam. I've always referred people to that company's beers when they say traditional US beer is flavorless pee. Baird Brewery out of Numazu, Shizuoka has been doing a great job of raising the bar here in Japan AND having all venues ban smorking from the beginning - just like Starbucks, people said it wouldn't fly but the lung dart addicts were wrong.

8 ( +7 / -0 )

Baird Brewery out of Numazu, Shizuoka has been doing a great job

Yes, the Baird Brewery beers are great. I also like the Yona Yona pale ale as a tasty brew I can drink at home.

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There is a bar/ restaurant in Philadelphia called Nodding Head and they make their own beer on site. You can watch the guys work on brews by the name of Monkey Knife Fight, Grog and many more. They don't sell in stores at the moment. But every year the host the Roaring Stumble where 12 micro brewery's set up booths and walk around with pitchers of their brew to pour in glasses for you. Great times .. My Favorite Micro brews are from Rogue Ale and Stoudt's Brewing Company. But heck I like most German beers and micro brews.

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If there is one think about the Yanks they are a very curious bunch and once they get ahold of something they'll try every iteration of it before shaping it into something that is very All American. And so it should be too.

I'd dare say its the energy coming from America's craft beer revolution that is revitalising craft beer across the globe. The UK has over 980 real ale breweries - a number not surpassed since before WW2 - and that is partly down to whats been happening in North America. I regularly go to Chicago on business and having Goose Island there is a delight and a definite boon to the City's tourism I think. Dublin has Guinness and Chicago has Goose Island :) I even found a brew pub there that did their own cask conditioned ale and had even imported the hand pump from the UK. Tasted deliciously malty and I was in heaven :)

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Craft beer finds growing U.S. fan base

Isn't this article about 10 years late?

As with teaching the world to appreciate good coffee, the U.S., hell, the state of Oregon alone, has reawakened the world to good beer. I think Oregon now has more breweries than are found in Germany and the UK combined.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

You took the words right out of my mouth, Wanda-kun.

I just ran across a great local brew in Louisville, Kentucky - a lager that's aged in old bourbon barrels. Don't recall the name. Definitely a sipping brew. These are the kind of "out of left field" beers I love finding.

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@Wanda-kun It's all about critical mass and quality. Craft brewing really got going in the 80s, but that market was so overcrowded by the major breweries that it just took time. For so long the beers were only found in specialty bottle shops. I think we would have seen this happen sooner, but there was a bit of a downturn post 9/11. A number of craft brewers went under because they depended on keg sales to bars and restaurants. Now, American beers are being imported into Europe.

I'm also happy to say the Budweiser, Miller and Coors are all owned by foreign companies now. That means the largest American brewers are now Sam Adams and Yuengling.

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motytrahJun. 22, 2012 - 05:15AM JST I think we would have seen this happen sooner, but there was a bit of a downturn post 9/11. A number of craft brewers went under because they depended on keg sales to bars and restaurants. Now, American beers are being imported into Europe.

Where do you live? Are you taking about the U.S. or Japan?

Craft brewing pretty much started in the Pacific Northwest with Redhook in 1981, quickly followed by Grants, Hale's, Widmer, Pyramid, Full Sail, Big Time, Deschuttes, Pike, Rogue, Maritime Pacific and Fish by 1993. These are just the better known regionally and nationally distributed beers/ales etc. made in Washington and Oregon.

The only thing that took time, as I noted above, is for the author to notice.

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If you're lucky enough to live in Sapporo, go to Mugishutei. Phred Kaufmann has the biggest selection of microbrews in the north!

I hope I can get up there this summer!

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