Expert: Spencer W Thomas - 2/20/2011

Question
Hi Spencer. A German friend of mine just introduced me to that term. Guess which beer he was referring to? American beer, specifically the big sellers like Miller and Bud. I must say that I'm spoiled by good beer, and didn't disagree with him, but so many people like the "pisswasser". I wonder why. Have they been brainwashed? Do Miller and Bud actually have some good points? Enlighten me. Thank you.

Answer
Beers like Miller & Bud are well made. But they have very little flavor. Why do so many people like them? I'm somewhat at a loss, actually, being the type of person who prefers my beer to have flavor. I can think of a number of possibilities, listed here not in any particular order:

1. They contain alcohol. It seems that people will drink almost anything if it has alcohol in it.
2. A lot of people seem to prefer "bland." As examples, take "white bread" and "American" cheese, both of which are much blander than they could be.
3. The price. "Craft" and import beers tend to cost more.
4. It's what they're used to.
5. The power of advertising.
6. Consistency. When you buy a Bud, you can be sure it's going to taste like the last one you had, and that the next one will taste the same. Anheuser-Busch goes to a lot of effort to make this happen, and it's not easy.

Except possibly for #5, above, I don't think the American public has been "brainwashed". I mean, do you actually believe that drinking the right beer will suddenly improve your love life? But that's what so many beer ads are selling, if you look at the face of them.

Me, I never really liked typical American beer, and only came to like beer after I had tasted the more flavorful European beers (and then, as they started to appear, American microbrews). When given the opportunity, I will try to gently introduce my friends to the possibility of other beer flavors. Some of them like it, and some don't. But judging from the contents of the beer cooler at parties I go to, more and more are switching away, at least some of the time.