With more than 400 people casting votes the USA edged out Belgium by only six votes for the top spot on the list. With such a huge range of beers being brewed in the States today (and the ~83% of my readers who are American) it wasn't too surprising.
USA - 84%
Belgium - 83%
Germany - 51%
UK - 36%
Ireland - 9%
Czech Republic - 7%
Denmark - 3%
France - 2%
Italy - 2%
Japan - 2%
Netherlands - 2%
Sweden - 2%
Other - 7%
I was surprised to see Germany beat out England by so many votes, I assumed they would be right around the same level because they are two of the three "original" brewing powers. If you voted for one and not the other, post a comment. I voted for Germany because they brew some of the most consistent and well made lagers available (one of the few areas where America craft brewers are still relatively lacking.) I think England makes some great beers, but so many of the lighter ones don't travel as well as the beers of Germany and Belgium, so I don't buy them regularly.
I'm also interested in which country the people who answered "Other" wanted to vote for. Canada was a serious omission (with brewers like Dieu du Ciel, Unibroue, Hopfenstark, Charlevoix, and Le Trou Du Diable), which I didn't realize until after the poll had already been running for a couple days.
The November poll up is up on the blog, "What is the best beer for a cold winter night?"
I didn't vote, but the top 3 would have been my top 3. Why Germany over England? Probably because between the states and Belgium, you've pretty much got the ale universe covered. That leaves the lagers, and Germany still has no competition there. Throw in the summer beer gardens, the festivals, the local specialities in Berlin, Bamberg, Koln, etc., and Germany gets the nod. Now, if it was simply a one-on-one, Germany vs. Britain contest, I'd really be torn.
ReplyDeleteMy top three would be Belgium, England, and the USA. Belgium because no matter how good we're getting in this country, they still do the fundamental "Belgian Ales" drier, fuller, and more carbonated over there. England because, no matter how they might travel, I just haven't had a English-style beer from the U.S. that truly captured the toffee goodness of the British beers. And the USA because we have the hoppy goodness on lockdown.
ReplyDeleteI don't put Germany in the top three just because with the exception of rauchbier, I'm not a huge German lager fan. Yeah, I love a good Hefeweizen, doppelbock, etc, but I don't want them with the frequency that I want beers from my top three countries.
My top three was Belgium, UK and Norway (other). Belgium for their trappist ales, UK for their (real) ales and Norway because I'm norwegian, and we have some great microbreweries.
ReplyDeleteI didn't vote, but why Germany over England? Because some the US craft beer movement is closer to English in style than it is to German in style. You get a fair number of balanced ales, many of which are in the English style. Obviously (like the Belgians) they're often not quite as good as the original, but rapidly improving. Where the US is lacking is in quality lagers. I would in fact put Germany above Beligum for those very reasons.
ReplyDeleteSo the question for me is Belgium or England? I think we're a lot closer to reproducing some of the best English beers (having mostly arisen from the English ale tradition) than Belgian. In particular. I think we've got good golden strongs and tripels in this countyr, but the rest of the styles are lacking multiple, good examples. So there's Belgium for me.
I went with France over both England and Germany (the other two I voted for being the U.S. and Belgium) mainly because of the links between French and Belgian brewing history that I find both similar and yet oh so delightfully different.
ReplyDeleteUSA, England, and Belgium.
ReplyDeleteHere in the U.S we really are blessed with such a diverse beer scene. Everything and anything one could want, someone in the USA is brewing it. England, because I have yet to have an "English" pint in the states that even comes close to the stuff they make across the pond. Lastly, it was a tossup between Belgium and Czech Republic. Belgium got the vote for complex, spicy ales though I still think the Czech's make the best lager and pilsners in the world. Sorry Germany!
I voted US, UK, Germany but after having my first Duvel (and second and third) I might have to change my vote. Not sure who I'd get rid of though.
ReplyDeleteI voted for England over Germany for the very biased reason that I am not a fan of German Lagers. It could be the fact that I also have a mild allergy to lager yeast. Ale yeast don't affect me the same way. Reading and hearing about the malty backbone of Helles Bock and roasty Schwarzbier sound so appealing, I just can't drink more than one of them without developing "pseudo-anaphylaxis".
ReplyDeleteI voted for Germany, Belgium and the US. I voted for Germany because I really enjoy the German wheat beer styles. I'm not a tremendous fan of many UK beers (at least those I have tried) and of those I do enjoy, there are fairly similar US versions available.
ReplyDeleteUSA, Belgium, and Canada (other). It was tough, I do love German beers, but I had to give Canada the nod.
ReplyDeleteAs a Canadian, I have to give love to the Canuck brewing scene. Rounding out my top three would be US and Netherlands.
ReplyDelete