United States of America
     
 

Despite having some bloody awful beers the USA has an excellent range of beers available from the smaller brewers which are really well worth trying. It was only after

dismissing the rubbish ales that I discovered some of these smaller brewers who have really mastered their art.

  

 

 

Name Country % alc Rating Comments
Karl Strauss Tower 10 IPA USA 7.0 An excellent beer, more Americans should buy decent beer not that other rubbish they advertise all over the place. Great malt tastes.
Karl Strauss Red Trolley Ale USA 5.8 wpe1.jpg (1314 bytes) An excellent IPA with plenty of hops and well balanced - head retention and aromas good.
Sierra Nevada Beer Camp IPA USA 6.9 wpe1.jpg (1314 bytes) A well hopped malty, full bodied beer. Hints of citrus from the hops and an overall.
Sierra Nevada Summerfest USA 5.0 wpe1.jpg (1314 bytes) Well balanced - just great for summer. A normal strength beer from Sierra Nevada, light, crispy, good aroma
Sierra Nevada Beer Camp Imperial Red Ale USA 8.5 A most impressive ale. Very full malt tastes and and plently of hops, with a hint of citrus. Well worth trying.
Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine Style Ale USA excellent balance. 9.6 wpe1.jpg (1314 bytes) A good strong ale - perhaps a bit too much on the malt side of the balance but still well worth tasting.
Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA USA 7.2 Excellent use of hops imparts great flavours to this ale. Why drink stuff like Budweiser when great ales like this are available. I'm impressed with this brewery!
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale USA 5.6 wpe1.jpg (1314 bytes) Yet another great ale from Sierra Nevada. I really must visit this place one day.
Sierra Nevada Kellerweis Hefeweizen USA 4.9 A great wheat beer with citrus hints - very good and well worth getting a six pack.
Sierra Nevada Tumbler Autumn Brown Ale USA 5.5 wpe1.jpg (1314 bytes) A pleasant smoky, nutty flavoured ale - good aroma.
Sierra Nevada Ruthless Rye IPA USA 6.6 A very good hoppy pale ale. If I ever get to California this brewery is a must visit.
Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale USA 6.8 Another very good well balanced hoppy offering with pleasant fruit aromas from this great brewery.
Sierra Nevada Hoptimum Ale USA 10.4 What can I say - I love real hop flavoured ales and this one is superb. Treat with care at 10.4% please don't drive.
Sierra Nevada Southern Harvest Ale USA 6.7 wpe1.jpg (1314 bytes) A very good, hoppy ale but not quite up to the standard of the two ales above.
Miller Chill Lager with a hint of lime USA 4.2 Quite pleasant on a summer's day whilst cutting the lawn. But "hell" just pay someone else to do that!
Brooklyn Strong Lager USA 5.2 A sharp taste (must be quite high on the IBU rating) but I have tasted worse beers from the USA and many better ones.
Clown Shoes Hoppy Feet USA 7.0 Even though I do like beers with plenty of hops, perhaps this one had a bit too much.
Southern Tier IPA USA 7.3   NYT
Hopper Whitman Belgian White USA 44.6 wpe1.jpg (1314 bytes) A good imitation of a Belgium Wit beer. With a hint of citrus added it could almost be Hoegarten.
Budweiser USA 4.9 I suppose brewing this beer with rice as well as hops, malt and barley make it cheaper to produce and the end result reflects this fact.
wpe1.jpg (2521 bytes) Lone Star USA 4.6 Nothing to get excited about.
Pabst Blue Ribbon USA 4.7 How do they sell this when great beers like Sierra Nevada and Founders are available?
samadams.jpg (2946 bytes) Samuel Adams Boston Lager USA N/A Nothing to get excited about. The label says the "Best Beer in America" All I can say is sorry for the Americans.
Michelop Ultra USA 4.2 As far as I can ascertain I would not suggest a beer tour of the USA.
millers.jpg (1495 bytes) Miller Genuine Draft USA 4.7 Nothing to get excited about.
Rolling Rock Premium Beer USA 4.6 Well it was cold and wet but nothing else.
Dundee India Pale Ale USA 6.3 A good ale with well balanced hop and malt flavours.
Anchor Liberty Ale USA 5.9 Good aroma with nice hop flavours.
Anchor California Lager USA 4.9 Just about lacking in almost every department.
Anchor Steam Beer USA 6.3 A very pleasant beer but something was lacking - maybe needs a bit more malt flavours but the hops are there.
Anchor Summer Beer USA 4.5 Not quite what I expected from a wheat beer - perhaps I am just spoilt by Hoegaarden.
Magic Hat Brewing Co. #9 Not Quite Pale Ale USA 5.1 An interesting beer with different favours. "Not Quite Pale Ale" is true as there are no strong hop flavours.
Green Flash Brewing Co West Coast IPA USA 7.3 Excellent hop tastes in this superb ale. A hint of grapefruit and hints of other citrus flavours - an ale to be truly appreciated.
Ballast Point Big Eye IPA USA 7.0 A damned good IPA, plenty hop flavours, some citrus and a good aroma.
Stone Cali-België IPA USA 6.9 An excellent style of IPA with a great balance of malt and hops. The label talks about banana flavours but forget that - just enjoy it. www.stonebrewing.com/cali
Founders Dry Hopped Pale Ale USA 5.4 . A good balance of hops and malt tastes - slight fruity hints.
Founders All Day IPA Session Ale USA 4.7 Another good ale from Founders - not too strong so it probably would be a good "Session Ale"! As with all Founders ales well worth trying.
Founders Dirty Bastard USA 8.5 A strong ale in the style of a Scottish "wee Heavy". Nutty/chocolate flavours an interesting ale all round.
Founders Centennial IPA USA 7.2 Well with hops as a preservative this IPA could travel the world a couple of times in the holds of an old timber ship. Perhaps just a bit too much hop flavour which drowns everything else but still a good brew.
Founders Double Trouble USA 9.4 Excellent all round hop flavours and great aroma. With a name like this it should be good and it was.
Rogue's Dead Guys Ale USA 4.7 With a name like this I had to try it!! Not too bad but could with some more hop flavour.
Deschutes Hop Henge IPA USA 9.3 An excellent really hoppy beer - great copper colour. Pity about the price though as this will be my one and only taste.
Deschutes River Ale USA 4.0 A decent lager but could do with more hops - overall quite bland.
Duff Premium Lager USA 4.7 A good name - it was duff.