Comments on: More Thoughts on Italian Beer Culture

By: Umberto

Umberto — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 22:49:49 +0000

Germans, Czechs and all other beer countries think they are the producers of the best ones. The average Italian on the other hand is famous for saying: “All beers taste the same” maybe that is why there is an explicit effort by a gourmet food chain to explain what products they put on the shelf and point out the differences among a German and a belgian wheat beer… Maybe it is easier to educate someone who is ignorant but does not have a large bias torwads one brand with respect to a person who believes that his favorite beer has no match (and probably is so proud that he does not dare to try foreign products)

By: Knut Albert

Knut Albert — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 11:31:50 +0000

It’s not strictly true, Lars Marius. You can have a Guinness Extra Cold, too, but that is for the very daring of us.

By: Joe

Joe — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 15:19:34 +0000

Hey, it even happens in Belgium. People in the long-established beer countries take their local stuff for granted. When a Belgian tells you that Belgian beer is the best in the world, you might agree, but he is more likely to be pointing at a can of Jupiler than a chalice of Westvleteren.

By: Mark Tichenor

Mark Tichenor — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 15:53:56 +0000

“I wonder if part of the problem in the Czech Republic is that the majority of people are so convinced that Czech beer is the best in the world, and that Czech beer means only the pale lagers which dominate the market”

That’s a German thing too, and really it stems from 600 years of insular brewing tradition, combined with an undercurrent of subconscious nationalism. When the only way to become a small-town brewer is to train under the last in a long line of brewers (who, for much of history, were probably your father and grandfather), the tendency for a homogenous beer culture is understandable. Couple that with a healthy dose of national pride, and there you go.

By: Honza

Honza — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 15:50:15 +0000

But even in Norway you can have good, well, great ales. I had few of them in Copenhagen during the European Beer festival and…amazing. try http://www.nogne-o.com/

By: Cronache di Birra » Blog Archive » La comunicazione, uno dei nostri punti di forza

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 13:36:13 +0000

[...] Evan Rail, autore della Good Beer Guide del Camra su Praga e la Repubblica Ceca. Sul suo blog Evan ha pubblicato delle considerazioni sul nostro movimento birrario, considerazioni nate da alcune riflessioni che è tornato a fare dopo [...]

By: Lars Marius Garshol

Lars Marius Garshol — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 11:50:37 +0000

That is quite amazing. For Norwegian consumers, a poster like this would be pretty much like one comparing the grammars of, say, Hebrew and Arabic. You’d have to start with the existence of wheat beers, and how they’re supposed to be cloudy, and take it from there.

In general, the concept of a beer style is not known here at all, and the dominance of pale lager is probably close to 95% here, too.

By: pivnizub

pivnizub — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 10:49:17 +0000

By the way: It i s true, that nothing is better than Prazdroj, but only the unfiltered version from the wooden barrels in the deep, deep cellars of Pilsen ! ;-)

By: pivnizub

pivnizub — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 07:29:43 +0000

The same problem exists here in Germany too. The majority of people in Germany are convinced that german brews are the best in the world, especially the lovers of Warsteiner and Brinkhoff’s No. 1 ….. They obviously do not know anything about beer and also heavily refuse to learn something about this delicious drink. Einmal Warsteiner, immer Warsteiner! But this problem is known in the “promised land” of Belgium, too. Most of the people stick to the blandest lagers there. The world-famous Gueuze and Trappist brews are mainly for the export ! In the U.K. the situation seems to be far better. Besides the inevitable macro-fizz there are lot of delicious brews in the pubs and many people seem to like the great selection of ales in these pubs.

By: Velky Al

Velky Al — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 06:38:10 +0000

I wonder if part of the problem in the Czech Republic is that the majority of people are so convinced that Czech beer is the best in the world, and that Czech beer means only the pale lagers which dominate the market. I know plenty of people who down right refuse to believe that Pilsner Urquell, Gambrinus and Staropramen are foreign owned. When I was down at the Slunce ve Skle festival, there was a guy there who simply refused to accept that anything could be better than Pilsner Urquell.