Europeans of Lemmy, is American beer really that bad?

Beer-drinking European living in 'Murica here. For certain styles, the US has fantastic beers available. In particular IPAs (which don't always have to be mega hoppy!), pale ales, pilsners, amber ales, and stouts. Plenty of great choices to be found here, if you discover the right breweries. That's key, because there are a lot breweries with imo questionable taste.
What's harder to find are good beers of other styles, such as Belgian or German beers. US breweries try, sometimes, but they aren't succeeding.
- That's kinda the difference - local specialties mostly can't be beaten on their own turf. Also, in America you've got to actually seek out the good stuff and go local, the InBev stuff is meticulously targeted at swine with no taste.
- I'm particularly fond of Belgian beers and my partner is fond of German beers. They're of course not as good in America as the real thing, but there are definitely some solid options. In fact that's what I will say is nice about American beers: you can find something decent of any style of beer you can imagine, and some truly excellent ones in a handful of styles as you mentioned already.
- The Belgian and German styles are largely ignored by the national breweries, but a lot of more local or regional microbreweries are crushing it when it comes to them.
- This is the correct answer. Pacific Northwest microbrew is awesome for many styles. But not German/Belgian style beers - you guys haven’t figured them out yet. The big nationally distributed beers like coors and bud are basically horse urine.
- I'll say that you're generally right that American breweries don't do Belgian beers perfectly always, but there are a handful that are great. The thing about craft brewing is you have to go around and try new things. There's so many options, and most are mediocre at best. However, with there being so many options, a small few nail certain things, whatever that may be.

I live in Europe, but was an expert taste panelist at New Belgium Brewing in the US when I lived there.
Lefthand Milk Stout Nitro is a great beer.
There's a lot of good beer all over the world (okay, much of it anyway). Quality has a LOT more to do with freshness, cleanliness, and lack of dissolved oxygen in the beer. You can also find bad beer most anywhere. Don't let someone making silly blanket statement get ya down.
I will just go ahead and contradict myself by making a blanket statement that the low end of food is just better in most of the EU cuz of how much stricter the rules are. From McDonald's to the grocery store, you kinda can't get "terrible" food.
- Love that you randomly called out left hand and new Belgium. Good name drops 💜
- Wow, care to tell us more about New Belgium?
  How do you become an expert taster? Did you have to taste every batch to make sure it comes out tasting "correct"? How do they manage that on such a large scale?
  
  Sure! The tasting part is complex but to grossly simplify it:
  Each site has a bunch of people who are taster verified and have other jobs (rigorous program that takes a while to be part of) and they 1+ taste panel per day on each site which has a mix of new beers, old shelf beers, all the new releases, all from all of the sites, plus other market stuff (competitor products). You don't usually know what you're tasting outside of trainings so you just use a bunch of chemical words to describe the beer (no, you don't say "fruity", you talk about the specific fruit compound like acetaldehyde or ethyl hexonoate).
  They only use the data of attributes you're best at, so each taster is like an instrument that they're also Corsa calibrating with spiked samples throughout all of that.
  The best part, by far? Free snacks; good ones too. We already had limitless free beer so that doesn't incentivize anyone
  Beyond that NBB was dope. Love the people, love the beer, the company actually stands up for what it believes in. Based af, if it was in Europe I'd 100% work for them still. But we did wanna leave the US so....
- New Belgium is amazing.
  1554 is one of my favorites, and I introduced my friend to the Voodoo ranger series and that's how he left the land of domestic beers.
  Thank you for your service. 🫡
  
  1554 is one of the GOATs of beer
  
  Ooh I haven’t had the porter in a while actually… go Colorado!
- Woot! I drink fat tire from new Belgium as a everyday beer, although right now I am drinking modelo especial lol…
- New Belgium is the shit. Trippel in particular is delicious.

I recently chatted with someone at a party who said "no, all American beers are bad" including microbrewery beers.
That person has not tried "all" American beers. So their view can be safely disregarded IMO.

Generic American beer sucks. Craft American beer is fucking awesome.
I experienced the same in Australia when I visited so assume it's probably the same most places.

European here. Germans just think their beer is the best in the world and if you're not doing it like them, you're not doing it right.
Don't get me wrong, the standards Germans apply to their beer production means that it's rare to get a terrible beer there, but IMO it's also not that innovative and the range of styles is fairly limited. There is a ton of choice in the US both in terms of breweries and styles. The variation means you get more duds but also more excellent beers.
- American craft beers get pretty crazy and experimental! You also have styles like black IPA, hazy IPA, cream ale, pumpkin ale, steam beer, and bourbon barrel beer that are all very American
- Yeah no doubt German beer tends to be similar in taste. What is refreshing though is to be able to taste a remarkably distinct beer that still follows the rules. And there are a few breweries that are able to do that
- Oh come on. We do have the best beer. And a lot of breweries.
  Or so they say about the former.
  I wouldn't know. I don't even like beer 😁. So I really don't care what is true regarding this.

European mainstream beer isn't anything to brag about.
- That people in the Netherlands actually buy Heineken's makes me thing that they must like skunky beer there.

Idk who you talked to, but I think most European beer enthusiasts would agree that a lot of American beers are awesome. Especially what you mentioned: various IPAs and Stouts, you guys started the modern interpretation of those styles.
Maybe someone who thinks only lagers are legit beer and everything else is "hipster crap". I've met some people with those opinions.

I'm curious what they have available over there. Most of our microbreweries don't reach outside of their own state, let alone internationally.
I'm confident that we have some brews that could go head to head with their best, and I bet they have some that could compete with our worst.
- There should be a beer equivalent to the movie "Bottle Shock"

Not a European, but i don’t buy that. American mass-produced beers are bad. That used to be all beers, but it’s not anymore. American microbrews have come a long way and frequently win awards, including international awards. The only objective evidence shows good American beers are good.
I think it’s down to history, wounded pride or self-defensiveness, and as someone else mentioned: the aged swill you get from “imports” may not be good.
Personally, I think German beer is awful, and quite a few American microbrews do German styles so much better. But I’m adult enough to understand I’ve never been to Germany and that what we get for imports may not be their best or freshest. I’m willing to give German brewers the benefit of the doubt, despite what I’ve experienced from them
- It's true they really don't cross the Atlantic all that well but they're great fresh
  
  One of these days I hope to find out. Several times Ive had internal conversations debating whether it’s reasonable to organize a trip around beer

I would question your friend on what they are drinking and where.
The easiest to find Australian beer in the US is Fosters. But go to Australia and few people there actually drink it because it's not good and there are so many better options.
I once traveled to the UK and had a Newcastle Brown straight from the tap and it was delicious. Went back home to the US and picked up some bottles, it was old and tasted like barely a shadow of the fresh UK stuff.
If I judged Australia or UK beers on what I can find easily in the US, I would also think their beers are ass.
So if he is trying only what he can get in his country, 1) it's probably old and 2) it's rarely the "best" a country has to offer.
- It’s funny as I was reading the comments and I was actually thinking about fosters specifically and how ass nasty it is
  I have had a good Newcastle and boddington’s and Sammy smith on tap in the states at a Irish bar so frigging delicious although Sammy smith is good in general but probably some of them are too sweet to be considered beer.

American here: American Light Lagers, like those of the BMC brands, are both one of the hardest styles to brew well and one of the worst crimes ever committed against brewery. They're hard to brew because there is so little flavor that the slightest off-taste can ruin a batch. That's also the reason that they are so terrible; they are little more than ethanol delivery systems that have enough malt proteins to sometimes have a head.
Want to get fucked up without tasting much? They're probably the next best choice after a very neutral vodka. If you have interest in anything beyond intoxication, like actually enjoying the beverage, then, pretty much any other American or European style is a better choice.

The big US and Canadian brands all taste like ass but there's thousands of small breweries that make very yummy nectar. Personally I prefer German and Belgian brews.
- Quebec has some pretty sweet crafed beers. We also have the generic crap but it's not really popular. It wasnt always like that, the offer kept getting better and better over the past 15 years or so.
  
  Yup, pretty much every province now has a good choice of local brews. It's sad we have stupid interprovincial trade barriers because I wouldn't mind a case of Boréale or Quidi Vidi once in a while, although we have choice too in Ontario. Beer is proof the universe loves us.

The fuck? American craft beer is absolutely delicious. A lot of light beer brands are also good. Who's saying American beer sucks?

Not as bad as American "chocolate" .

yes.
I'm an american who lives in france, and i brew my own beer. American beer tastes like shit, even the microbrewed stuff. Everyone wants to make an IPA, and they all taste over hopped. It's either that swill or the staples of the American frat party: bud light, miller light, coors, etc.
Best beers are hands down made in Belgium, and i will throw hands.
- IPAs suck, it's true.
  
  the thing is, pale ales don't have to suck. with the right hops and the right amount at the right time, it can be almost pleasant. Not my favorite, but i could understand the appeal.
  However, you want a good beer, check out a lambic.
- Alright, let me finish my beer and then we throw hands. Belgian beer is meh.
  
  come at me bro
- Meh, I prefer Pilsener. Either the Czech stuff or from Northern Germany. Sometimes a nice wheat bear is good too. The only beer one can drink in Bavaria, the rest tastes like shit.
  I do like a Grimbergen Blonde every now and then though.
- Stella Artois

Beer is good only in Belgium.
An Italian
- Belgian beer is good but it is so heavy I can only drink one before I feel off.
  
  Heavy in taste or heavy in abv? We have both light in taste and light in alcohol beers, sometimes even both at the same time :)
- Belgian beer is sooo good, but your local (southern) german beer is always better
- You Italians have a beer up by Lago di Como called "Spluga" or something like that. It was damned good especially with the wood fired pizza I had there.
- Are you south-tirolian or why do you have a German nickname?
  
  That is called a nickname, it has nothing to do with my real name. I am originally from Rome.
- Might I suggest Carrobiolo, in Monza? They make some pretty awesome stuff.

I think it's of-a-kind
Domestic/mass-produced European beers are much better than domestic/mass-produced American beers.
\ And European craft beers are better than American craft beers.
America has a lot of bad domestic and bad craft beers, but there are enough craft beers that some have gotta be good even if just by luck.
Personally I don't think it's a big deal: yes American beers taste like water or fruit water, but I like water, it's refreshing. Water that gives me a buzz if I drink enough is a win in my book.
- I think a lot of American breweries confuse "interesting" beer with "good" beer, because in the US, as long as it doesn't taste like Coors, you're fine.
  It's the chicken bacon ranch pizza problem. It's good. I like it. But I don't want it every time I have pizza. I definitely can't eat a whole chicken bacon ranch pizza, even if I spread the leftovers over the week. But a slice every now and then is great.
  "Good" American beer is generally pretty fatiguing to drink. Good European beer isn't. That's how it is for me at least.
  
  I thought you meant chicken bacon ranch pizza flavoured beer, which I also wouldn't be surprised about if it existed in the US
  
  But that's kinda what I'm talking about: by sheer luck some of those interesting beers have gotta be good.
  People hate Coors because it tastes like water, but idk why someone would hate that; water is good.
  \ Sure it's a bad beer in the sense that it isn't very beer-ey, but it's a fine drink because it doesn't taste like anything. I don't see how someone can like Perrier water, but not like Coors, they're practically the same.

My American friends made me drink Keystone Ice and this was one of the most disgusting things I did ever drink. The rest was also not great. A few American beers were passable but I had better ones in most European countries.
- We have many options for people who just want to drink a bunch of cheap beer. Bud Light, Miller Light, Coors Light, Natural Light, Milwaukee's Best Light, the list goes on. Most agree the stuff you can buy in a 24 pack at Walmart isn't good quality beer.
  But places like Dogfish Head, Ardent, Foothills, Bell's, Cigar City, Oskar Blues, Three Notched, Flying Dog, Elysian, Anchor, Lagunitas and many others produce some great beers.

I tried a Budweiser once. Once was enough.

Im not sure about other countries but something to take note of is that American 'light' beers are light flavour, not ABV%.
In Australia a 'light' beer is usually around 3.5% ABV, but intended to taste like normal beer (i say intended because usually they taste more watery).
So i personally think a bit of the hate on American beers if that they seem to be fans of the 'light' flavours more, (ie prevalence of Bud light, Miller Lite, etc.) and they generally taste a lot like soda water to the non-american beer drinker that is used to a lot more body and/or bitterness.
- taste a lot like soda water to the non-american beer drinker that is used to a lot more body and/or bitterness.
  This right here, you've nailed it exactly!
  Otherwise described as "tastes like piss", they usually taste like a watered down version of a proper beer.
  It's like being used to freshly squeezed orange juice, then someone comes along and adds half a cup of water and a bit of sugar because it's "too acidic" or something.

Yes, I've been to quite some micro breweries in the US and most of just taste so flat. It kinda seems like all money went to creating a nice looking brewery and barely anything is invested in the craftsmanship.
The best beer I had in the US is from Ommegang Brewery, they make amazing stuff. I've had other good stuff too, it's definitely there, it just seems there's a load of commercial "microbreweries" that are just selling a story instead of decent beer
- Brewing is an art, and the market is saturated with micro breweries run by people with too much money and not enough actual skill or good taste, they’re fads like boba places now where I live, micro breweries all over the place serving crap
- Ommegang is the shit. Heavy beer though.

As a vetted german beer enthusiast, may I say that the big-brand beers are on average as good (or bad) as the american beers I know. Differences imho originate from drinking preferences (light beers) and allowed ingredients or additives, but that has a minor impact on sensory quality. Personally I often missed aroma and bitterness (hops) and gravity of most beers I tried in the USA, but that‘s just me.

Struggled to find beer that I like in usa- I've not been there much though.
It's increasingly hard here though (UK).
Shitty lager, or hipster-grapefruit-jizz or guiness is the normal choice in most pubs, and even in many so called "real ale" pubs, those of them still left. A decent pint of bitter is hen's teeth these days. I guess fashions change and there's no money in old style beers that I prefer. You can't argue with the bottom line.
I find shitty lager in US is not as nice as shitty european lager - it just seems to have an odd taste - but it's not what i want to drink.. I guess german/czech lager is about as good as it gets, for lager/pils - but still not very flavourful.
Belgium is good, but not really for a session beer. It's for a different type of drinking.
- A decent pint of bitter is hen’s teeth these days. I guess fashions change and there’s no money in old style beers
  I hear that. I enjoy IPAs that aren't too fruity or floral, but sometimes I just want a pint of bitter like my grandfather used to illegally buy me in his local when I was a teenager ("Yes, he's nineteen, just scrawny. Sad really, he needs feeding up.")
- Yeah moving to the UK from Germany it was a big shock how bad the 'standard' beers were.
  In Germany you could just order 'a beer' and get something good, in the UK it would be like birra moretti or something
  I liked the ales though...

When asking the waiter for a local craft beer, got pretty decent ones.
Stuff like Miller like is just a less sugary alternative to cokeà or to pretend your drinking during a business event

I mean when I was in new York they drank bud light with Tabasco on the can rim to make it taste something. So I guess it's not only us
- As a New Yorker, I apologize for how they hurt you. I promise the NY beer experience is rich and inviting.

American. I visit Germany once every few years. Each time, I see American beer get better and better. I think, this time when I visit Germany I'll finally be able to say "Yes, you do beer incredibly well, but American beer has gotten much better, come visit me, I can't wait to show you."
I have one sip of German beer and all my hopes and dreams are shattered. We cannot make a beer as good as Kölsch, it seems. Tbf there's cheap German beers that taste like swill, but it isn't hard to find just amazing Kölsch in Köln.
- Really? I've had lots of excellent Kolsch in USA . Try Rosenstadt in Portland for example.
  
  I think this brings up another good point- some states do MUCH better than others. From what I've seen, the best beers come from the West Coast (especially the Northwest), the Mountain West, Midwest, and Northeast.
  Someone here said they hated the beers in Texas and yea, like don't expect a great authentic taco scene in North Dakota. The worst beer I've ever had was from Florida.
- Personally, I’ve had plenty of good American Kolsches

Real talk, it's your common mass produced and internationally sold beers that suck. S'ok, a lot of mass produced Canadian beer sucks too (lookin' at you, Alexander Keith's. Pride of Nova Scotia indeed.)
The issue is that the good stuff doesn't often make it outside of your borders. I've had decent beer when actually in the U.S before.
Will say I will drink a cold PBR if there's no other valid choice, but if someone just has Coors or Bud (especially Bud - but especially Bud Light) I'll stick with water. Only other American beer that reaches Canada I'd probably drink is Lucky Lager, but that's more out of nostalgia for west coast teenaged mayham than its own merits, and Kokanee would produce the same effect and caveat anyway.
Edit: After thinking about it more, I've enjoyed Sam Adams limited releases before, and we get those sometimes.
- I've enjoyed Sam Adams limited releases before,
  The Summer Ale is nice on a hot day

Not a European, but a well traveled person who has drunk beers in Kenya, Ethiopia, South Africa, Botswana, Senegal, UK, Poland, China, and the UK, as well as drunk beers from Belgium, Germany, Czech Republic etc, I stopped drinking beer when I drunk American beer. Sure, there are some good microbrews, but holy moly, there are some questionable things that pass for beer in America.
- Long time American beer drinker here. The craft breweries here brew some strange stuff these days. There are sooo many breweries now it's hard to stand out brewing something as simple as a porter. Now it has to be chocolate pecan graham cracker infused porter.

I've had plenty of really good craft beer but anything mass produced is fine at best and gutter water at worst.
- Exactly. Imagine if we judged European beer based on nothing but Heineken.

One thing to note is that there are a lot of bad American beers in small and mid-sized cities. Basically what happened is that in the 2010s it became trendy to go to a brewery with a food truck and just hang out. As a result a ton of "breweries" opened that were more or less selling the experience, with a handful of low effort trendy selections to serve as a hook.
That doesn't mean there aren't good beers though. America is the land of people who do their own thing, often regardless of social norms and established conventions. There's a lot of great beers across a broad range of categories, it just takes a bit of digging.
As a sidenote a lot of these D tier breweries are closing and/or rebranding. Changing consumer sentiment means merely being a craft brewery is no longer a hook, while rising real estate costs make the entire endeavor more expensive. The breweries in shitty locations tend to close. The ones in good locations tend to massively reduce their own output, while offering a variety of local alcohol and expanded food options.

I'm from the Netherlands, and we say the same for Heineken and also for the Belgian variant Jupiler. The truth is, at a party or festival it's mostly these or Bud that are available, and people drink a lot of it. At home I'll mostly drink Krombacher, or some other German brand since I live close to the border.
I've been to the US once, and stayed in the Boston area. I drank a lot of Sam Adams lager there, which was decent enough for me. I'd assume every region will have it's own decent brand of lager, just as it is here in Europe.

The American beer you get in Canada is terrible. Budweiser and Miller and shit like that. American beer at an American pub was great, when I last visited.

Mass produced beers are pretty bad. Ironically the bigger the brand the worse the beer generally. Americans are known for bud and Coors which are especially shit
- What's the difference between bud light and having sex in a canoe?
  None.
  Both are fucking close to water.
  
  Bud Light is how you stay hydrated between shots

American, but I enjoy beer and have tried hundreds. I tend to like sweeter or richer Belgian and German ales the most. Things like König Ludwig, Tripel Karmeliet, Augustiner, Weihenstephaner, Ayinger, Paulaner, and St. Bernardus will always top my list.
If you like those, here are some US recommendations that are also damn good. Note, some of these are quite regional.
Tröeg's - Mad Elf
Fat Heads - Alpenglow
Boulevard - Bourbon Barrel Quad
Royal Docks - VLAD
Dark Horse - Scotty Karate
Descutes - The Abyss
Fat Heads - Goggle Fogger
Sierra Nevada - Kellerweiss
Terrestrial - Blue Dream
Thirsty Dog - Irish Setter Red
Penn Brewery - Penn Weizen
Ommegang - Manhattan Shine
Sibling Revelry - Lavender Wit
Ithaca - Apricot Wheat
Also, shoutout to almost anything by Unibroue - They're from Montreal, but hey that's not Europe.
- The Abyss changed my life. Before I had one of those, I thought I liked dark beer. That beer made me realize that unless it's actively absorbing light, it's not dark enough.
  I've had friends call it "soy sauce beer" though, so it's still not for everyone.
- Glad to see Tröeg's in that list! Their Perpetual IPA has been my favorite beer for years.

American beer that is sold in Europe? All the ones I tried, yeah, absolutly.
And most of that microbrew shit doesn't even count as beer under the Reinheitsgebot.
- To be fair the Bavarian Purity law is a shockingly awful standard to apply to what should be considered beer. Using that silly standard would eliminate a tremendous amount of great beer simply because it didn’t meet one aristocrat’s measure of what should be in beer.
  
  Yes but have you been to Europe? It's a giant ball of idiosyncrasies created by some old dudes four or five hundred years ago. And that's why we love it 😁.
  Do not question the sanity of this.
  
  Heresy! Burn the heathen!
- As a German beer drinker I can say: fuck the Reinheitsgebot. It's just an old law to patronize the citizen. It's not about protection against chemicals, just take look at Radler (Beer mixed with lemon soda) for example, plenty of artificial sweeteners and E additives are allowed.
  Belgium has a wonderful selection of beers of different flavors. If somebody doesn't want to taste a nice cherry beer, don't do it. I don't need an authority to watch over the beer I drink.
  
  That why it's called Alsterwasser (or Radler if you really must) and not beer. I actually like the law as it prevents the market from getting flooded with all kinds of shit that calls itself beer. We can still buy Lambic and whatnot here in Germany. It's just not called beer, and rightly so.

American here:
There’s a LOT of bad American beer, but to say ALL is just plain dumb. The micro brewery boom made a lot of small breweries pop up and about 90% had no idea what they were doing so yea a lot of them are kinda garbage.
I personally know micro brewers in NY who studied their ass off to make some incredible beers that I would put right up there with Westies and Cantillon.
One of the best beers I’ve ever had is from a Gypsy brewer in NY called Cantina Cantina. The guy used to work in my local distributor, then went to work for our favorite local brewer Barrier, then took his expertise to Greenport Brewery and turned around their whole operation, then started brewing his own absolute masterpieces.
My point is the best of the best is probably going to be buried deep under a pile of garbage beers cause they’re usually obsessed with making art and don’t focus on getting their name out there.

Maybe it's because I don't really like beer (or alcohol) but I've been to Germany and the beer wasn't any better or worse than American beer.
The Jagermeister, on the other hand, was definitely way better in Germany.
- Because of the German Purity Law, there isn't much that German beer can do to experiment or try new things. There are some excellent German beers (Brlo is one), but generally you don't get the variety that you find in other countries.

I've not tasted many American beers so I could not tell if they all taste like crap, and I also do not drink at all anymore. But being French, I can say that our Belgian neighbors have some exceptionally good beers, as well as Germans do. I loved a few of those, back then. But then they may also be a tad too... tasty for an uninitiated palate ;)
I'm pretty confident there must some local breweries in a few US places that can make quality beer too, the issue would then mostly be to find enough customers willing to drink it because it's no use to make the best beer ever if most your customers prefer Budweiser or stuff like that.

Prairie Artisan Ales is one of the most unique craft breweries I've ever experienced. The downside is it's in Oklahoma, so I'll never visit again, but if you get a chance to find some at a local liquor store or import, try it out. Plus the can designs are cool. They have some delicious stuff.
But yeah LeftHand in Longmont, Colorado is incredible.
As for European, Belgian Tripel, it is hands down the best.
- But yeah LeftHand in Longmont, Colorado is incredible.
  Their Milk stout is pretty popular in my city

Some are okay-ish. But there is nothing compared to european beer. German especially.
- Germans make great lagers. But that’s it. There’s a lot more beer styles out there and the American microbreweries excel at a lot of them.
  
  The best beers in the usa (said microbreweries) are mediocre at best compared to the low standard European ones. Sorry to say this, but there are very, very few acceptable beers in usa. Mexicans and Canadian are better.
  No hate, but they all lack a flavourful taste.
  German, belgium and czech beers are great, Irish stouts are wonderful, and so on. You can grab a random (best: local) beer and it will be a good one.
  You have to really look out for an acceptable one in usa. If you are lucky, a microbrewery in your area will produce a good one, but you have to have a good portion of luck here. Most of those good ones are brewed by an „imported“ german brewer who got a formal education on this. You can actually study this in the city nearby me and some students think of opening a brewery in the usa. So naturally i got in touch with some of them. One factor is the hops you can get in the us. The quality and taste is very different to the one we produce. You almost cannot reproduce the conditions you have here in the holledau. Even if you get very good hops the malting and the grain is different (mexicans use corn, which actually tastes very good). Barley doesn’t equal barley, so you have the differences here.
  Long story short: the ingrediens are different due to locally available products, the methods are slightly different, so you have a different product. Unfortunately the circumstances in the us are what they are, so you need very experienced personell to produce a good beer.

I really liked the Red Stripe and Abita when I visited the US. Don't come near me with a Bud or a Coors through
- Isn't Red Stripe Jamaican?
  
  Possibly, it was sold where I was

Tried different IPA from Belgium and Netherlands as sugested by coworkers and frienda and I fucking hate it. It taste like diluted beer. If you get the chance try Icnusa non filtered, IMO best beer ever. Also I dunno if it's sold outside Italy, have not seen it in other countries
- ichnusa tastes exactly like every other mass produced lager that you can buy a euro a pint

I'm a big fan of Blue Moon for a witbier.
- Try to find Allagash White by Allagash Brewing. Much nicer.
  
  Going out on a limb and saying "Midwesterner spotted"
  Chicagoan checking in- I love that beer

It is only a wee bit worse than a piss.

Short answer: yes
Long answer: yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees

Never had it

As a commonwealther who has tried American beer when she turned 21, I can tell you the complaints are just Europeans making a big deal as Europeans do. Err, I should clarify; American beer is an acquired taste, yes, but all beer is an acquired taste. I didn't like European beer any more.
Rule of thumb, if a European is complaining about American customs, it's most likely their pessimism for the sake of it. They hate American beer. They hate velveeta and decry it as fake cheese even though fake cheese wouldn't cause an allergic reaction. They hate that Americans put dressing on salad, saying "why don't you want to taste the salad". They hate Americanized spaghetti even though it was Italians that Americanized spaghetti. They hate New York pizza. They hate the American fast food industry. All while they seldom question why they consider haggis, snails, casu marzu "delicacies". The only stereotypical thing I've never seen them hate on, ironically, is Buffalo wings.
- Wait there's no salad dressing in Europe?
  
  There probably is, but many have told me it's not the norm to pour ranch dressing on salad.

- There’s almost no good beer in Mexico
  
  This may objectively be true, but I’ll take Mexican commercial beers over American ones any day.
  
  Yeah what the heck is this take? Lol Mexico has no good beers, decent sure. It is not a beer destination

Yes. There are exceptions, but most American beer usually fall into ine of two categories:
Water.
Infused with a bunch of stuff that shouldn't be anywhere near beer, in an effort to have it not taste like water.
At least these are the common denominators for most well known beers.
Exceptions, off the top of my head:
Blue Moon
Shiner Boch
Some weird local brew I stumbled across in Galveston
While it doesn't hold a lot of flavor, I do enjoy Miller now and then.
- For what it's worth, Blue Moon and Shiner Bock are mid-tier.

Imagine giving a fucking about what Europeans think.