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People get it in their heads that small and local means good or at least better than the stuff mass-produced by MegaCorp, but that's not always the case. I thin
by prottog 3y ago
People get it in their heads that small and local means good or at least better than the stuff mass-produced by MegaCorp, but that's not always the case. I think beer is a case where it's hard to beat Big Beer.
Heineken, the second-biggest brewery in the world, moved 231.2 million hectoliters of beer in 2021[0], or nearly 19,000 acre-feet of beer (!). How many locally-produced lagers actually taste better than Heineken?
[0]: https://www.craftbrewingbusiness.com/business-marketing/the-40-biggest-breweries-in-the-world-in-2021/ https://www.craftbrewingbusiness.com/business-marketing/the-...
- reducesuffering 3y agoWell, one local example relevant to TFA and that I know of is the Bay Area. Anchor, Drake's, 21st Ammendment, Lagunitas, Das Brew, Altamont, and Fieldwork all make better tasting beer than Heineken.
- cratermoon 3y agoFunny, Lagunitas is now owned by the Heineken company. Heineken became the second largest brewer in the world after the merger of Anheuser-Busch InBev and SABMiller.
- totallychinese 3y agoJust about every major metro in the US likely has a brewery making better tasting beer than Heineken. That’s not what Heineken is going for.
- reducesuffering 3y agoWhich is why I was refuting OP's statement: > How many locally-produced lagers actually taste better than Heineken?
- totallychinese 3y agoYes, I was indeed agreeing with you.
- peddling-brink 3y agoOrrrr people have different tastes, and that’s ok. And generally the craft beer people are a bit snotty about it. Heineken is a fine mass produced beer, but there are tens of beers that I would prefer.
- eyelidlessness 3y agoThere aren’t many locally produced lagers hardly anywhere, so it’s hard to compare. They take much longer to produce than ales, and require active cooling in most places.
- pkulak 3y agoAll of them?
- prawn 3y agoI think with big beer, you get consistency of product and usually pricing. That's great for some people who don't want to be fussing with beer. I used to care about tasting every obscure beer from a location, but over time I've started to care a lot less. For wine and vintages, the absolute consistency is less of an issue. They aspire to some consistency, but a little variation is part of the romance. The great thing is that in wine and beer, you get both ends. You get the familiar brands and the loony craft beers with outrageous labels. If I favour smaller producers, a good part of it is that I like to support younger businesses. Big producers pretending to produce young-business products is a bit meh though.
- iopq 3y agoI was with you until you said Heineken tastes good
- shaklee3 3y agoI'm really confused at the general lack of knowledge about this topic on HN. Heineken is one of the worst beers made, and local beers, while mostly not great, are certainly better. Look at untappd for statistically significant ratings.
- stcroixx 3y agoA fresh Heineken from the brewery is as good as a Pilsner Urquel of Budvar - very, very good. It’s not the same stuff you buy at any gas station.
- HelloMcFly 3y ago> Pilsner Urquel Another middling green-bottle beer. Better than Heineken easy, but typically still worse than your local brewer will make.
- ojbyrne 3y agoI’ve never had a Heineken that wasn’t skunky.
- HelloMcFly 3y ago> How many locally-produced lagers actually taste better than Heineken? In my opinion: most of them. Heineken is not a good beer. It tastes similar to other mass-produced stuff: inoffensive bordering on flavorless. I'm actually stunned at the comment. It's like if I asked how many local restaurants make hamburgers better than Wendy's (Budweiser is McDonald's in this analogy).