Originally Posted by
GPSFlyer
By far GERMAN beer is the BEST WORLDWIDE. That is not by coincidence, first off the water is better, second off the indgredients are better (100 % natural), but most off all is the Rheinheits-gebot, someone can correct me on the date, but I think its like 1516 ? which says that Beer is to be made of ONLY NATURAL INGREDIENTS = ORGANIC.
Just to clear this up: "Natural ingredients" is not the same thing as "organic". If you have hops and malt that have been grown with chemical fertilizers and/or are from genetically manipulated seeds, these are NOT organic.
German beer is generally good in quality but it is not necessarily organic. It does help that it is made from top quality natural ingredients and not the garbage that goes into most mass-produced beers.
Originally Posted by
GPSFlyer
Second is czech beer such as Pilsner Urquell (the original Pilsner) made in Pilzen from the best water in the world. I think this is the best import in usa if you ask me. ...
Sad to say but Pilsener Urquell today is but a parody of itself. Like Staropramen, this company was bought by a global brewer and they have steadily degraded its quality, using cheaper ingredients and also cutting the "lagering" (storage/ageing) process vastly.
Just using Pilzen water is not enough to keep it as a good beer - there is also mediocre beer to be found in Czech Rep too and Pilsener Urqell is one of them: premium priced, yes, but still a cheaply and poorly made product, not really any different than San Miguel or other generic "premium" brands..
Anyway to add to the list:
- In the
UK,
Cains Brewery of Liverpool makes fantastic quality ales and lagers, often keenly priced. Worth a try as well.
- In
Croatia there is a brand called "
Karlovacko", which is relatively cheap but is the best quality beer that I found in my time there