BootsyFlanootsy
Well-Known Member
Ok.
So one of my closest companions and I have had an ongoing debate about something for around two years now. He a native of Bonn and recent immigrant to the US; I a NE'erner, born and raised near Philly and spent most of my life here. I've been to Germany and sampled, ( to put it lightly), many German beers, a lot of which are unavailable here in the states. I'm by NO means an expert, but I'm not a total neophyte either.
He SWEARS there is "something" different about most of the German beers he has had in the states. I sort of know what he is talking about, it's a sort of gross, malty sweetness. He claims that on his recent trip back to the Cologne area he sampled many of the same beers over there and that they were devoid of this flavor. I too must admit, that I am to a certain degree inclined to agree with him.
The ONLY three logical hypotheses I can come are:
1. The beers are way less than fresh and or skunked by the time we consume them here in the states.
OR
2. as is the case with some belgian beers, ( sours especially), they are artificially back-sweetening, either with crystal malts or some other sort of unfermentables, you know, b/c we americans are supposedly dumb and lacking in taste and crave cloying sweetness in everything we consume...blah blah blah.
OR
3. Our minds are playing tricks on us.
I've tried to google around a bit on this topic, but have yet to find a search string that leads to any sort of conclusive information.
Has anyone else ever thought this or have any idea whether or not we are totally off-base on this?
So one of my closest companions and I have had an ongoing debate about something for around two years now. He a native of Bonn and recent immigrant to the US; I a NE'erner, born and raised near Philly and spent most of my life here. I've been to Germany and sampled, ( to put it lightly), many German beers, a lot of which are unavailable here in the states. I'm by NO means an expert, but I'm not a total neophyte either.
He SWEARS there is "something" different about most of the German beers he has had in the states. I sort of know what he is talking about, it's a sort of gross, malty sweetness. He claims that on his recent trip back to the Cologne area he sampled many of the same beers over there and that they were devoid of this flavor. I too must admit, that I am to a certain degree inclined to agree with him.
The ONLY three logical hypotheses I can come are:
1. The beers are way less than fresh and or skunked by the time we consume them here in the states.
OR
2. as is the case with some belgian beers, ( sours especially), they are artificially back-sweetening, either with crystal malts or some other sort of unfermentables, you know, b/c we americans are supposedly dumb and lacking in taste and crave cloying sweetness in everything we consume...blah blah blah.
OR
3. Our minds are playing tricks on us.
I've tried to google around a bit on this topic, but have yet to find a search string that leads to any sort of conclusive information.
Has anyone else ever thought this or have any idea whether or not we are totally off-base on this?