A question for Americans

[sanomaton]

However, almost all of Sweden's female population are outrageously good looking, so I guess the high beer prices are some kind of compromise

Could it be because of Sweden's socialist system so embargos and taxes are high? Just a thought.

Also, yes, yes they are.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's the main reason. Would have thought that EU standards would have brought alcohol prices down, seeing as they have been members for like 14 years, but I guess not.

To be fair though, their taxes seem to be going to good use. The public transport in Stockholm was amazing, and everywhere is so clean and tidy, and safe feeling. I wanna live there.

With regards to the girls, I just can't work it out. Is it something in the water? Whatever it is, I'm not complaining.

Oh dear. I guess I am a little biased but I can never grasp the idea of Swedish girls being prettier than your average girl. And their English is usually pretty poor which surprises me cos Swedish as a language is related to English and all..

 

[Wildrow12]

Dude, I just got back from holiday in Sweden, everything is like double/triple the price of stuff in the UK. A Beer was about £5 (500 kronor) and it wasn't even a whole fucking pint! Outrageous I say

Yet on the flipside, when I went to the USA last year everything was cheaper than in the UK. Beer was cheaper (though that was bottles, not pints, since the US doesn't seem to have grasped the idea of the pint), and I managed to get two newly released CDs from Virgin Megastore for less than the price of a normal album in the UK (and this is all taking exchange rates into consideration too...).

Wow, that's a pretty good deal! However, I was under the impression the Americans dont really drink good beer, so that may balance out the benefits of the excellent cost

Actually Budweiser isn't that bad, and they had Heineken too in most places, no British stuff (I wonder why...?) but still some good beer. And they love Guinness over there too ;D

Now that we're on the subject, is there any truth to the rumor that Swedish lagers are fairly bland?

I've not been there myself (but I am planning a trip) and I'm wondering if anyone has some insight in this arena.

 

[tsb247]

Ahah, I like your way of thinking!

Damn, I've kinda de-railed this thread a bit...

I do believe the OP's question has been answered, so perhaps a thread hi-jacking can be 'justified'?

I'd like to think so

Actually Budweiser isn't that bad, and they had Heineken too in most places, no British stuff (I wonder why...?) but still some good beer. And they love Guinness over there too ;D

Oh yes, we LOVE Guiness! Although I have been curious, is it the same both here and there?

Supposedly it tastes worse the further away from Ireland it is, perhaps it doesn't travel well or something.

But maybe that's just vicious rumor

Ok, now I must go to Ireland for the specific purpose of drinking beer! I MUST KNOW!

 

[Lono Shrugged]

Wow that's worse than Ireland, a pint of Carlsberg is ?4.60.

It's pretty much accepted that if you hand over a fiver your NOT getting change.

 

[Aur0ra145]

Ahah, I like your way of thinking!

Damn, I've kinda de-railed this thread a bit...

I do believe the OP's question has been answered, so perhaps a thread hi-jacking can be 'justified'?

I'd like to think so

Actually Budweiser isn't that bad, and they had Heineken too in most places, no British stuff (I wonder why...?) but still some good beer. And they love Guinness over there too ;D

Oh yes, we LOVE Guiness! Although I have been curious, is it the same both here and there?

Supposedly it tastes worse the further away from Ireland it is, perhaps it doesn't travel well or something.

But maybe that's just vicious rumor

Ok, now I must go to Ireland for the specific purpose of drinking beer! I MUST KNOW!

You know they say the same thing about Corona. But I'd stay away from that stuff, it's nasty.

 

[tsb247]

I think it's the same, I'd guess it would be. Been a while since I went to the US though. Didn't try a Sam Adams when I was there, is that just an ale then or what? When I went though, I was 17 so I only drank when I could get away with it, whereas it's more lax in the UK (it was almost my 18th anyway) but you have to be 21 to drink alcohol in the US, I believe...?

Yes, you have to be 21 to drink in the U.S. :/

Sam Adams doesn't make just one type of beer. They've got a variety of pilsners, ales, lagers, and stouts as well. All of them are pretty strong, but they are all still quite good. They are also responsible for making the strongest traditionally brewed beer (Sam Adams Utopia).

 

[tsb247]

I love how this thread started with snapple and ends up with beer. This is a sign I tell you! It's going to be a great day!

 

[tsb247]

You know they say the same thing about Corona. But I'd stay away from that stuff, it's nasty.

Oh yes, I have discovered the evil that is Corona.

I was served not one, not two, not three, but FIVE Coronas because every one I tried tasted aweful. I finally just choked down the last one and called it a day (having sent back the first four).

I don't know whether they just suck at making beer, or whether the clear bottle and the brightly-lit cooler had something to do with it. I've been told the reason people drink it with a lime wedge is to mask the bad taste. I now know that to be true.

 

[Plazmatic]

Queen Micheal, I checked youre IP address, you are not connecting from sweden, I don't know were your from but I certainly know your NOT from sweden, don't pretend to be somthing your not.

Any ways not many people drink snapple here in the US. Though I have seen prices, $0.99 and $1.30 are what they are normally around here.

 

[Jonatron]

FIVE Coronas

Reference to flash thingy?

'Cobra', which I believe is indian, is awesome.

 

[cobra_ky]

Wow, that's a pretty good deal! However, I was under the impression the Americans dont really drink good beer, so that may balance out the benefits of the excellent cost

America's large breweries, on average, aren't as good, so people who don't care usually drink crappy domestics (or even worse, crappy domestic LIGHT. ugh.) There's plenty of smaller, regional microbreweries with a higher quality product and also plenty of Americans who love imports.

Actually Budweiser isn't that bad, and they had Heineken too in most places, no British stuff (I wonder why...?) but still some good beer. And they love Guinness over there too ;D

Oh yes, we LOVE Guiness! Although I have been curious, is it the same both here and there?

Did you try a Sam Adams while you were here? It's generally good stuff, but a little too hoppy for me. The good news is that there are about a hundred different varieties of it depending on what is in season at the time.

I think it's the same, I'd guess it would be. Been a while since I went to the US though. Didn't try a Sam Adams when I was there, is that just an ale then or what? When I went though, I was 17 so I only drank when I could get away with it, whereas it's more lax in the UK (it was almost my 18th anyway) but you have to be 21 to drink alcohol in the US, I believe...?

Sam Adams makes all kinds of beer, although the Boston lager is most common: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Beer_Company#Products

Supposedly it tastes worse the further away from Ireland it is, perhaps it doesn't travel well or something.

But maybe that's just vicious rumor

it's really hard to store and transport guinness, since the beer has to be mixed with nitrogen to produce the trademark head. it was only about a decade ago that they figured out how to effectively can and bottle it in the U.S.

 

[tsb247]

FIVE Coronas

Reference to flash thingy?

'Cobra', which I believe is indian, is awesome.

Nope, no reference to a flash video.

All this talk is making me want to go to my liquer store and get a few cases of beer.

 

[bilkobob]

Actually Budweiser isn't that bad, and they had Heineken too in most places, no British stuff (I wonder why...?) but still some good beer. And they love Guinness over there too ;D

Oh yes, we LOVE Guiness! Although I have been curious, is it the same both here and there?

Did you try a Sam Adams while you were here? It's generally good stuff, but a little too hoppy for me. The good news is that there are about a hundred different varieties of it depending on what is in season at the time.

It's sad that the US is still known for bad beer. For nearly 25 or 30 years the US has been putting out some really good stuff. The micro brew craze hit a big peak in the early '90's and I haven't really seen it slow down since. Sadder still is the foreign perception that American's think that Bud, Miller, and Coors are good beers. Most of my friends and I love(d) Pete's Wicked, Sierra Nevada, and Samuel Smith back in college. Hopefully you guys outside the States try these if ever you come to visit.



Sam Adams
Pete's Wicked
Sierra Nevada
Dogfish Head
Samuel Smith
Dixie made a great beer called darkened voodoo lager, but hurricane Catrina destroyed the brewery, so I don't think they make it anymore which is sad....
Anchor Steam

Just a few off the top of my head but there are more...

Edit: By the way those are the brewers, not necessarily the brands, and out of those my favorite is Sam Smith's Nut Brown Ale

 

[Wadders]

However, almost all of Sweden's female population are outrageously good looking, so I guess the high beer prices are some kind of compromise

Could it be because of Sweden's socialist system so embargos and taxes are high? Just a thought.

Also, yes, yes they are.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's the main reason. Would have thought that EU standards would have brought alcohol prices down, seeing as they have been members for like 14 years, but I guess not.

To be fair though, their taxes seem to be going to good use. The public transport in Stockholm was amazing, and everywhere is so clean and tidy, and safe feeling. I wanna live there.

With regards to the girls, I just can't work it out. Is it something in the water? Whatever it is, I'm not complaining.

Oh dear. I guess I am a little biased but I can never grasp the idea of Swedish girls being prettier than your average girl. And their English is usually pretty poor which surprises me cos Swedish as a language is related to English and all..

Ah, I see that you are Finnish, so your bias is understandable Let me just say that in comparison to British girls, Swedish girls are very fine indeed. Maybe I worded that wrong, there are plenty of hot girls in the UK, but in Sweden there just seem to be more of them

Ok, now I must go to Ireland for the specific purpose of drinking beer! I MUST KNOW!

It's a good a reason as any

Now that we're on the subject, is there any truth to the rumor that Swedish lagers are fairly bland?

I've not been there myself (but I am planning a trip) and I'm wondering if anyone has some insight in this arena.

Well I went with a mate, and we did'nt actually drink any Swedish beer, as the barman himself said it was fairly dull. Instead we went with a Czech Lager, which was pretty good.

The Swedes have this pretty cool spirit that you can have mixed with a Scotch and it tastes great. I think the name of the mix is called Laborers Punch or something, but I can't remember for the life of me the name of the individual spirit.

Wow, that's a pretty good deal! However, I was under the impression the Americans dont really drink good beer, so that may balance out the benefits of the excellent cost

America's large breweries, on average, aren't as good, so people who don't care usually drink crappy domestics (or even worse, crappy domestic LIGHT. ugh.) There's plenty of smaller, regional microbreweries with a higher quality product and also plenty of Americans who love imports.

Supposedly it tastes worse the further away from Ireland it is, perhaps it doesn't travel well or something.

But maybe that's just vicious rumor

it's really hard to store and transport guinness, since the beer has to be mixed with nitrogen to produce the trademark head. it was only about a decade ago that they figured out how to effectively can and bottle it in the U.S.

Ahh, that explains it then. Interesting stuff

 

[tsb247]

It's sad that the US is still known for bad beer. For nearly 25 or 30 years the US has been putting out some really good stuff. The micro brew craze hit a big peak in the early '90's and I haven't really seen it slow down since. Sadder still is the foreign perception that American's think that Bud, Miller, and Coors are good beers. Most of my friends and I love(d) Pete's Wicked, Sierra Nevada, and Samuel Smith back in college. Hopefully you guys outside the States try these if ever you come to visit.



Sam Adams
Pete's Wicked
Sierra Nevada
Dogfish Head
Samuel Smith
Dixie made a great beer called darkened voodoo lager, but hurricane Catrina destroyed the brewery, so I don't think they make it anymore which is sad....
Anchor Steam

Just a few off the top of my head but there are more...

Edit: By the way those are the brewers, not necessarily the brands, and out of those my favorite is Sam Smith's Nut Brown Ale

Yeah, I'm generally not a fan of Coors and Miller, but I've always thought Budweiser was ok. I'm NOT a fan of light beer at all. I too have enjoyed the wonders of the small microbrewary. We have a good one in my city, and I go whenever I can.

Note: I'm from the U.S.

 

[Steindorh]

I love how this thread started with snapple and ends up with beer. This is a sign I tell you! It's going to be a great day!

Indeed!

It's sad that the US is still known for bad beer. For nearly 25 or 30 years the US has been putting out some really good stuff. The micro brew craze hit a big peak in the early '90's and I haven't really seen it slow down since. Sadder still is the foreign perception that American's think that Bud, Miller, and Coors are good beers. Most of my friends and I love(d) Pete's Wicked, Sierra Nevada, and Samuel Smith back in college. Hopefully you guys outside the States try these if ever you come to visit.



Sam Adams
Pete's Wicked
Sierra Nevada
Dogfish Head
Samuel Smith
Dixie made a great beer called darkened voodoo lager, but hurricane Catrina destroyed the brewery, so I don't think they make it anymore which is sad....
Anchor Steam

Just a few off the top of my head but there are more...

Edit: By the way those are the brewers, not necessarily the brands, and out of those my favorite is Sam Smith's Nut Brown Ale

I've tried several of the Sam Adams ones, and found most of them to be quite good, same goes for Anchor Steam, the others' products are not available here (here being Iceland). The Monty Python joke about American beer resembling sex in a canoe lives on, which is probably one of the reasons that this myth about American beer being... ...sub par is so widespread and generally accepted as fact. I am fairly certain, however, that the most readily available American beers outside the U.S. are Budweiser and Miller, neither of which are any good, and the first one gets me angry, because about half the times I ask someone to "pick up a six-pack of Bud for me, since you're going to the liquor store anyways", I don't get what I asked for, which is a Czech beer!

Also, your northern cousins up in Canada make some pretty good beers, I hear - although the only Canadian beer available here is Moosehead, which I find rather tasty (it's also the cheapest beer in Iceland if you factor in alcohol volume and bottle size).

 

[bilkobob]

I love how this thread started with snapple and ends up with beer. This is a sign I tell you! It's going to be a great day!

Indeed!

It's sad that the US is still known for bad beer. For nearly 25 or 30 years the US has been putting out some really good stuff. The micro brew craze hit a big peak in the early '90's and I haven't really seen it slow down since. Sadder still is the foreign perception that American's think that Bud, Miller, and Coors are good beers. Most of my friends and I love(d) Pete's Wicked, Sierra Nevada, and Samuel Smith back in college. Hopefully you guys outside the States try these if ever you come to visit.



Sam Adams
Pete's Wicked
Sierra Nevada
Dogfish Head
Samuel Smith
Dixie made a great beer called darkened voodoo lager, but hurricane Catrina destroyed the brewery, so I don't think they make it anymore which is sad....
Anchor Steam

Just a few off the top of my head but there are more...

Edit: By the way those are the brewers, not necessarily the brands, and out of those my favorite is Sam Smith's Nut Brown Ale

I've tried several of the Sam Adams ones, and found most of them to be quite good, same goes for Anchor Steam, the others' products are not available here (here being Iceland). The Monty Python joke about American beer resembling sex in a canoe lives on, which is probably one of the reasons that this myth about American beer being... ...sub par is so widespread and generally accepted as fact. I am fairly certain, however, that the most readily available American beers outside the U.S. are Budweiser and Miller, neither of which are any good, and the first one gets me angry, because about half the times I ask someone to "pick up a six-pack of Bud for me, since you're going to the liquor store anyways", I don't get what I asked for, which is a Czech beer!

Also, your northern cousins up in Canada make some pretty good beers, I hear - although the only Canadian beer available here is Moosehead, which I find rather tasty (it's also the cheapest beer in Iceland if you factor in alcohol volume and bottle size).

Wasn't beer banned in Iceland for a long time? What is a good Icelandic brew?


And, as for the OP, since I got off topic (sorry about that)- Snapple... or as I call it Crapple... it was going for about $1.59 here.

 

[sanomaton]

However, almost all of Sweden's female population are outrageously good looking, so I guess the high beer prices are some kind of compromise

Could it be because of Sweden's socialist system so embargos and taxes are high? Just a thought.

Also, yes, yes they are.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's the main reason. Would have thought that EU standards would have brought alcohol prices down, seeing as they have been members for like 14 years, but I guess not.

To be fair though, their taxes seem to be going to good use. The public transport in Stockholm was amazing, and everywhere is so clean and tidy, and safe feeling. I wanna live there.

With regards to the girls, I just can't work it out. Is it something in the water? Whatever it is, I'm not complaining.

Oh dear. I guess I am a little biased but I can never grasp the idea of Swedish girls being prettier than your average girl. And their English is usually pretty poor which surprises me cos Swedish as a language is related to English and all..

Ah, I see that you are Finnish, so your bias is understandable Let me just say that in comparison to British girls, Swedish girls are very fine indeed. Maybe I worded that wrong, there are plenty of hot girls in the UK, but in Sweden there just seem to be more of them

I guess I understand that but I wish you would look at those Norwegian girls! They're the true gorgeous ones! And you said it yourself, there only seems to be more of them in Sweden. There actually aren't more of them in Sweden than in any other country, the ones that actually are beautiful just seem to get all the attention - not the 'not-so-pretty-ones'. (This is a certain type of prejudice, maybe not bad but prejudice nevertheless)

 

[Steindorh]

Wasn't beer banned in Iceland for a long time? What is a good Icelandic brew?


And, as for the OP, since I got off topic (sorry about that)- Snapple... or as I call it Crapple... it was going for about $1.59 here.

Beer was banned here until 1989, we celebrated the "20th anniversary of beer" just last May. It was epic, believe you me!

A good Icelandic brew... I'd say Thule or Egils Premium, both are decent, and are way more likely to be available outside Iceland than f.ex. Skjálfti (e:quake), Freyja, El Grillo, Kaldi(e: Cold one) or Lava Stout, all of which are made by smaller breweries.