I love a good beer. Preferably a real ale (consumed responsibly, naturally).
If I was back home in the UK, I’d order a pint of Spitfire, brewed by England’s oldest brewery, Faversham-based Shepherd Neame. So I thought I was going to be disappointed with the lighter offerings in the US, and have to resign myself to imported beer. But I’ve been delighted with the offerings from an increasing number of very fine American microbreweries here.
Take Dogfish Head (from Delaware) for example. Or New Belgium (from Colorado) who make Fat Tire, Magic Hat (in Vermont), Saranac (in NY’s Adirondacks) or the Great Lakes Brewing Company (from Cleveland, Ohio). All of them are very fine ales, and compare pretty well to what I’d expect in the UK. Even some larger craft breweries, like Boston’s Samuel Adams, match up well to my taste, too.
Not surprisingly, “lite” beers aren’t normally my thing though, and I usually don’t pay them much attention. But they caught my eye last week when I saw this article in the Wall Street Journal, “Coors Light Tops Bud as No.2 Beer”. What particularly interested me wasn’t just that Bud no longer occupies the top two places, but that Coors Light is owned by MillerCoors, a joint venture between Molson Coors Brewing Company and UK-headquartered SABMiller. And SABMiller alone has 8 breweries in the US, employing 8,800 people. I think that’s a good example of UK investments supporting US jobs. And helping Americans, and Brits abroad, enjoy a “cold one” (or as we prefer in the UK, slightly closer to room temperature).