Comment Re:Midas Touch (Score 1) 175
As a Wisconsin resident, I can't agree with your first statement. Most of the breweries here were started by German immigrants, who brought their knowledge and experience to their new home. I don't think a lack of history has anything to do with the quality of American beer. I think cost has the most to do with it, but it is also very unfair to lump all beer made here as sucky American beer. While I personally think the quality of the beers coming from the major breweries is lacking, there are plenty of smaller breweries and home brewers around the nation that produce excellent beers. There are many beers made here that rival and surpass any of the beers I had during the couple weeks I spent in Germany a couple years ago.
Quality beers cost more, so they don't sell as much because too many people would rather pound back a bunch of cheap beers instead of enjoying a smaller number of higher quality beers. A friend turned me on to a beer he really likes called Pranqster from North Coast Brewing in California. The first time I found it in a store, it cost me almost $10 for a 4 pack. I could have gotten a case of some lower quality beer for that price if my goal was just to pound back a bunch of beer. The bottle of Theobroma mentioned in the article cost me as much as a case of cheaper beer also. Cost also directly ties in with your second statement, higher quality ingredients are cost prohibitive if your goal is producting a more affordable beer.
Cost also has a lot to do with 2 other food products you mentioned. My best friend looked at me like I was nuts for grabbing a loaf of bread that cost almost 5x the price of the loaf of Wonder bread that he picked up when we were at the store once. The price was worth it though for the quality difference over that spongy Wonder bread. The same can be said for cheese. Yes, Wisconsin does make a lot of cheese, including a lot of the cheese you are calling bland and uninteresting and cost is the reason since the cheaper cheeses sell much more. We also have plenty of award winning artisanal cheeses, but they cost a lot more because they use higher quality ingredients and aren't made using the same industrial methods that churn out the lower quality cheeses.