When most people think of American beers they picture travesties like Bud Light and Miller. But the USA has come a long way since the stranglehold of the big lager breweries kept any innovation from drinkers. It is now, arguably, the greatest brewing nation on earth.
Gone are the days of people saying US beer is light and tasteless. The beers coming from the States now all push the boundaries of what is possible when making beer, whether it's using their varieties of super-citrusy hops or taking inspiration from Belgian and British breweries and taking those traditional styles further than they have ever gone.
Now IPAs are everywhere, stouts and porters went into barrels and came out transcendent, spontaneously fermented beer became the trendiest way to ferment, and you can't move for canned beer now. The world had awoken to a new brewing revolution and the USA was at the wheel. Thanks to the efforts of breweries like Sierra Nevada and Red Hook, experimental breweries such as Modern Times, Almanac, Evil Twin and Firestone Walker have been able to take beer where it has never been before. Interesting beers can be tried the world over and Americans can be proud of their part in it.