Underrated Beer List

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NSMikeD

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I stumbled across a fun article from Gear Patrol in my news feed this morning, 15 Underrated Beers as polled by 15 brewers. Curious to see what these brewers would come up with and the premise was to name old line beers worthy of distinction in today’s hype focused beer market. A few that made this list as my go to for the style, one made my list of an outstanding beer worthy of me posting a pic in the what are you drinking now thread and one just totally surprised me as I had had my share of six packs but never thought of it worthy of any special mention other than a nice available beer. I’ll have to pick up a few bottles of that beer this weekend and revisit to see what the contributing brewer saw that that I missed.

Comments. Take this thread in any direction you’d like.


Here are the beers followed by a link to the article.


Ecliptic Capella Porter
Pilsner Urquell
NorthCoast Tart Cherry Berliner Weiss
Mayflower Porter
Georgetown Bodhizafa
Berra Moretti LaRossa
Braverei C. & A. Veltins Pilsener
Fuller’s London Pride
Schilling Schaumburg
Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier
The Alchemist Heady Topper
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
Brasserie DuPont Saison DuPont
NorthCoast Old Stock Ale
Matt Brewing Utica Club


https://www.gearpatrol.com/drinks/most-underrated-beer-brewers-pick/
 
hey i have only had :
1) pilsner urquell - all commercial lagers imo are a little underrated. urquell is ok. but its a little skunky for my taste . i dont think i like any beer in a green bottle.
2) bierra morretti - its alright very thin. very little hop flavor like most commercial lagers. i think i saw this one suggested as one of the most tasteless base beer to add off flavors to in order to learn how to judge beers. i like this summertime like corona.

3)fullers london pride is pretty good. on tap its delish. i would never thought of this beer as underrated.

4) sierra nevada pale ale. - i think it kind of deserves what ever rating it gets. its not that great. it was never anything i would have jumped on. it was always the last choice at the bar for me when the only thing else on tap was bud, coors lite, or guiness.


i think the biggest underrrated beer is pabst blue ribbon. i think its a decent commercial lager with malt body and some bitterness.
 
fluketamer said:
2) bierra morretti - its alright very thin. very little hop flavor like most commercial lagers.
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La Rossa is not the Moretti lager you're thinking of. It's a 7.2% ABV malty red ale.

1712160901580.jpeg
 
If anything, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is OVERrated. Not sure how it's underrated when you can find it pretty much everywhere
 
I'm the worst beer drinker-maker guy in the world apparently. I've heard of/had only two mentioned in the list.

If I were to add to the list, I would say Peroni Nastro Azzurro is pretty underrated. Yuengling's Hershey's Porter too, I guess.
 
Panderson1 said:
If anything, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is OVERrated. Not sure how it's underrated when you can find it pretty much everywhere
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Yeah. I consistently see beers like SN PA and Bell Two Hearted on those "best beers in the US" list. They are decent beers, but mostly get votes because they are available everywhere. I would agree that a ~5% American Pale Ale is an underrated beer style, or at least one that is hard to find vs the 7% IPAs and the 6% DDH Hazy Pale Ales.

Rish said:
I've seen Urquell recently in brown bottles so they may hold up better now. I've had some that were very tasty.
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Now that more imports are packaged in cans, it seems like it is actually possible to get decent versions of these beers here in the US. I have had some Sion Kolsch cans that were much fresher than even what I have gotten on tap in the US.

The beer I would add to the list is St. Bernardus Abt 12. I almost feel guilty getting a 750ml bottle at Total Wine for $13 (well, it seems to be less and less in stock). I put that beer in my "best beer in the world" slot. I did a side-by-side several years ago with some Westvleteren 12 bottles, and I liked the St. Bernardus version better.
 
mac_1103 said:
Over- and under-rated lists are a funny thing. Derek Jeter was voted both the most overrated and the most underrated player in baseball for several years running (in a poll of MLB players). And he probably was.
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I've always found that hilarious. #6 on the all time hit list, 5x World Champion and member of an All Time Great 1998 Yankees team and dynasty but somehow people can rate him overrated. What a world we live in.

I wouldn't call Sierra Nevada Pale Ale overrated just because it's available everywhere. It started a craft beer revolution and inspired so many other great beers. Same with Heady Topper. Heady might be the most unique IPA ever, and it basically started an entirely new style. Bell's is consistently rated in the top 5 beers in the country. I'm not a huge fan, but it's definitely well crafted.

All of these articles are written to get views and clicks and start conversations. They certainly do those things!
 
wepeeler said:
#6 on the all time hit list, 5x World Champion and member of an All Time Great 1998 Yankees team and dynasty but somehow people can rate him overrated.
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My point was that you can be all that and still be overrated by some. Someone who thinks Derek Jeter is one of the three or four greatest baseball players who ever lived is seriously overrating him. Someone who thinks he's not in the top 100 is drastically underrating him. He came out on top in both polls because the people being polled had seen both of those things happen. A lot.

OTOH, something or someone can be pretty ordinary and still be underrated by some. PBR was mentioned earlier as being underrated, and I can see the argument. But that doesn't make it a great beer.
 
I used to live in Kalamazoo, home of Bell's. When I first got in to craft beers in the 90s, Bell's Amber Ale was my go-to.
Ambers don't get as much attention these days. I bought a six pack of BAA a while ago and as I drank it, I came to remember why I liked it so much. Excellent beer I just don't hear much about.
 
AlexKay said:
Most legacy American macro lagers are underrated.
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American macro lagers get credit for consistency. They’re, technically, very well done. It’s not easy to brew the same recipe, in different locations, a billion times a year, and have every batch look and taste the same every time. But, they’re generic. I don’t care what brand it is, they all look and taste about the same.

Show me someone who can, in a blind taste test, correctly identify, say, five different American macros, and I’ll show you someone who can walk on water and pee forty feet. 😎
 
grampamark said:
American macro lagers get credit for consistency. They’re, technically, very well done. It’s not easy to brew the same recipe, in different locations, a billion times a year, and have every batch look and taste the same every time. But, they’re generic. I don’t care what brand it is, they all look and taste about the same.

Show me someone who can, in a blind taste test, correctly identify, say, five different American macros, and I’ll show you someone who can walk on water and pee forty feet. 😎
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Sounds like you don't drink them.


I dont love this guy's videos, but here's someone identifying not just macro, but BMC light lagers!
 
Rish said:
I really like this beer. One of the best I've ever had. Kinda hard to find near me.
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I've seen several people post this, "St Bernardus abt 12 is the best beer" they've ever had! So back in December, I saw a 4 pack for sale (totalwine) and bought it. Absolutely hated it, way too fruity. Are there any good belgian dark-strong ales that are NOT so fruity? I think I would enjoy the style otherwise...
 
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Hoochin'Fool said:
I've seen several people post this, "St Bernardus abt 12 is the best beer" they've ever had! So back in December, I saw a 4 pack for sale (totalwine) and bought it. Absolutely hated it, way to fruity. Are there any good belgian dark-strong ales that are NOT so fruity? I think I would enjoy the style otherwise...
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I think they're mostly all dark fruit. AFAIK the quads are all using similar super dark candy syrup on a pale/pilsner malt base. It's definitely its own corner of the beer world.
 
Hoochin'Fool said:
Are there any good belgian dark-strong ales that are NOT so fruity? I think I would enjoy the style otherwise...
Click to expand...
mashdar said:
I think they're mostly all dark fruit. AFAIK the quads are all using similar super dark candy syrup on a pale/pilsner malt base. It's definitely its own corner of the beer world.
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Yeah, if you don't like the fruit then you don't like the style.
 
mashdar said:
Sounds like you don't drink them.


I dont love this guy's videos, but here's someone identifying not just macro, but BMC light lagers!
Click to expand...

No, I’ll concede this point. I actually just did a tasting of BMC light lagers (with Tekus, at that) and they were very, very similar. All lightly grainy, very slightly bitter, highly carbonated, very thin, no off flavors. Generic, and certainly not pushing the envelope n any way at all. But objectively, pretty good, too. And not everyone’s cup of tea, but appealing enough to a few tens or hundreds of millions of people. That being the point.
 
I like Bud, and I will choose Coors Banquet over just about anything whenever I encounter it on tap (which is rare).

I hate light versions though. Pure water. No pretension at all, I just hate them.

To be honest if my choices are Bud or a European pilsner, I’ll probably choose the Bud. It’s almost assuredly fresh, while the latter probably won’t be.
 
Hoochin'Fool said:
I've seen several people post this, "St Bernardus abt 12 is the best beer" they've ever had! So back in December, I saw a 4 pack for sale (totalwine) and bought it. Absolutely hated it, way too fruity. Are there any good belgian dark-strong ales that are NOT so fruity? I think I would enjoy the style otherwise...
Click to expand...
Belgian Dubbels tend to have less dark fruit and usually a little less yeast character. It might be worth trying one (though Belgians seem harder and harder to find, and stores seem to stock the higher ABV styles).
 
CascadesBrewer said:
Belgian Dubbels tend to have less dark fruit and usually a little less yeast character. It might be worth trying one (though Belgians seem harder and harder to find, and stores seem to stock the higher ABV styles).
Click to expand...
Brugse Zot Bruin is a great psudo-dubbel. Grimbergen (red bottle) is a good default, but may not have a USA importer any more? It's disappeared from everywhere that I used to get it from.
 

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