Specifically what are perceptions among the mass population (not the small population that are true connosieurs/homebrewers) or perceptions of english beer from earlier in history?
Beer temperature/stillness
Do they like the idea of stouts/porters? Schwarzbier is a far step away from the intensity of a stout.
Bitters?
This is based on my time working in Germany 20+ years ago. The conversations were with people in the office, not beer fans. There is no clear answer to this,
Beers not brewed by the Rheinheitsgebot are viewed with suspect. Sugars are not good for beer. Malted barley must be used, and so on.
There are many Irish bars in Germany that sell Guinness. So that is accepted.
Belgian beer uses sugar, fruit, Brett, and bacteria (in sour beers). I was told that stuff is not fit for human consumption.
Having traveled to Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Mainz, and Munich over the past 20+ years 3 to 4 times a month, I can testify there is no shortage of Irish Pubs…Guinness, Murphy’s, etc.
Outside of that, the beers on tap in any locality are what’s brewed in the area. At least that is what my experience has been. I would venture to say that the typical beer drinker there does not give a rat’s rear end for the beers the Brits drink.
yup reinheitsgebot for sure. wonder if they think its similar in strength or weaker or stronger? i dont think any country will put forth that belgian beer is weak for example
Slightly off topic…but beer prices in Germany are way cheap. A 1/2 liter can be found for 2.50 Euro. That is a common price in most of the pubs and breweries in Munich. Prices in Frankfurt are slightly higher, around 3 to 3.90 Euro per 1/2 liter.
A pint in London is higher, but I don’t recall what I actually paid. Did not fly to the UK very much.
That’s because in much of Europe there’s little or no tax paid on beer, compared to the UK where already by late February we’ve paid more beer duty than Germany will all year.
Everything in tourist London is more expensive, in the same way as Manhattan prices bear little relation to the rest of the US. The [Good Pub Guide survey](How much has the price of a pint increased in 2019? average) (pay-to-play guide that’s nothing to do with the CAMRA Good Beer Guide) puts the UK average for a (568ml/20oz) pint at £3.79 (€4.29/US$4.77) and the London average at £4.57 (€5.17/US$5.75) (and tourist London is now pushing £5). But it does depend a lot on what beer you’re talking about, see eg : What is the average price of a pint in the UK?
OTOH cask is generally quite a bit cheaper than keg, so these kinds of averages aren’t always comparing like with like. And Sam Smiths and Wetherspoons are a lot cheaper than the norm, if you’re prepared to compromise on the beer front.
At some of the places in my small town outside of Detroit, a pint goes for $6, and with a dollar tip per beer London doesn’t look bad at all for beer prices.
Well, that’s one way to assure quality! But if you don’t drink anywhere else, your comments seems a bit unwarranted. You may be missing some excellent beer.