What Is Domestic Beer?

/ Beer Reviews / By

Beer is a beverage made by the fermentation of malted barley, hops, and water.

What Is Domestic Beer?

It can be consumed in many different forms including draft beer, bottled beer, canned beer, or even as an alcoholic mixer.

Many people are passionate about beer. Some like to drink it, others enjoy brewing their own beer at home.

Others still like to take part in events where they can meet other enthusiasts and share stories about their favorite beverages.

If you are someone who is new to becoming part of the beer community, there might be a few things that are slightly confusing.

For example, there is a whole range of terminology that you may be exposed to. With that in mind, you may have heard people talking about domestic beer. 

If you are unsure about what the term domestic beer means, don’t panic. You are not the only person to be confused by this term.

In this guide, we are going to walk you through what the term domestic beer means, and other beer-related terminology you may encounter. 

What Is Domestic Beer? 

Whilst the term domestic beer might seem confusing to someone new to the beer community, it is actually quite simple.

The term domestic beer refers to beers that are brewed in the United States of America. 

The term refers to beers produced by American breweries. These are the types of beers that you will commonly see being served in bars.

This term mainly refers to larger breweries in America. So beers made in America by small breweries, would not be considered to be domestic beers. 

So to wrap it up, when calling a beer domestic, it needs to be made in the States and be brewed by a large company. 

Examples Of Domestic Beers

Examples Of Domestic Beers

To make things slightly clearer for you, we are going to walk you through some beers that would be considered to be domestic. 

Coors Light 

Coors Light is a beer that would be called domestic. Coors Light is a beer that is brewed by Molson Coors.

Molson Coors is a brewing company whose history can be traced back to 1774. They were one of the first companies to brew beer in North America.

The brewing company was founded by John Molson in 1786. Then almost two centuries later Coors Light was created. 

Budweiser

Budweiser is another beer that would be considered to fall into the category of domestic beer. Budweiser is a brand name owned by Anheuser-Busch.

Anheuser-Busch has been around since 1850. Their roots go back further than that though. In 1850, Adolphus Busch started his brewery business.

Pabst Blue Ribbon

Another popular beer that would be considered a domestic beer is Pabst Blue Ribbon.

Pabst Blue Ribbon is a beer that is brewed by the Pabst Brewing Company. This brewing company was established in 1844, in Wisconsin. 

Yuengling Traditional Lager

Yuengling is also a beer that would be considered domestic. Yuengling is a beer that is brewed by the Yuengling Brewery.

This is said to be one of America’s oldest brewing companies. The history of this brewery dates back to 1829. 

Other Beer Terminology

So now that you are aware of what domestic beer is, let us look at some of the other terminologies that are also used when discussing beer. 

Imported Beer

The term, imported beer, is one of the easier terms to understand. You may have already guessed from the name, but imported beer refers to any beer that is foreign.

The most common and well-known example is Guinness which is imported from Ireland.

Other examples include Heineken from the Netherlands, Stella Artois from Belgium, and Bass Ale from England. 

Craft Beer

Here is where the terminology can become a little tricky. You may have heard the phrase ‘craft beer’, being said when discussing beer.

Nowadays, craft beers are becoming increasingly more popular. Though not everyone is aware of what craft beer is.

Craft beer is a beer that has been made in the traditional way, without machines. This means the beer is made in smaller batches and there are more individual flavors in them.

They may also have a higher alcohol percentage compared to domestic beer. 

Draft Beer

Draft beer is something that you may be familiar with. Essentially, draft beer is a beer that comes from the tap.

These are commonly seen at local bars. Most people who drink draft beer believe that they are fresher. They are also refreshingly cold when poured. 

The tricky thing to understand about draft beer is that it is not its own type of beer. It just means beer that comes out of the tap at the bar rather than from the can.

Craft beers can be the draft beer at a bar since that might be the brand that comes from the tap. The same goes for imported beers. 

How To Choose A Beer

When choosing what beer to drink, generally people start with domestic beers. This is because they are cheaper but are also available at all bars.

Craft beers are often purchased by those who are not satisfied with the flavors of domestic beer.

This is because craft beers have more flavors in them and it can be quite fun guessing the hints of each flavor in the drink. 

Final Thoughts

Domestic beer is a term that is used a lot when discussing beer. To wrap things up, domestic beer refers to beer made from an American large-scale brewery.

As mentioned earlier, these are the beers that you are more likely to see in your local bars. 

When it comes to discussing beers with beer enthusiasts there are a lot of different terms which can seem confusing at first.

It is good to have a vague understanding of these terms if you are looking to join the beer enthusiast community. 

We hope that this guide has made you understand what domestic beer is. Hopefully, you feel confident enough to use the term when discussing beers with others.

Please share this article with others who may benefit from this knowledge. Thank you for reading! 

Andrew Carr
Latest posts by Andrew Carr (see all)

Related Posts:

Amazon Affiliate - Terms and Conditions - Privacy Policy