Five Best Beers Made in America

(CBS)  Oregonians have long had a love of all things beer, so it's not surprising that Portland is the unofficial brewery capital of America.

It has more breweries than any other city in the world - 35 - is the biggest craft brewing market in the country, and proudly answers to the nickname "Beervana."

There are more than 100 breweries in Oregon, all of which sell their beer in Portland. Last year, the state's breweries made more than 1 million barrels of craft beer.

From late June to late July, Portland has three beer festivals with more than 100,000 people attending.

And, this year is the 25th anniversary of the passing of the law in Oregon (one of the first of its kind in the country) that allows people to consume beer on the premises where it's brewed, which launched the whole brewpub movement.

So, "The Early Show on Saturday Morning" hand-picked five craft beers from Brewvana as the best in America, and called on Food and Wine magazine Executive Wine Editor Ray Isle to fill us in on the choices, as part of our special Fourth of July tour of places that make the nation's best food. We call it A Taste of America.

Widmer Hefeweizen: A great American version of a German wheat beer. It's a little tangy, and very refreshing. A great summer beer. I'd pair it with grilled seafood, raw oysters, that sort of thing.

Full Sail Session Lager: The beer world divides its product into lagers and ales; it has to do with the type of yeast used and the brewing process. But an easy rule of thumb is that lagers are like white wine (lighter, crisper), and ales are like red wine (bigger, richer, more powerful). Full Sail makes a great, tasty lager, good with almost anything. Personally, I'd drink it with hot dogs off the grill, but it's also a classic all-purpose beer: chicken, potato chips, pretzels, you name it.

Deschutes Green Lakes Ale: This is an ale, so it's richer and darker than the Full Sail Session Lager. What's especially cool is that it's made from organic ingredients. Deschutes is based in Bend, Ore., but it has a brewpub in Portland, too. I'd drink this with a hamburger; for me, ales like this are ideal burger wines.

Bridgeport IPA: Another ale; this was a style invented by the British, called India Pale Ale. Hops, one of the ingredients of beer, act as a preservative, so the British made an especially hoppy brew to ship on the long voyage to India. Hops also add flavor-a kind of citrusy, piney, bitter note that's very pronounced in IPAs. I think they're great with fried foods -- anything from fried shrimp to French fries -- the bitterness kind of wakes up your mouth after all that rich fried coating.

Rogue Dead Guy Ale: This is a darker, more intense style of ale (technically, it's a German style called a Maibock). It's a bit higher in alcohol -- 6.5 percent -- with a toasty, malty character and real texture to it. This is my go-to for big, spicy foods: sausages on the grill, barbecued ribs, that kind of thing.

[Michael_Reed]

Bells Oberon needs to be on this list--a summer brew from Kalamazoo MI.

At least *one* Bells beer should make the list. I've been all over, and I love micros, and Bells make the best.

[mellowjohnny]

All those beers from Portland? Hardly. Full Sail from Hood River, Rogue from Newport, & Deschutes (far and away the best beer of the bunch) is from Bend...get your facts straight

[olegunny]

Make mine a Bud lite :..)

[blitouyoas]

Totally ridiculous article. Biased? Paid for? What about Yuengling? Ask 50,000 experts from Penn State alone. The beer is not cheap, but even students on minimum budgets won't sacrifice quality for superiority. Ask over 20,000 beer lovers from any of the surrounding states that make journey's of up to 100 miles just to buy cases of Yuengling to buy as much as a months supply until their next journey. I'm from Ohio (a rival state of anything that is Pennsylvania). I have drunken the Best Beers in the World in their own countries: San Miguel in the Philippines, Swan Lager in Australia to name just a few. After living and working in State College, PA, for three years, I have never tasted a beer that can even compare to Yuengling. America's Oldest Brewer for a Very, Very good reason. Excellence Personified!!

[heiner3886]

Just try a Smithwicks from Ireland

[either1or]

Executive WINE editor Ray Isle to choose the best BEER in America? Thats like asking a vegetarian to choose the best burger.

[Verne_Robirds]

"technically, it's a German style called a Maibock"

It is ok for a suppose food and wine guy to have light weight taste in beer. No Rogue Dead Guy Ale is nothing like a Maibock. One Maibock's are not ales, they are lagers. And two Maibock's are sweet malty beers with very low hop bitterness. Dead Guy Ale is not sweet and it hops stand out.

A wise editor would fix this screw up, as it is about at bad as calling a Chardonnay a good red wind.

[larrryshrine]

Back in college I used to enjoy a six pack of Milwaukee's Finest, a buck ninety for the pack. Tasted terrible, but hey, it was a buck ninety. Upscale, I'd go for PBR, about a dollar more. Yes, I was quite the beer aficionado. Now I don't drink. Wonder why:)?

[kayers43yahoocom]

Having lived in the St. Louis area for a lot of years, I've learned to enjoy a
good cold beer. Our beers here of course are of the Anheuser Busch era and most
people that I've met recognize them as a lighter, weaker beer which is not so bad
considering you can probably enjoy a few more of them over a few hours or longer
and not be "lit higher than a kite." Your beers from Portland are beers that the
everyday man, is that the "little people" just don't recognize and therefore I'm
not sure how you can give those beers such a rave review. It surely doesn't
recognize the whole of U.S.A.

[ggroller]

"a good cold beer?" enough said. Oh, and what exactly is the Anheuser Busch era?

[ksmit2]

When you talk of the "best beers", you really open a can of worms.
There are dozens of "the best". In reality, your nervous system and
taste buds are not really sophisticated enough to discern that spectrum of "qualities" beyond a few nuances.
As Americans we are always happy to find ourselves a treat that justifies our ever so "sophisticated" zest for living, and these
stylish brand identities have more of a party selling them than we do
drinking them. LOL.