by Alex Bond

Created on: June 22, 2008   Last Updated: September 12, 2011

Beer comes in a variety of flavors and styles. Although country of origin may have some importance on beer choice there are other factors that have a larger impact on beer choice, such as economic level of beer. If you pick the cheapest beer at a store, it doesn't matter what country it comes from, its going to taste like rotting flesh. Conversely, if you buy the most expensive beer at a store, it won't matter which country it is brewed in, it will taste delicious.

Another important factor in beer, is type of beer. There are pale ales, Indian pale ales, ambers, darks, heavies, bitter, and many others. If you pick a type of beer that you don't like, you may not like it, even if many other people that do like that type of beer do like it.

But, returning to the original question, one factor that goes into this is American pride. If you are proud to be an American, and you want to help America's economy, than drinking American brewed beer would prove to be important to you. Drinking an American brewed beer is a way to show your support for America, much like wearing name brand clothes is a way to show your support for that company. Many Americans no longer have an immutable sense of pride, due to our country's policies and actions over the past few years. George W. Bush has an incredibly low approval rating, and the number of proud Americans is slowly diminishing.

Other people will choose their beer based on flavor. Although many would argue that flavor is independent of other variables, it is not. Marketing, which shows people similar to the viewer enjoying the beer, will actually make the flavor of the beer seem better to that viewer, depending on the effectiveness of the advertisement. If a person's peer group prefers a specific type of beer, it will be more preferable to that person. The powers of advertisement and social influence should not be underestimated.

The biggest factor influencing whether someone will buy an American brewed beer is price. This has always been the strongest factor in purchasing. If something is extremely cheap, many people will buy it, whereas if something is expensive enough, no one will buy it. If a company were to acquire another company and be able to provide lower costs due to that purchase, than the amount of beer purchased would go up. People that do not have a booming amount of American pride will decide what type of beer matters based on other factors. Some people, who just want to get drunk for the cheapest amount of money possible, will pick brands that are cheap, regardless of the country that brewed it. The cheapest beers tend to be American brewed because exportation costs are not included.

Although all these factors play a role in the decision of purchasing a beer, be it American brewed or not, none of them can completely determine the outcome. Each factor has its strengths and limitations. It is not one factor which determines a purchase, but rather an interaction of all these factors.

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