mark2410, if you ever come over here, I'll be happy to introduce yu to the American microbrew world. Our micros stand alongside anything the world has to offer and our micros push the envelope and take more risks than a lot of the staid European breweries.
I did this to a group of German relatives of my neighbor some years back. They didn't think much of American beer. I gave them a half dozen varieties of our best. They went wide-eyed, went silent, and ultimately, were overjoyed that good beer exists here.
When I lived in Oregon, it was common to find Europeans hanging around the local brewpubs. I did not hear any of them complaining.
As for the OP, beer is regulated by the FDA and state health inspectors. Quality - in the sense of health, cleanliness and purity of ingredients - is very good. I've visited the Bud plant in St. Louis and it's a top notch facility.
That being said, the major American breweries are almost exactly like Bose.
They have the equipment, marketing prowess, distributorship, and engineers. However, they produce crap. If they wanted to, they could produce the finest beer in the world, ship it everywhere, and seriously compete on price. Shame they choose not to, bt the typical swill is what the market wants.
A number of factors contributed to this. Prohibition killed all the local breweries, many of which made a variety of traditional European beers. World War II, with its rationing, forced the breweries to produce what we have today. It proved popular, and they got huge after the War.
But in the late 1970s (IIRC) Anchor Steam in San Francisco became popular. That led to others starting up, and the microbrew culture got underway in the late 1980s. I'm not too familiar with the east coast, but Portland turned into beer heaven in the 1990s, San Diego has followed suit, and there are now strong local breweries all along the west coast.
At the moment, I am enjoying a Sierra Nevada at my favorite bar. It is brewed in northern California and is quite popular. I'd put it up against anything from Europe. That is not a knock against European brews (I love them, too). Mark, if you can make it over for CanJam 2010, we'll be happy to give you some of the best the United States has to offer. You will not be disappointed.