Iz,
I quite agree that the variety going on in the US is an amazing wonderful asset for us all to enjoy. Much of Europe, with its over-unionization and general bureaucratic overhead does tend to stifle variety - even when it's done appropriately and bolstering quality. This is true for breweries and most industries (man I love my BMW!).
I think I under-elaborated on "doing it wrong for 60 years". I am referring to the fact that prohibition's politics and economics threw us back into the stone age when it came to beer making. The complete lack of competition is what spurred AB into dominance then, and although it is true they haven't looked back, their flagship beer, Budweiser, has no redeeming characteristics despite its market dominance. Well, it may have one: a lack of chicken lard.
American's perfecting IPA? I think you are in the minority on that opinion. My favorite commercial IPAs are all European. But, my favorite of course is my own.
My image of you is of a young Beer-Jedi-in-training, full of vinegar and piss ready to take on the Empire. Whereas, I'm saying "look at all those wonderful spaceports the Empire built...
[edit] P.S. I grew up in Milwaukee, within nose-shot of all that brewing going on in the valley. My sister was a long time engineer with Miller, and the most interesting and amazing thing about the big boys is their yeast. The vials of early-generation yeast they obtain/engineer are some of their most guarded assets.
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