It’s common to see an American brewery owner or head brewer at events these days, traveling within the city, state, or region where they call home. But the master brewer from one of the world’s most iconic breweries traveling 4,000 miles to support a sales team? That’s something more.

“Some beers are well made,” Ghequire noted of American sour offerings. “A few are very balanced, but also a lot are not completely balanced.”

As much as balance in beer is important, American tastes have always skewed a little toward extreme. Whether it’s a barrel-aged stout brewed to taste like cookies or a golden ale mimicking a gin and tonic, our palates prefer to live large.

Which puts Ghequire and so many of his peers in a difficult position. The foreign beers they create, which once satisfied “extreme beer” seekers in the US, may no longer meet American taste expectations while facing increased competition from U.S. brewers who are now producing sours, saisons and other Old World styles at high rates within our own borders.

Overall, the amount of beer imported to the U.S. is growing, but increasingly faces challenges created by the natural push and pull of a country with more than 4,200 breweries—not to mention a country that adds roughly two per day. Styles or brands that drinkers once found exciting and exotic are now being brewed right down the street. Competition isn't just tightening among American breweries. Rather, avenues and occasions for foreign beers are getting smaller every day.