What was your first epiphany? That moment where you first really got into a style that, while popular in the BA community, might have been a huge departure for your palate. To get you started, here's mine: I'd always written off IPAs as "too bitter," without trying any. I knew Budweiser was bitter (in a skunky, bitter beer way, not a hoppy way, but it's not like I knew the difference), and I could only stand AALs if they were on tap. Fast forward to now, less than a year (and 110 BA reviews) later, and more than a third of my reviews are IPAs. Back to my personal story: I'd of course heard about a ton of IPAs, and read about them on BA. After seeing Enjoy By was coming to CT and available at the local store, I bought one on a whim. Yes, I got hooked on IPAs by a huge, hoppy DIPA, and I never looked back. So what about you? What beer piqued your interest in stouts, or was your first (of many) sour(s)? What turned you to saisons? Prost!
The day I tried my first "real" beer. My college roomie and I were checking out a local liquor store, just to get something semi-decent (Sam Adams, probably). I wasn't a beer nerd, and honestly couldn't have cared less. I had a few extra bucks in my pocket, and spied a bottle of Delerium Tremens. It just looked so freaking cool, I had to pick it up for the bottle. Popped the top and man did everything change.....suddenly I realized that beer was delicious. The beginning of the end for my wallet...
the moment i realized pouring beer from the bottle to a glass changed the taste of the beer changed my life. i believe it was a Blue Point Hoptical Illusion.
Fuller's London Pride was the first bitter I really liked. I'd just had nitrokeg bitters before that. Funnily enough I've now gone off that beer, but I still love the style.
I had the lindemans frambois and thought it was insanely too sweet and gross, then I tried liefman's kriek later that same summer and realized it was amazing.
On a whim I tried Yard's Saison, and realized I really like the style. Now I try any i can get my hands on.
2 sours within a couple hours introduced me to the style, first was Brute and later Dynamo Hum. This started the madness that has been emptying my wallet since that fateful day.
My first sip of Sam Adams Honey Porter brought me into the world of craft beer, my first sip of 60 minute on tap secured the obsession!
never had an epiphany beer lol just gradually moved into everything. I guess the first real beer I drank was SN Pale Ale but it wasn't really an epiphany. With IPA's I knew there were so many out there and I would have to learn to like them so I started with 90 min and just kept trying more and more until I got used to them. With stouts/porters I've always liked Guinness extra stout and I just started picking up more and more until it was just a normal thing. I've only had 2 saisons but that is my next conquest probably going to pick up saison dupont soon but it is fairly expensive here as far as I can tell($13).
My first IPA was stone ruination. I was in love from the first sip. My first saison was ommegang hennepin.My first sour was squatters fifth element. I was never into beer. I thought all beer was the same. Then I had these "good beers." Now I go from beer to beer trying every last IPA, saison, esb, stout, dipa, tripel etc . . . I can get my hands on. I never come back from the store without new beer. There has to be some kind of beer fairy. A cupid kind of creature that turns your head to great beer and you can never look back.
Hennepin is a great first Saison, very easy to enjoy. But Ruination? That might top my Enjoy By as an intro IPA! Go big or go home, I guess.
Hahaaa! Ruination was my first IPA too. I was affected similarly, and from that point on driven by an insatiable thirst for the hoppiest, bitterest IPAs (often DIPAs) I could find. Regarding stouts, it was Midnight Sun's Moscow RIS which made me totally fall for imp. stouts. Before that, the only stout I had had was Guinness extra stout, which always elicited a "meh..." from me. Midnight Sun was also responsible for getting me into Belgian ales, courtesy of their excellent Belgian strong pale ale, Fallen Angel. Yet another style MS introduced me too was barleywine, with Arctic Devil (what an introduction!). I'm not going to lie... the first evening I spent with that beast was a *bit* overwhelming. But soon afterwards... I became quite attached to that beer and the barleywine style. By the way, I love wolverines. They're cool. So yeah. Thanks, Midnight Sun! (and Stone). They are my top two favorite breweries to this day.
IPA - Ballantine IPA circa 1974. WOW. Stout - Guinness. Sour - Cantillon Rose de Gambrinus. Saison - Regal or DuPont, can't remember.
I was in las vegas when I was just 18, and convinced my brother to buy me an arrogant bastard ale many years ago, it was a cool bottle at the time. I was blown away by the taste, up until then it was 40's of bud and $10 30 packs.
My main beers at the time were Busch Light, Bud Light, and PBR. I decided to try something new and went with Flying Dogs Double Dog because the packaging was awesome. Needless to say I was NOT ready for what was about to go into my mouth. All I could taste was insane bitterness, which completely turned me off of all craft beer for a long time. Another couple years passed and I was so sick of guzzling down Bud Light that made me vomit, Busch Light that made me dry heave, and PBR that was just there that I HAD to give the craft beer world another shot. I had no idea of BeerAdvocate or any beer site so I just taking shots in the dark. So I started with Delirium Tremens, which I was incredibly surprised by. I didn't know beer could taste like that! So my first official venture into the craft beer world was Belgians. It's funny because I loved them at first, but now they're one of my least favorite styles. My next beer was a 4-pack of Boulevard's Double-Wide IPA. At first, I didn't like it at all, so I let the other 3 sit in the fridge until I decided to give them another shot. After the 4-pack was gone, I noticed I really wanted another one a few days later because it tasted like nothing I've ever had before. So I got it again and LOVED it. After that, it was a wallet destroying tornado of craft beer. As far as Saisons go, Boulevard Tank 7 was the first I tried and thought it was awesome. I haven't had many Saisons, but that was another one that made me realize that all beer doesn't taste like corn water. Love Buzz, though, was the saison that really blew me away. So overall, I thank Boulevard Brewery for getting me into this wonderfully tasty, drunken world.
Here's a story I've posted on this site dozens of times. First beers were... I'm not exactly sure. Guinness was one of them. A lot of random Sam Adams beers. Really got interested in craft beer after going to Boston and the S.A. brewery tour. Hop-ology pack. Found a bottle shop near me. Really came on suddenly though. I told one of my friends to just get a mix-a-six at Kroger and he said it was all awful (included Edmund Fitzgerald), and drainpoured it all. He only drinks Bud Light. Miller Lite's too bitter for him. Damn kids... damn America with their awful tongues.
IPA: Two Hearted; my palate wasn't ready to appreciate it at the time, but it got much better as I kept drinking them of course Stout: Sam Adams Cream stout. This was way back in college after I turned 21, wasn't a hardcore craft person just yet, but it was my favorite at the time. Sour: JP La Roja, enjoyed it at the time, but my palate for sours skyrocketed after that. Saison: pretty sure it was Victory Helios, Saisons are my second favorite style after Tripels right now. Pretty much, for Belgians, I wasn't a fan at first but as I kept trying more I grew a really discerning palate for them and now they are the best thing ever for me. Belgian yeast works magic.
