I like the description of Chimay as "gentle." Like a lover. But in your mouth. I'm going to stop right there. Re: DFH 60 min, I was just thinking about this beer today. I think it would make a pretty good gateway beer for non-IPA (or non-craft) beer drinkers. Obviously it's a very approachable IPA. Then again, I, too, remember thinking SNPA was too bitter for my tastes (once upon a time), so maybe DHF 60 would just crush the palate of a BMC drinker. Dunno.
Breckenridge 471 DIPA made me fall in love with IPA/DIPAs, but that was kinda short lived because I got tired of them pretty quick... Cantillon's gueze and JK Funk Metal made me fall in love with sours and those stuck with me.
IPA – BrewDog Punk (old 6 % ABV version) – didn’t like it because I don’t like Punk in general, found it weak & didn’t like the profile. Loved my second IPA because it was a good one. Stout – Gread Divide Yeti, absolutely adored it, got several to share with friends who found it too heavy. I drank all of their bottles. Sour – Cantillon Kriek, thought that it was the greatest beer ever. I thought that it was infected which saddened me because I thought that I would never have anything like that again, luckily I was wrong. Saison - Urthel Saisonnière okay but wasn’t particularily impressed but than again it is more of slightly above average bitterer Belgian Ale than a saison I feel. Barleywine – De Molen Mooi & Machtig (Cognac Barrel), absolutely adored it, still think that it is incredible. Took me a quite a long time to try a barleywine.
I had a roommate in college who was well ahead of the curve where craft beer is concerned. It was because of him I was introduced to Old Rasputin, FBS, and Bell's Cherry Stout. Stouts were my gateway style. Saison: Great Lakes Grassroots (I think I'm the only person who liked this beer. I talked to a Great Lakes rep a few years back about it and he was adamant about it never coming back.) IPA: The aforementioned roommate loved IPAs too so, in an effort to discover what was so addicting about them, I purchased a 6 pack of Bell's Two Hearted and "forced" myself to drink all 6. It turned into a good night. Sidenote: Great Lakes Christmas Ale, circa 5 years ago, had a lot to do with me and the whole craft beer thing.
I love how many people list Old Raspy. I tried that back in my first stint in college (uh...being underage at the time, I mean I HEARD about how it tasted....yeah), and couldn't stand it. Same with Rogue Chocolate Stout; I'd had a chocolate malt beer when I was a kid that I thought was fabulous, but it wasn't nearly as bitter. Maybe it's time to revisit Rasputin. I still haven't had that stout "moment;" just stouts and porters that are drinkable, and the rest that aren't (to me).
Hopslam was the first IPA I liked (translation: loved) and that's when I started buying them from the store. Before that, I'd ignore them completely. Even after I liked IPAs for a bit, I still disliked Two Hearted until very recently. Now I drink it often and it's available almost anywhere, so it's a great go-to when a bar/store has nothing else I like. I've pretty much liked most other styles from the start.
I second that! That beer got me into beer! I have evolved to like nearly every style, but Ten Fidy is still in my top 5!
I'm newer to the craft beer scene and I really haven't hit an epiphany beer. I kind of gradually moved to Sam Adams as a younger drinker at like 18 or 19. Their sampler packs still really help me decide if I like a certain style of beer (I'm not sure the view on SA on this board but I think they make a good mass produced product that's kind of a good plunge into a different type of beer). I've recently started trying heavier beers as kind of a tasting hobby and I enjoyed the bottle of Celebrator Dopplebock I had the other week.
When I first started discovering craft beer a few years ago, there were two beers that started my downward spiral.... Technically, Rogue Hazelnut Brown was the beer that started my craft beer obsession, but..... 60 Min IPA was the first IPA that got me hooked into craft beer... Rogue Chocolate Stout was the first stout that I really enjoyed... 700 beers later on Untappd, I look back at some of the beers I gave 5 stars to and chuckle Anyone else do this?
Ranger IPA was my first. I drank it every weekend on tap at PI. I went in one night and it was tapped out. I asked for something similar and they gave me my first saison, Boulevard's Tank 7. My first sour was a belgian that I can't remember, but I do remember it tasted like vinegar. I decided I didn't like sours. Then I had The Dissident at a beer tasting. That changed my mind about sours. I still enjoy the Tank 7. It has been hard to top. I have moved on from Ranger IPA and can never get enough of The Dissident. Old Rasputin was my first stout and to this day I keep a four pack on hand.
IPA: celebration Stout: left hand nitro Sour: NG wild sour (I know it's recent, just haven't gotten into them much yet) Saison: none yet, but I have a rye saison waiting for a get together next week.
OT but: It's too harsh. DFH 60 was my first IPA. I was super excited to go to the brewery and try new beers that I hadn't tried before. At this point in my life, Harp and Blue Moon were being adventurous for me while Labatt Blue and Miller Lite were my go to's. I had just turned 21. I tried 60 Minute and thought it tasted like ass. I barely could drink half, it was just too bitter and hoppy for me. That day, I also had Theobroma (which I still think is awful but I don't care for the style to being with), Midas Touch (which I haven't had since), and one other 'terrible' beer which was too harsh for my delicate palate at the time. A good gateway beer into micros is Sierra Pale. It's got a great balanced flavor but its not scary like IPAs are. Once that taste is more normal, IPAs are an easy transition. That is sort of the path I followed except with beers like Penn Kaiser Pils and Victory Prima Pils, two well hopped but lighter bodied beers. Once that flavor was normal, IPAs tasted better and better.
I agree with SNPA: that's a perfect gateway beer for IPAs (IMO Alchemy Ale also totally fits the flavor profile). It takes some getting used to, but it's not harsh. I don't think 60 min would be a good craft gateway beer, but for someone who already has at least gotten their feet wet (SNPA, Boston Lager; crafty beers like Blue Moon and Shock Top are a good step, but they're not the slightest bit bitter), I think it would be a good one. Then again, I'm probably a little too hopped-out now to recognize how hoppy 60 min really is. I still remember, though, that the first time I tried it, I thought it was very smooth, and that went double for 90 minute! (Or, it went time-and-a-half, I suppose, for accuracy's sake.)
I'm probably one of the younger contributors to this website. I turned 21, 6 months ago. However, I've worked in a craft beer store since I was 20. It was horrible coming to work every day and having people ask my opinion of beer and not being able to give them a true response. My first true taste of an IPA was a Heady Topper... great introduction. IPAs are not my preferred style (they give me a stomach ache). I branched off into Wheat beers, fruit beers and Saisons (maybe a little more accessible to a young palate) My first wheat beer was Ommegang Witte. DELICIOUS. My first Saison was Rushing Duck's Bali Saison. My first fruit beer was Purple Haze and my first stout was Mother's Milk by Keegan Ales. Besides, Heady Topper, these are all relatively local beers for me. I can't wait to keep exploring..
I was always searching for good beer. Never liked BMC but was choking it down with my friends. I was always trying different beers on tap like Sam and anything but bmc at restaurants. I was then taken to the beer fest in Boston last year and my 1st 3 beers were ipa's and they were Double Sunshine, Hoptimum and the next day a zombie dust and flower power and like others have said. I am a lot poorer now but loving it. Hop head all the way.
